The Ravensburg TowerStars of Germany announced the signing of former Carleton hockey player and captain Brandon MacLean last month.
“Brandon is highly dangerous and uncompromising,” TowerStars head coach Daniel Naud told EIS Hockey News. The team also cited MacLean’s passion for the game and his professional attitude as advantages to signing the former Raven.
MacLean said the jump to playing in Germany was a premeditated one.
“My player agent threw my name out there to coaches and scouts in Europe and expressed my intent to move over there,” MacLean said in an email. “I had an offer the next day.”
Now preparing to make the move overseas, MacLean said he is looking forward to the challenge.
“I think ultimately I look forward to playing hockey on a bigger ice surface. I want to see how my game will fair with more open ice skating, which I believe is more of my forte,” MacLean said.
MacLean was an integral member of the Ravens for his four-year tenure on the team, from 2008 to 2012. In his final year, MacLean played with the “C” on his jersey and tied for fifth in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) scoring ranks.
Under head coach Marty Johnston, MacLean played a significant role in the transformation of the men’s hockey program. The Ravens made the playoffs every year MacLean was on the team. MacLean led the team in scoring every year he played, notching 143 points in 108 games.
“The Carleton Ravens men’s hockey program wishes its former captain the best in his new hockey journey, and thanks him for his contributions in helping to build the program into what it is today,” the organization said in a press release.
MacLean has competed in more than 160 games at the professional level, with three different minor pro teams. The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds drafted him in 2003, and he played for the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team for three years.
After graduating from Carleton, MacLean played for the Florida Everblades of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). During his three-year tenure with the team, MacLean was an ECHL Kelly Cup champion and assistant captain for two years.
After leaving the Everblades, MacLean played for the Rochester Americans and St. John’s IceCaps on loan. His status with the St. John’s IceCaps was confirmed for the 2014-2015 season and MacLean played all 40 games of the season.
The move overseas will be MacLean’s first time playing in a European league.
