CHICAGO — John McLean wasn't always the kind of parent who took his sons to hockey games, but he remembers the first time Kyle stepped on the ice as a child.
“I'm probably yelling at the other dads,” John McLean joked after the Islanders finished practice Thursday. “Give them the puck and let's go. There's not a lot of coaching going on, so let's just have a little bit of fun.
“He embraced it. He was always around, whether it was road hockey or whatever, he was always playing lacrosse, he always had a stick in his hand and just enjoyed the sport.”
Kyle MacLean said his father “was always a coach to me,” but in reality, that was rarely meant in the literal sense.
John has had NHL coaching jobs in New Jersey, Carolina, Arizona, San Jose, and now Long Island, and was coaching his younger son with the Mighty Mites, but he mostly worked while Kyle worked his way up the ranks. I was busy.
Friday night will be even more meaningful when Kyle takes the ice for his NHL debut with the Islanders, with Lane Lambert standing behind him as one of his assistant coaches.
“It's pretty cool,” Kyle MacLean said. “I don't think a lot of people understand this, but it's definitely something special. It's cool to see him here. I think it's business right now, we both have jobs. He's the coach and I have a job to do too. But it's special for sure.”
Both father and son made it clear that the thorny issue of winning hockey games took precedence over this fun story.
The Islanders are in the midst of a winless road trip and need to pick up two points against the Blackhawks on Friday to return home.
Kyle MacLean is here to make the biggest impression on Casey Cizikas and fill in on the Islanders' fourth line in Cizikas' absence.
He earned the honor of being the team's first call-up from AHL Bridgeport, which was not due to nepotism but to an outstanding training camp and strong campaign in the minors thus far.
After five years in junior hockey, signing with the Isles as an undrafted free agent and spending four seasons in the minors, he has come a long way to the NHL.
“I always say if you want to do it, keep doing it,” John McLean said. “I've never had anyone come and say, 'Hey, buddy, get off the couch and come hang out with me.' So if you're playing, you've got a chance. If you like it, just keep playing. , that's kind of what he did.
“I was a first-round pick. It worked out well for me. You get extra looks here and there. Kyle didn't always get extra looks. He has to keep working. He did, he had to keep going. He enjoyed competing, he loved competing, so it's a credit to him more than anything that he was able to continue competing.”
Compared to his father, who scored 40 goals three times, Kyle is a completely different kind of player.
“You can tell he was there,” Cal Clutterbuck told the Post. “He understands the game from a fundamental standpoint. He's a smart player and can make reads that a lot of players his age and position struggle with. He does it well. He skates well, works very hard and has the ability to make some plays as well.”
These are qualities the Islanders look for in call-ups, with Simon Holmstrom being a prime example of this last season.
At the start of this year's camp, no one would have thought McLean would be on the team's first call-up.
That credit was given primarily to William Dufour.
But by early October, McClain was entering the conversation, especially if the Islanders needed a bottom-six player.
The opportunity is now here.
“I don't think it's going to change much,” Kyle MacLean said. “I'm going to play a responsible game, be a good two-way forward and work hard. I'm not going to change my game too much. Keep it simple and do the same thing I did over there. [in Bridgeport]. Try to act as effectively as possible here. ”
His mother Adrian and brother JC will also be in the stands. And his father will be right behind him on the bench, appreciating every step of the journey.
