For Portland Winterhawks defender Conor MacEachern it’s a brief homecoming of sorts.
The 18-year old from Prince George is in his second season with Portland enjoying a regular spot on the blue-line with the likes of gold medal winning American defenceman Caleb Jones, Keoni Texeira, and Henri Jokiharju just to name a few.
In 30 games this year MacEachern has five points to go along with 33 penalty minutes.
MYPGNOW caught up with MacEachern after Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the Prince George Cougars at CN Centre and says playing in front of familiar faces gives him an extra boost on the ice. “It’s always good to comeback since you have a little more jump in your step seeing all the familiar faces as well.”
The local product played under long-time NHL assistant coach Jamie Compon during his rookie season where he collected two goals in 46 games played.
After the team’s playoff exit to the Everett Silvertips, Compon was fired by the Winterhawks and replaced by former bench boss Mike Johnston who was fired earlier that season by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins eventually won the Stanley Cup after the coaching change.
Johnston’s initial tenure with Portland saw no shortage of success playing in multiple league WHL Finals eventually reaching the 2013 Memorial Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and losing to the Halifax Mooseheads in the final game which featured NHL stars Jonathan Drouin and Nathan McKinnon.
Despite the changes over the off-season MacEachern believes his game has grown a notch or two since the spring. “I think I have improved quite a bit mostly just with my confidence and getting more touches with the puck and playing more.”
As for moving away from his hometown, MacEachern says the transition has been easier than expected. “Portland is a great city and the fans are great as well so the adjustments have been easy to make.”
The second year product also played with the Cariboo Cougars in the 2014-15 season collecting 17 points in 33 games.
The Winterhawks hope to earn a split against the Cougars on Wednesday evening at 7 o’clock from the CN Centre.