Local NHLer ‘breaks through’ in pro ranks - Randy Pascal

The world of professional sport is ripe with feel-good stories, but few hit closer to home last year than the season that was enjoyed by former Sudbury Wolves’ captain Derek MacKenzie.

Over the span of a 10-year career in professional hockey, MacKenzie had dressed for only 64 total NHL outings prior to the 2010-2011 campaign.

By contrast, his résumé in the American Hockey League (AHL) had expanded to include more than 500 games in the minors. His patience was rewarded over the past year as MacKenzie not only established a new high-water mark in games played, suiting up in 63 encounters for the Columbus Blue Jackets, but also set career highs in goals (9) and assists (14) while leading his team in plus-minus rankings.

By every standard imaginable, this was his best year. By no small coincidence, MacKenzie’s breakthrough performance coincided with the arrival of new head coach Scott Arniel.

“Deep down somewhere, I think he’s a guy who knows what it’s like to be in the minors, to be battling every game to try and get to that next level,” MacKenzie said before a recent workout at the Raymond Plourde Arena. “If it wasn’t for him, we might not be talking about the year I had in Columbus.”

MacKenzie reflected on his early ventures into the sport. “When I was drafted and first came into the league, I certainly wasn’t ready to play at the NHL level. I wasn’t strong enough, fast enough or good enough.”

It’s an assertion that few OHLers who achieve the kind of success that MacKenzie enjoyed in his junior days — donning the Team Canada jersey and representing the country at the World Junior Hockey Championships — are likely to make in their early 20s.

“Maybe in my own mind, I felt like I was a pretty well-rounded player when I played junior, but there’s so much to learn,” he said. “Going into the (AHL), I was a power play guy. Three or four years later, I’m a penalty kill guy. “I think the key is realizing I enjoy doing this ... and having the confidence to do it night in and night out.”

To be sure, there were moments of self-doubt. “When you consistently don’t make hockey teams coming out of training camp, you start to second guess what you’re not doing right.”

Validation came in spades last year. With limited ice time, MacKenzie finished fourth in hits for the Blue Jackets. His determination and tenacity earned the Columbus forward the team’s nomination for the Bill Masterton Award.

But the intensively competitive local product still fell short of his one true goal. “If I could have had all those stats and they helped lead us to a playoff berth for our team, that would have been what I would have considered as the most important thing.”

Now married with two young children, MacKenzie has a different perspective from the carefree introduction to the professional ranks.

“You always hear that family comes first and it really does,” he said. “Little things, like leaving for training camp ... now becomes a matter of shipping up everybody and moving them down, because it’s just too long to be away from them. They get so big so quick.”

As for the upcoming season, MacKenzie said he is hopeful his team can reach the final 16.
Through all the ups and downs of the past decade, MacKenzie has never lost touch with his roots, nor his appreciation for how blessed he is.

Constantly giving back to his community, MacKenzie recently undertook the challenge of helping organize a Hats for Heroes campaign in Sudbury. The golf tournament, being held today at Timberwolf, will raise funds for children on the local cancer ward.

MacKenzie’s is a feel-good story, all the way around.

Randy Pascal is the founder of SudburySports.com.

- Posted by Vivian Scinto