Mitch Calvert
There’s a former Muskie in the self-proclaimed “Catfish Capital of the World,” but he certainly doesn’t look like a fish out of water.
Mike McCaig, who spent the last three seasons with the Fort High boys’ hockey team, has now taken his act to Selkirk—more known for its Red River catfish—to play for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League’s Steelers this winter.
“It’s a nice town, my billets [Michelle and Perry Vernaus] treat me excellent, and it’s a fun place to play,” McCaig enthused.
The 18-year-old was first scouted by the Steelers during a high school tournament in Winnipeg last winter. The scout, Ray Neufeld, contacted him again this summer to come and try out for a spot on the team.
And the results couldn’t have gone any better so far.
“We’ve just played two [regular-season] games, but it’s going really well,” remarked McCaig.
“They’ve been putting me on the power play and the penalty kill, but have been moving guys around and feeling things out to see who they want paired up with who,” added the defensive defenceman. “I’m not too sure what their direction is, but I think I’ve done some good things while I’ve been here.”
The Fort High graduate picked up an assist on a late power-play goal in the Steelers’ 9-3 rout of the Winkler Flyers on Sept. 16, and appears to be adjusting well to the higher level of play.
“It’s a lot faster, a lot stronger guys,” McCaig noted. “There’s just a lot more depth and older guys, and it just makes for stronger hockey.”
McCaig said the Steelers have high hopes of winning the league and representing the Prairies in the Royal Bank Cup.
“We play in a division where we play the Winnipeg Saints and teams like that, so the farthest we travel is when we play the OCN Blizzard, and they are about six or seven hours up north,” McCaig noted.
“We expect to make it to the Royal Bank Cup and our team is capable of that,” he stressed.
As for McCaig’s long-term aspirations with hockey? He’s just taking it one game, and one year, at a time.
“If I decide that hockey is over [after this season], then I’m going to go to university. But I’m not too sure what the future holds and I’m just focusing on this year of hockey, and we’ll see what happens after that,” he reasoned.
