You Play. Chicken Soup for the Hockey Player's Soul

Brad McClure has helped lead Minnesota State
to 98 wins in the last four seasons

What do you do when something is part of your family culture?

What do you do when your dad first put a pair of skates on your feet when you were three years old?  What do you do when you play three years of junior hockey, but leave home, almost 2,500 miles away, to play a couple more years with the idea that it will lead to even more years of doing something you really like doing?  What do you do when, after moving again, this time to Minnesota, with a chance to play four more years?

The answer is you play.  For as long as you can. This is the life of a hockey soul.

“As far back as I can remember, I’ve always like the atmosphere of the game,” says Minnesota State senior winger Brad McClure.  “Hockey requires you to think at a high pace and the game is constantly changing, you have to continuously learn and develop as a player in order to be successful. The thing I love about hockey now is how competitive it is. Winning is what drives me weather that’s in practice or a game and the opportunity to be a difference maker is something that fuels me every day.”

McClure played three seasons of junior hockey with his hometown Stratford (Ont.) Cullitons before heading west for Penticton of the British Columbia Hockey League.  “The best decision of my life,” led to 85 goals and 74 assists for 159 points in 137 games and a stint serving as team captain of the Vees, which led to a scholarship offer from Minnesota State. 

Now into his fourth season with the Mavericks, McClure has totaled 43 goals and 45 assists with his 88 points in 153 games placing him in the top 25 all-time at the school in terms of career scoring. He, along with C.J. Suess and Max Coatta, is serving as a team captain this year. The 2017-18 season has plenty of games left, but Minnesota State has racked up 98 victories in McClure’s time with the program.

Mike Hastings, who is in his sixth season as head coach of the Mavericks, says that the success of the program aligning with McClure’s time with the team is no coincidence.

“He’s the kind of player that can win you a game,” said Hastings, who has led Minnesota State to three NCAA tournament appearances.  “But he’s much more than a scorer now. He plays a multidimensional game and has developed into a player that you can rely upon. You sometimes miss players when they graduate and you sometimes miss people.  I’m going to miss him for both reasons. He’s a “we” guy and been a great leader for us, taken the responsibility of being a captain seriously and served as a role model for our underclassmen.”

McClure, who came to Minnesota State with the reputation of not only being a goal-scorer, but also a player who scored big goals, has built upon that reputation over the course of his collegiate career.  As a freshman he scored the last three goals in the WCHA Final Five Championship game in a 5-2 win over Michigan Tech. He has eight career game-winning goals, but both the player and the coach agree that McClure’s game has evolved.

“I try to play an honest 200-foot game and have become pretty reliable defensively,” said McClure, who will graduate with a degree in interdisciplinary studies this spring. “And, I’d like to think that I can be slotted in on any of the lines and maybe provide an offensive spark.”

“He’s always had the word “goal scorer” attached to his name,”  adds Hastings. “But I think he’s learned to put a few more eggs in his basket. He’s learned to be a better defender. He’s always been a special teams player for us.  You feel like the next shift will be the one that he’s going to score, but he’s really rounded out his game and he’s really a complete player that can also be dangerous that can change the course of the game with that one shift.”

With the the league postseason tournament and a potential run through the NCAA tournament looming, McClure knows there’s still some unfinished business.

“Coming into the season, with this group, our goals haven’t changed.  We want to win the MacNaughton Cup. We want to win the Broadmoor Trophy. And we want to get to the NCAA tournament.  That being said, I think we’re pretty good at focusing at one game at a time and not getting to far in front of ourselves.”

Graduation and a postgraduation career awaits. Until then you do what you’ve always do.

You play.

                                                                    Paul Allan | Minnesota State Associate Director of Athletics