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Connor McMichael on his NHL debut: ‘This is what you work for your whole life’

By Ian Oland

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January 24, 2021 10:36 pm

Connor McMichael became the 38th youngest player in Capitals franchise history to make his NHL debut (20 years and 9 days old) on Sunday.

The accomplishment had Connor’s mother, Catherine, crying at home in Ajax, Ontario, and after the game, it had the Capitals’ top prospect getting sentimental.

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“It was really exciting,” McMichael said of his first game. “This is what you work for your whole life. Obviously, a little bit of nerves, but I thought I had a good game and I had a lot of fun.”

McMichael first found out that he would be in the lineup after practice on Saturday.

“[A]fter practice I got back to the hotel and Scott Arniel called me up and told me I would be playing,” McMichael said. “First person I texted were my parents. They were excited as well.”

McMichael didn’t light up the scoresheet during the game. Making his first start on the left wing of the second line, the Capitals 2019 first-round pick had one shot and took a penalty in 9:54 of ice time — all at even strength. Natural Stat Trick credited McMichael with two scoring chances and one high danger chance – a two-on-one chance with Richard Panik.

“You don’t want to overthink what you’re doing,” he said. “You just want to be yourself.

But it was that he could assimilate with his teammates so quickly and look like he belonged that most impressed head coach Peter Laviolette.

“I thought he was good,” Laviolette said. “It’s always a tall order jumping onto a team especially when you haven’t have a training camp. You’re coming out of quarantine. He’s had one real practice with the team. For him to jump into a competitive game like tonight, I thought he did a good job.”

Before the game, McMichael was given the rookie treatment – a solo lap around the rink before the rest of his teammates joined him during warmups. He considered that and first walking into the locker room as his welcome to the NHL moments. Seeing Taylor Hall and Jack Eichel lining up across him during the game was a jaw-dropping moment too. McMichael said that several Capitals teammates talked to him throughout the day to keep him relaxed.

“I mean they were all excited for me,” McMichael said. “They’ve been through it before. They knew I was probably nervous. They just made me comfortable out there. The guys were really excited.”

During the game, McMichael said that his “legs felt pretty good” despite having a long layoff after the 2021 World Junior Championship. McMichael was forced to quarantine for seven days in a Washington DC hotel room before getting back on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. He’s had an odd offseason; the OHL where he was likely to play this season never started due to the pandemic.

With Tom Wilson likely to be able to suit up on Tuesday, McMichael could find himself out of the lineup next game. But for now, one big goal is out of the way.

“Being able to play in the NHL is pretty cool,” he said.

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