Sam McCue set for 200th career OHL game

OTTAWA, ON – Ottawa 67’s overager Sam McCue has had quite the winding journey through junior hockey so far, starting in Peterborough and making pit stops in Owen Sound, Flint, and Brantford before finally landing with the 67’s as he’s set to suit up in his 200th OHL game on Sunday against Sarnia.

“Hitting 200 games in the OHL means a lot,” he said. “It’s been a long four years, but it’s also been a short four years.”

Being from northern Ontario and having his OHL draft campaign taken away by the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic led McCue to fall under the radar and slip to the seventh round. 

“My first year when we won the championship,” he said. “That was something special.”

“Being a late round pick, you are coming into camp and have to prove yourself,” he said. “You have to find your role pretty quick.”

McCue would find a spot on the Peterborough Petes, as one of the few youngsters on a competitive and veteran-forward team. He credits that season for building the work ethic that has carried him so far in his junior career and for later getting drafted to the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I wasn’t putting up all these points, or any of that,” he said of his early career adjustment to the league. “It was working hard every day and putting in the effort, being consistent,” he said. “That’s what I took out of my first year, watching the older group in the big championship run.”

“That really helped me come into the league the next year, in a bigger role.”

McCue has bounced around the league, having the opportunity to work under several different coaching staffs and with plenty of teammates. 

“It’s not easy making changes every year and meeting new teammates, staff, and systems, and how the team works day in and day out,” he said of his whirlwind career. “I think that’s made me a better player and better person.”

This has helped him develop into the plug-and-play style player he is now.

As for the recent trade to Ottawa, McCue is fitting in nicely. “It’s been pretty easy,” he said of the move. “I have great billets at home, great coaches, and great guys in the room.” 

“Obviously sucks getting injured,” he said of his debut with the team. “I think that injury helped me get closer to the teammates, just by being around with the training staff.”

Going back, McCue would echo the same words of wisdom his teammates told him.

“I remember my first day coming into the league and being told: ‘Enjoy it, it seems like it’s gonna be long, but it’s pretty quick.’”

“I’d tell my 16-year-old self to enjoy it,” he said. “Obviously, it’s just hockey; it’s fun.”

With his junior hockey career closing out, the Toronto Maple Leaf draft pick has one last goal on his mind.

“I’d love to win another OHL championship,” he said. “It’s a great team, we have a great group, great coaches, and I think we’re the team to do it.”