Mackenzie MacEachern talks NHL Prospect Tournament, upcoming year with the Blues

 

By @MichaelCaples –

TRAVERSE CITY – Mackenzie MacEachern made the decision to sign with the St. Louis Blues at the conclusion of his junior season with the Michigan State Spartans.

Now, he’s getting his first true taste of professional hockey.

The Troy native and Brother Rice alum, a third-round pick of the Blues in 2012, has spent the last week competing with his new employer at the NHL Prospect Tournament in Traverse City.

In a tournament featuring incredibly talented players competing for jobs and roster spots, MacEachern said it’s been interesting to see how hockey turns from a hobby to a business.

“Obviously growing up you play hockey for fun,” MacEachern told MiHockey. “You’re still having fun, but it’s obviously a business now, so you’ve got to bring it every day. Like in college, you could say, ‘Oh, OK, I’ve got school to fall back on,” but now it’s just, ‘If you don’t play good, you’re out of it.’”

 

He said he is enjoying his first NHL Prospect Tournament experience, however.

“It was a lot of fun, obviously a new experience, a lot of great players, so that’s a lot of fun to play against,” the former Spartans star forward said after the Blues’ first game. “Just the whole experience in general, just took it in, getting my feet wet in the first pro experience. It was an awesome experience overall.

“It was tough. Today, everyone’s kind of fighting for a job. They want to make it to training camp and make it to the big league or the AHL so you could tell everyone wants it.”

MORE FROM PROSPECT TOURNEY: Zach Werenski | Brandon Halverson | Photo Gallery

He had plenty of familiar faces on the ice in that first contest. MacEachern was trying to score on former teammate Jake Hildebrand, who was tending goal for the Chicago Blackhawks, and he was competing against Tyler Motte, a player MacEachern competed against in games with the University of Michigan for all three seasons.

“I can’t get away from [Motte], but it’s good to be on the other side of it,” MacEachern said. “In college, he kind of had the upper hand, but it’s good to take the W against him and Hildy.”

 

MacEachern was disappointed that he couldn’t get a shot past Hildebrand, but he did note that the Blues’ prospects picked up a 4-3 win.

“It was really weird,” MacEachern said. “Every time I skated by [Hildebrand], I’d always just smile at him, so it was hard to take him serious, but at the end of the day, it’s a business so you’ve got to tie the skates and go to work.”

The former Mr. Hockey winner said his goal for the prospect tournament is to set himself up for a strong showing at the Blues’ main training camp.

“Just set the bar high for myself going into training camp,” MacEachern said. “Just get my feet wet, get everything going and get the confidence going into training camp because we get right back, one day off and we’re back at training camp. Just keep the body fresh, just take everything in and learn a lot.”

And how is he handling the grind of the preseason schedule? MacEachern acknowledged it’s a lot of skating for young prospects, who will leave the tournament in Traverse City and basically head right to their respective teams’ main training camps.

“When you think about it, yeah, but if you take it day-by-day it’s not too bad. I mean, I’ve been playing hockey since I was four, so it’s just another day, but it’s definitely going to be a lot of work going forward.”