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Edmonton Journal
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Edmonton Journal
‘He's a bit of a throwback': Meet Calgary Flames third-round pick Mace'o Phillips
Article content On Friday night, shortly after the Calgary Flames called his name in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, Cullen Potter fielded several questions about his mom. An obvious angle, since Jenny won four Olympic medals during an illustrious hockey career. Article content The following day, when the Flames welcomed Mace'o Phillips to the fold, the heavy-hitting blue-liner wanted to brag a bit about his own mother, Amy. Article content 'She's kind of the reason I am who I am today,' Phillips said. 'She is the first person I hugged when I got picked. I can't thank her enough for all she's done for me.' Amy has been a pillar of strength for this defence prospect from Wayzata, Minn., raising Mace'o and his sister as a single parent. She was also a heck of an athlete in her own right. During the draft broadcast, they mentioned that Amy competed in gymnastics and soccer. According to her son, who has spent the past two seasons with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (USNTDP), there was another sport that they forgot to mention. 'Her eighth-grade year, she was out in the field at Apple Valley High School here in Minnesota and she was just kicking some field goals with her friends,' Phillips said. 'And the boys' football coach saw her kicking field goals and they asked her to be the kicker for the boys' football team in high school. Article content 'So I definitely get some of that athleticism from her.' Potter and Phillips, two of the eight prospects selected by the Flames in the 2025 NHL Draft, are actually close friends. They both hail from Minnesota and were teammates with the USNTDP in 2023-24. Everything College Hockey recently filmed a day-in-the-life feature on Potter, who has already played his freshman season with the Arizona State Sun Devils, and Phillips makes a cameo as his pickleball partner. You can bet these buddies have been volleying back and forth about eventually becoming fan faves in Calgary. Just like Jenny was a speedster on skates, Cullen can absolutely fly. This potential pivot is now the fastest player in the Flames' pipeline and has the soft hands required to make offensive plays at high pace. While Mace'o moves well for his size, he is less dash and more smash. Article content At 6-foot-6 and 233 pounds, he would also be an appealing football recruit. He plays an aggressive, imposing brand and led the USNTDP in penalty minutes this winter, with 103. There is a former NHL tough guy on the Flames' amateur scouting staff, and he can vouch for Phillips' grip strength. 'I think he almost broke Jim Cummins' hand in the interview, and Jim is a big man too,' grinned general manager Craig Conroy. 'So I'm like, 'Oh, this is gonna be fun.' 'He's a bit of a throwback — big, heavy, hard,' Conroy added of Phillips. 'If the game gets going a certain way, I think he's going to be right in the middle of that game. As a player, I always liked having those guys on my team. When I think back, I guess everybody always thinks, 'Oh, you must have liked playing with all the skill.' But it's nice playing with people that you know they have your back and they're going to play hard, be physical and just make it miserable to play against. Article content 'It's something that we wanted to have. We wanted to get, I call it a throwback — a big, heavy, hard guy on the back-end. He fits that mould.' Patience will be required, but the Flames hope that Phillips can eventually add some brawn to a blue-line crew that is well-stocked with offensive danglers. He'll skate next season with either the WHL's Portland Winterhawks or the USHL's Green Bay Gamblers and then has committed to the University of Minnesota. As he chases his NHL dream, Phillips will need to show he can be counted on for a fast and accurate first pass. Although he totalled only two goals and six points in 60 games during his draft year, scouts will tell you he has a howitzer of a shot. 'I'd say I'm a physically dominant defenceman,' Phillips said. 'I take pride in being hard to play against. I just want to win a Stanley Cup for the Calgary Flames and shut down top lines and intimidate my opponents with my physicality and contribute offensively as well, at the right times. I play with a lot of compete and high energy, so I'm just super excited to showcase that. Article content 'Just my passion for the game and my will to win is why I play so hard. I'll also do anything for my teammates and team to win, so I think that's a part of it too. I always like to let my teammates know I have their back, on and off the ice.' On what turned out to be a special Saturday, he was reminded how many people have his back. Amy earns credit for another big assist on this one. 'My mom actually threw me a surprise draft party at a local restaurant, upstairs in a private room,' said Phillips, guesstimating there were about 70 people in attendance. 'When we saw my name, everybody got up and was screaming. I broke down in tears. I really didn't think I was going to cry, but I just immediately hugged my mom. 'I'm kind of at a loss for words, honestly. I'm just so thankful for the opportunity. I couldn't be more excited to be a Flame.' Latest National Stories
Calgary Herald
18 hours ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
‘He's a bit of a throwback': Meet Calgary Flames third-round pick Mace'o Phillips
Article content On Friday night, shortly after the Calgary Flames called his name in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, Cullen Potter fielded several questions about his mom. Article content An obvious angle, since Jenny won four Olympic medals during an illustrious hockey career. Article content The following day, when the Flames welcomed Mace'o Phillips to the fold, the heavy-hitting blue-liner wanted to brag a bit about his own mother, Amy. Article content Article content 'She's kind of the reason I am who I am today,' Phillips said. 'She is the first person I hugged when I got picked. I can't thank her enough for all she's done for me.' Article content Article content Amy has been a pillar of strength for this defence prospect from Wayzata, Minn., raising Mace'o and his sister as a single parent. Article content She was also a heck of an athlete in her own right. Article content During the draft broadcast, they mentioned that Amy competed in gymnastics and soccer. According to her son, who has spent the past two seasons with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (USNTDP), there was another sport that they forgot to mention. Article content 'Her eighth-grade year, she was out in the field at Apple Valley High School here in Minnesota and she was just kicking some field goals with her friends,' Phillips said. 'And the boys' football coach saw her kicking field goals and they asked her to be the kicker for the boys' football team in high school. Article content Article content 'So I definitely get some of that athleticism from her.' Article content Article content Potter and Phillips, two of the eight prospects selected by the Flames in the 2025 NHL Draft, are actually close friends. Article content They both hail from Minnesota and were teammates with the USNTDP in 2023-24. Everything College Hockey recently filmed a day-in-the-life feature on Potter, who has already played his freshman season with the Arizona State Sun Devils, and Phillips makes a cameo as his pickleball partner.
Ottawa Citizen
a day ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Calgary & Lethbridge to be host cities for the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge
Article content Calgary and Lethbridge will the host cities for the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge. Article content The first game of the two-game series will take place on Tuesday, November 25 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, while the second contest will be held the following night on Wednesday, November 26 at Arena in Lethbridge. Article content Article content First introduced in 2024, the CHL USA Prospects Challenge is a two-game series that sees the top NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL's Member Leagues (WHL, OHL & QMJHL) compete against those from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP) Under-18 Team. Article content Article content 'We are thrilled to bring the CHL USA Prospects Challenge to Calgary and Lethbridge this November,' said Dan MacKenzie, President of the CHL. 'These two passionate hockey communities will provide an exceptional backdrop to highlight the CHL's top prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, giving fans in both of these markets the opportunity to see a premier best-on-best competition featuring the next generation of NHL talent. This event not only highlights elite competition but also strengthens the cross-border rivalry that makes this series so compelling for fans and scouts alike.' Article content Article content
Calgary Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- Calgary Herald
Calgary & Lethbridge to be host cities for the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge
Article content Calgary and Lethbridge will the host cities for the 2025 CHL USA Prospects Challenge. Article content The first game of the two-game series will take place on Tuesday, November 25 at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, while the second contest will be held the following night on Wednesday, November 26 at Arena in Lethbridge. Article content Article content First introduced in 2024, the CHL USA Prospects Challenge is a two-game series that sees the top NHL Draft-eligible prospects from the CHL's Member Leagues (WHL, OHL & QMJHL) compete against those from USA Hockey's National Team Development Program (NTDP) Under-18 Team. Article content Article content 'We are thrilled to bring the CHL USA Prospects Challenge to Calgary and Lethbridge this November,' said Dan MacKenzie, President of the CHL. 'These two passionate hockey communities will provide an exceptional backdrop to highlight the CHL's top prospects eligible for the 2026 NHL Draft, giving fans in both of these markets the opportunity to see a premier best-on-best competition featuring the next generation of NHL talent. This event not only highlights elite competition but also strengthens the cross-border rivalry that makes this series so compelling for fans and scouts alike.' Article content Article content
Boston Globe
2 days ago
- Sport
- Boston Globe
James Hagens starts his career with Bruins Monday, but he'll probably be back playing at Boston College in the fall
Good luck, one and all (said best in the lamenting tone of 'Goodbye, Farewell and Amen'). James Hagens, a rising sophomore at Boston College and one of the draft's more talented fresh faces, found out Friday night that his hopes matched those of the Bruins. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The four-day camp for Hagens mainly will be just a way to get acquainted with his pro-to-be environs, even if, whith BC just up the street, it won't seem all that new to him. Advertisement 'It'll feel good,' Hagens said late Friday night, when asked his thoughts on his Monday debut. 'We skated at Warrior a bunch of times this year for [BC] practices so it's not like it's going to be nerve-racking or anything. I know a bunch of the prospects that'll be there.' Advertisement Now, sure, it would be one great thing if Hagens, a left-shot center, turned out to be the franchise's next Patrice Bergeron, able to take that humongous step from amateur hockey right into the bigs (albeit as a winger for the then- teenaged Bergeron). Even greater still if Hagens tracked like Ray Bourque, who made that same junior-to-NHL jump as the No. 8 pick in 1979, and immediately put down tracks, beginning at age 18, to become the blueliner to collect the most goals (410), most assists (1,169) and most points (1,579) in NHL history. Yessir, how GM Don Sweeney would love to pause, drop his menu and tell the waitress, 'I'll have what Harry Sinden had.' What could — again, could — be realistic for the 5-foot-11-inch Hagens, who earlier this year won World Junior gold with Team USA, is a second season with the BC varsity in which he boosts his freshman offensive output of a point-per-game (11-26–37). Remember, he had yet to turn 18 when he entered class at Chestnut Hill last fall. From an age perspective, he was a true freshman in Hockey East, with some of the opposing playing stock five and six years older. Such an age spread can be difficult for some kids. 'There's no shame in the type of year he had …,' said Sweeney, while noting that the college game is dotted with players of equal age putting up bigger numbers, '... playing on the top line with one of the top teams in the country. There's no concern on our part in thinking he took a step back [from his time with the National Team Development Program] from a production standpoint. He'll be perfectly fine from a production standpoint — and that's why we drafted him. We feel he's a guy who can help generate offensively, continue to round out his 200-foot game … and he's produced at every level he's been.' Advertisement Sweeney believes there's a chance that Hagens, based on what could be BC's overall offensive needs in 2025-26, will take a more shot-first approach his sophomore season. If so, his numbers could rise from the 11 he potted as a freshman, which ranked fifth on the Maroon and Gold and less than half the team-high 30 posted by Ryan Leonard, who was often his linemate. Leonard turned pro with the Capitals immediately after BC's season. If Hagens beefed up his numbers, and added a bit of size (180 pounds) and stamina, the next big/logical step could be turning pro with AHL Providence next spring. Sound familiar? It's precisely that path that fellow Long Islander Charlie McAvoy followed in 2016-17 as a sophomore at Boston University. McAvoy, then 19, posted 5-21—26 in Year Two as a Terrier — numbers in virtual lockstep with his freshman season — and turned pro with the WannaBs that spring. After only four games with Providence, he joined the varsity and made his Bruins debut in the 2017 playoffs vs. the Senators. Now 595 NHL games later, including 91 in the playoffs, it looks like the plan worked. Advertisement Sweeney's mantra: 'every player in his time,' never changes. He believes, and is largely correct, that the kids call the tune, that their progress as amateurs is what most determines the timeline. Granted, it was decades ago, but as an undersized Crimson defenseman, Sweeney felt he needed all four years at Harvard after the Bruins made him the 166th pick in the '84 draft. He was right, and it worked for him. Without directly saying it, or expressing it, Sweeney late Friday night was telling Hagens to go out this year at BC and show he's ready for the show. The Bruins sure could use a kid who kicks down the door, in Bergeron and Bourque style. Oh, to dream. Sweeney also noted that most, if not all, 18-year-olds figure on draft day, if not for a year or two before, that their time is now. Today. Let the games begin! History shows, and painfully in some cases, that not to be the case. Exhibit A: of the 224 players chosen in last June's draft at Las Vegas, only six of those teeny boppers logged regular-season NHL games this past season. Their total: 105 games. Only one, San Jose's Macklin Celebrini (70 of those 105 games) was a bona fide regular. Hope shapes the NHL Draft. Reality is, the show has just begun, and the sorting out begins with that first drop of the puck at Monday's camp. Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at
