This offseason has seen a handful (or more) unexpected moves between teams and one of these moves occurred yesterday at 7:02pm, when Chris McKay and the Glasgow Clan head coach Corey Neilson sealed the deal and McKay joined the west coast club.
Chris McKay made his Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) last season with the Dundee Stars under Marc LeFebvre. McKay was signed as a top 9 D-man and he played regular 3rd line minutes. McKay has some experience of professional hockey from his two seasons in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), where he played for three teams being the Toledo Walleye, Florida Everblades, and the Wichita Thunder. He played alongside Xaiver Poullet and Quinn Preston before all three of them made the move to the EIHL (Quinn Preston went to the Belfast Giants). He also played against some players who also joined the EIHL, such as; Michael Pelech (He signed for Glasgow Clan last season and has re-signed for the 24/25 season), Ara Nazarian (signed for the Belfast Giants), and Oliver Cooper (signed for Belfast Giants).
Chris McKay was a D-man who liked to be physical but smart about his game. He would regularly throw the body when needed but also could poke check the puck away before you can notice. McKay was a two way forward meaning he had brilliant defensive awareness but also had a strong offensive awareness meaning he could play a 200 foot game.
He didn’t put up many goals for the Stars however, if the game went to shootout you would commonly see McKay being one of the shooters and he would regularly score on those attempts. His offensive awareness allows him to plan his offensive plays quite quickly allowing smooth transitions from one end of the ice to the other. McKay was a good passer, consistently hitting saucer passes to his teammates along the boards and also hitting the odd bank pass of the boards.
One slight down side to McKay’s game is the frequent clumsy penalties he would take. Regularly McKay would find himself in the sin bin for penalties like tripping and slashing. Whilst having a good stick checking ability he would often try too much and get his stick caught up in the players skate causing a tripping penalty. Slashing calls can sometimes be soft calls but often not; McKay found himself sitting for too much, meaning when he is stick checking he is often hitting the players stick too hard or in situations where it isn’t needed.
McKay is a good addition to the Glasgow Clan team as he fits perfectly into their top 9 D-men. He has a great analytical offence (according to EIHL expert Joe Maciag) and this will contribute massively to the Clan making him a handy player to have on the penalty kill as he is able to read the plays as the PK occurs allowing him to intercept passes and clear them out of the zone. He will bring his amazing defensive awareness to the club which will be handy if Neilson wants a solid back core for the team which they had lacked in the previous season.
The Neilson era is looking great so far, with some big seasons occurring and many more to come. He has built a solid defence so far and will look to keep adding more strength to it. With this addition of McKay it is one step closer to change for the club, which fans have been waiting for since the pre covid when Zach Fitzgerald was head coach.
Author of Article: Calan Yule
Editor: Calan Yule
Proofread By: Will Harris
© EIHL News Central
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