Ravens men’s hockey player Michael McNamee recently wrapped up his fourth and final season with the team this past February.
Prior to playing at Carleton, he played 121 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, as well as suiting up for the Smiths Falls Bears in the Central Canada Hockey League for three seasons.
On Feb. 28, after wrapping up his season with the Ravens, McNamee signed an amateur try-out contract with the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League.
He spoke to The Charlatan about his memories of his time as a Raven, as well as his pro hockey aspirations.
The Charlatan (TC): What would you say is your fondest memory playing for the Ravens?
Michael McNamee (MM): I don’t know, we were pretty successful in my four years, especially since the Ravens sort of came back as a program, I know making it to Nationals in my first year. I think it was the first time for the program too, so that was pretty special and then we went back to Nationals in my third year and we had a pretty good run at it and felt we had a great team but came up a little short. There’s a lot of memories that come to mind, both personal and team, and I was just happy I could spend my four years at Carleton and help the program grow, and at the same time the program helped me grow and you can’t say thank you enough to [head coach] Marty [Johnston] and the coaching staff and everyone else around.
TC: You were the captain this season— what does it mean to be the captain of the Ravens?
MM: It was pretty good, a good honour. I wasn’t really expecting it. In my four years, we had some pretty good captains, and you just learn from them and try and take away some of the little things that they do and how they carry themselves on and off the ice.
This year I tried to not let the captaincy change the way I acted or played. I’m not the most vocal human being in the world, but if there is something I can do it is go out there and work hard. To be captain at a school like Carleton is obviously special and its something that I’ll hold with me forever.
TC: So you are now in Syracuse and have played a few games. What is different in that level of play? What do you like about it?
MM: It’s pretty crazy to be honest with you. It’s very eye-opening. It’s been both a tough and exciting three days. I got to play in my first three games in the last three days. Obviously the hockey is at a higher level. There’s bigger, stronger, faster guys and you have to make decisions at a faster level. I’m trying to find my confidence and be able to do what I did in university and I understand that it’s going to take time for that to come. But as a whole, it’s a learning curve and that’s what I’m here for. It’s obviously new to me and I want to be a professional hockey player for as long I can and I’m willing to be patient and understand that being here is for me to learn and to watch the guys that have been here, and I just hope I can continue to grow as a player.
TC: What is the ultimate goal for you? Where do you see yourself?
MM: The NHL is the goal for a lot of hockey players. You hear stories about older guys getting chances later in their careers. I’m 24, next year I’ll be 25, so I understand that I’m getting up there in terms of being able to go to the NHL and the age limit for that. But I want to play professional hockey for as long as I can and make a living out of it. Ever since I was a kid it has been what I have wanted to do. Whether it is here in North America or over in Europe, I’d like to be able to pursue it as long as I can and enjoy it. As long as I love the game and as long as I enjoy playing it, I’m going to try and keep playing it.
– Graphic by Christophe Young
