Coyotes prospect Ben McCartney’s NHL debut last season was admittedly a dream come true, even if it was for only two games.
That small taste of life in the big leagues, though, only made him hungrier.
The 21-year-old forward appeared in two November games with the Coyotes last season, and that first glimpse helped him understand what it would take to eventually find his way back. The competition was bigger, faster, and smarter than anything he’d previously seen, which played a huge part in planning his summer workouts this offseason.
Heading into rookie camp and the 2022 Rookie Faceoff Tournament this weekend, McCartney is excited to show off just how hard he’s been working.
“It was cool to dip my toes in the water, but it showed me what I needed to work on,” he said. “I really took that experience and made it motivation to improve on things for this upcoming season, to help me fit in a lot better.
“It was an unbelievable experience, and I’m ready to go back to work this year.”
McCartney had a stellar season with the Tucson Roadrunners last year, recording 18 goals and 17 assists in 57 games. His career has steadily progressed since debuting with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings in 2016-17, and he finished with 151 points in 205 games over five seasons in Manitoba. He hopes this season will be yet another step in the right direction.
The differences from league to league are stark, and his cup of coffee in the NHL last season highlighted that.
“At that level it’s just like anticipating the play; just knowing where the puck is going to be before it gets there,” McCartney said. “I also just thought I had to gain a few more pounds for the way I want to play the game, because it can be taxing on the body at times.”
Even when he wasn’t in the gym this past offseason, McCartney found ways to stay active. The Macdonald, Manitoba native made sure to find time to play some golf, but he also helped his father plant seeds on the farm.
As the offseason winds down, though, he has shifted his focus back to the ice, and it starts with both rookie camp and the faceoff tournament.
“I think when you show heart in these types of camps good things happen, so just go in there doing what I tried to do last year, just a little bit better,” McCartney said. “All NHL training camps are hard, and I think just knowing what’s going to be happening this upcoming camp, it’s nice to know, and I have to just keep working, control what I can control, and just be the hardest worker out there. “
It’s there where he hopes to show Coyotes coach André Tourigny and newly named Roadrunners coach Steve Potvin how hard he works, both on and off the ice. McCartney has played the role of the underdog since he was drafted 204th overall by Arizona in 2020, and to this point, he has made the most of it.
That development was helped along by Potvin, who not only coached McCartney for four games during the 2020-21 season, but also last year as an associate head coach.
“Potsie (Potvin) has been really good to me,” McCartney said. “He taught me so many little things, that I’m excited to get things going with them.”
The hard work, of course, is just beginning. But after the experience he had last season, McCartney’s got his eye on a return to the NHL, whenever that may be.
“I think it’s cool to get the experience that you dreamed of as a kid, but at the same time, after you dip your toes in the water, you want to go head deep,” he said. “It’s something that I will never forget, but also I want to have that feeling again.”
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