CHICAGO — John MacLean was not always the parent ferryin🦂g his sons to and from hockey tournaments, but he does remember well the first time Kyle ste⛦pped on the ice as a kid.
“Probably yelling at the other fathers,” John MacLean joked Thursday after the Islanders finished practice. “Give them the puck, let’s 🎶go. There’s not much co🍃aching going on, let them enjoy it for a little bit.
“He took 🍨to it. He’s always been around, whether it’s road hockey or whatever, he’s always had lacrosse, he’s always had his stick in hi🌼s hand and just enjoyed playing sports.”
Kyle MacLean said that his dad has “always been a coach to me” but in reality, that was rarely literal.
John, tied up in NHL coaching gigs in New Jersey, Carolina, Arizona, San Jose and now Long Island, coached his younger son in Mighty Mites, but was mostly busy with work while Kyle maಞde his way up the ranks.
That will m♊ake Friday night all the more meaningful whenꦑ Kyle steps onto the ice for his NHL debut with the Islanders, with his dad standing behind him as one of Lane Lambert’s assistant coaches.
“It’s pretty cool,” Kyle MacLean said. “Not many people get this, I guess, so definitely special. It’s cool seeing him around here. I guess it’s business n🦩ow, we both have a job. He’s a coach and I got a job to do as well. But it is special for sure.”
Never Miss a Story
Sign up to get the best stories🎃 straꦑight to your inbox.
Thank you
Father and son both made clear that the pesky matter of winning hockey ga꧑mes comes before this feel-good story.
The Islanders, in the midst of a ꦆwinless road ꧙trip, very much need to come home with two points against the Blackhawks on Friday.
Kyle ܫMacLean is here to do his best Casey Cizik🌳as impression and fill in on the Islanders’ fourth line with Cizikas out.
He earned the distinction of being the team’s first call-up from AHL Bridgeport not through nepotism but via a🦄 standout training camp and a strong campaign so far in the minors.
After five years in junior hockey, s🅠igning with the Isles as an undrafted free agent and spending four seasons in the minors, he has taken the long way to the NHL.
“I always say if you want to do it, keep doing it,” John MacLean said. “No one’s ever come and said, 🧸‘Hey buddy, get off the couch and come play with us.’ So if you’re playing, there’s an ꦬopportunity. If you love it, just keep playing and that’s kinda what he did.
“I was a first-round pick. It worked out for me. You get extra looks here and there. Kyle didn’t get extra looks all the time. He had to keep working, he had to keep going. He enjoyed it and he loves the comp♋etition, so it’s a credit to him more than anything else that he was able to stick with it.”
Compared to his dad, a three-ꦺtime 40-goal scorer, Kyle is a completely different kind of player.
“You can tell he’s been around,” Cal Clutterbuck told The Post. “Understands the game from a fundamental perspective. He’s a smart pla🌺yer who can make reads that a lot of players his age and position struggle with. He does that well. He skates well, works extremely hard and he’s got the ability to make some plays, as well.”
Those are qualities the Islanders have show🍌n th꧋emselves to prize in call-ups, with Simon Holmstrom being a prime example last season.
At the start of camp this year, no one would have said MacLean was in 🔯the running to be the team’s first call-up.
That distinction mostly went to William Dufour.
By early October, though,💟 MacLean had put himself in the conversation, particularly if the Islanders needed a bottom-sixer.
Now, opportunity is knocking.
“I think I’m not gonna change much,” Kyle MacLean said. “I’m just gonna try to play a responsible game,𓃲 be a good two-way forward, work hard. I’m not gonna change too much in my game. Just keep it simple, do the same thing I did down there [in Bridgeport]. Try to be as effective as possible up here.”
His mom, Adrienne, and brother, J.C., will be in the stands. And his dad will be right behind him on the bench, appreciating every steಌp of the journey.