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Prospect Update: Mason McTavish

Photo: NHL

By Thomas Harrington

Anaheim’s first round pick from 2021, center Mason McTavish, played for Anaheim, San Diego, Peterborough, Hamilton, Team Canada at the World Juniors, and Team Canada at the Olympics this past season.

McTavish had an excellent training camp, including scoring a goal in four preseason games, and made Anaheim’s roster at the start of the season. He had a goal and an assist in his first career game against Winnipeg, and had two goals and three points in nine games with Anaheim overall. He also played in three games for the Gulls, scoring a goal and two points, while playing primarily on the second line. He was assigned to the AHL on a conditioning assignment after returning from injury.

Ultimately, it was decided to send him back to juniors because it was a numbers game in Anaheim. McTavish is a center; the Ducks simply had too many centers last season, so to give him enough ice time playing his natural position, he was sent back to junior hockey and the Peterborough Petes. Shortly after joining them, he left to play for Team Canada at the World Juniors, which was canceled because of the pandemic. Soon after returning to the Petes, he was traded to the Hamilton Bulldogs. McTavish was traded for two players, three draft picks, and a conditional draft pick. He played in only five games with the Petes but scored six goals and seven points. With Hamilton, McTavish played in 24 games and scored 14 goals and 40 points. 

Shortly after joining Hamilton, McTavish was off to the Winter Olympics, playing for Team Canada. He played in five games and picked up an assist. The Bulldogs made the playoffs and won the OHL Championship. McTavish played in all 19 playoff games and scored 16 goals and 29 points. By winning the OHL Championship, the Hamilton Bulldogs qualified for the Memorial Cup, where the best teams in Canadian Junior Hockey meet. They ended up finishing second in the tournament, as the Saint John Sea Dogs won the tournament. In five games, McTavish scored six goals and eight points, finishing tied for first in points and second in goals. He was playing banged up in the tournament, but was still one of the best players at it.

McTavish was on Team Canada when the World Juniors were originally played back in December. He scored three goals and five points in two games when it was canceled. When it was rescheduled for August, he once again played for Team Canada and was their captain this time around. McTavish truly had a tournament for the ages, scoring eight goals and 17 points to lead the tournament in goals, points, and tied for the lead in assists. He was named to the All-Star Team, the top forward, and MVP of the tournament. Mctavish became the second straight Anaheim prospect to be named MVP of the tournament after Trevor Zegras was the World Juniors MVP in 2021. However, McTavish’s best play wasn’t on offense, it was when he saved a goal that would have had Finland win the tournament. He batted a puck out of midair that would have ended the game in overtime. Shortly after that Canada scored to win the gold.

McTavish is a power forward with a lethal shot and skates very well. He’s got tons of skill, but plays a much more physical game than Trevor Zegras. He’s fearless on the ice and doesn’t back down regardless of who he’s playing against. In junior hockey, McTavish has been able to just dominate when he’s on the ice. There will certainly be an adjustment period for him in the NHL, but he’s got the kind of skill that can take over a game. He’s actually worked to refine his game over this past season and now plays more than just a power game.

This coming season, there are two options for McTavish: either continue dominating junior hockey in the OHL, or play in the NHL for the Ducks. As a Canadian junior player, he’s not eligible for the AHL for another year. At this point, I don’t think McTavish has anything left to prove or even learn playing in the OHL, and I think we’ll see him lining up for the Ducks on opening night. If for whatever reason McTavish doesn’t spend this entire year in Anaheim, I’m confident he will be a full time Duck for the 2023-2024 season.

I have a couple of expectations for McTavish this year, and they are all based around him being in Anaheim. If he is back in juniors, he should be one of the best players in the OHL. First, I want him to play in a majority of Anaheim’s games. If he’s scratched for a game or two to help him reset his head, that’s fine. This past season, Jamie Drysdale led Anaheim rookies with 81 games, while Trevor Zegras played in 75. It would be fantastic to see him play a similar number of games to both of them, but I’ll be satisfied with 60 or more games. Second, while I’m not going to expect him to win the Calder Trophy or even be among its finalists, I do want him to at least be in the discussion and talked about as one of the better rookies in the NHL. Finally, I expect him to get some time on the powerplay and put up some points on the man advantage.

McTavish is already signed to an entry-level contract and I expect it to begin this year. He’ll be a restricted free agent in three years, and assuming he develops as hoped, I fully expect him to be re-signed, likely to a one-way contract and possibly to a long term extension. If he’s become a solid NHL player with room to grow, then he may get a bridge deal, but if he’s looking like a future top NHL center in three years, he’ll get a significant extension, possibly even a max deal of eight years.

With the prospect updates now completed, next up I’ll be ranking Anaheim’s prospect positions.

Related Articles:

Prospect Update: Artyom Galimov

Prospect Update: Albin Sundsvik

Prospect Update: Sam Colangelo

Prospect Update: Sasha Pastujov

Prospect Update: Olen Zellweger

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September 24th, 2022

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