MacKenzie Feeling Healthy and Confident Heading Into Season
Edmonton, Alta. – The injury bug was a theme that seemed to follow the Edmonton Oil Kings during the 2023/2024 season, with 40 different skaters playing in at least one game for the club.
One player that certainly wasn’t immune to that injury bug was 2006-born defenceman Ethan MacKenzie who had an upper body injury keep him out of the lineup for 42 games between mind-November and early March. MacKenzie did ultimately return to the blue line for seven games and put up seven points for the Oil Kings.
MacKenzie said he took the summer to make sure his injury was healed, and he feels confident as he heads into his third WHL season with the Oil Kings. He said getting in a few games at the end of the year were big for his confidence.
“All year I was just down in the dumps pretty much, I couldn’t play a game,” MacKenzie said. “I was just sitting there watching. Around Christmas time we weren’t having the best games, so I just wanted to get back and help.”
MacKenzie said he’s learned over his years at camp how to manage his body to make sure his body is right for the season.
“Got to have good cool downs, got to have good warmups,” he said. “Take care of your body really strong for the first couple of days so you can manage that three week stretch.”
Heading into another season, MacKenzie said now that he is healthy, he hopes to continue building his offensive game with more shots and doing a better job moving the puck out of the defensive zone.
The Bob McGill Cup will conclude Main Camp on Sunday morning at 11 a.m. at the Downtown Community Arena.
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