Kyle MacLean is following his Stanley Cup-winning dad’s footsteps

Standing in the New York Islanders locker room after an offseason scrimmage on June 30, Kyle MacLean’s upper lip swelled with each passing second. Despite the stitches attempting to close the cut, his wound continued to leak blood.

Being on the receiving end of an errant high stick isn’t a pleasurable feeling. But scoring on the ensuing penalty shot — which was delayed a minute since MacLean had to first apply a towel to his face to temporarily halt the bleeding — sure was fun.

It was a highlight-reel goal, too, as MacLean, after briefly losing control of the puck as he crossed the blue line, recovered and made a nifty deke before burying the biscuit. But the goal will never show up in a box score. And the 19-year-old center is fine with that.

All that matters to MacLean is that his team of prospects won the scrimmage on the closing day of this year’s Islanders development camp, which he attended as an invitee, and that he was able to leave it a smarter hockey player than when he started.

“There were a lot of coaches and players there who’ve played pro,” said MacLean, a 6-feet, 181-pounder. “I was just trying to learn and soak everything in.”

MacLean has been doing just that since he was a kid growing up in suburban New Jersey.

A Basking Ridge native, he’ll be starting his fourth season with the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals next month, and, in some ways, is following in the footsteps of his father, John.

His dad, a right wing, played three seasons with the Generals in the early 1980s before embarking on an 18-year National Hockey League career, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995 with the New Jersey Devils. Johnny Mac then enjoyed a post-playing career as an assistant coach and head coach in the NHL, not to mention head coach in the American Hockey League, as well as a broadcaster with MSG Networks and NHL Network. He’s currently an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes.

“Having my dad as a role model and a coach was awesome, and he taught me everything I know about the game,” Kyle said. “I owe a lot to him.”

One of Kyle’s earliest memories centers on the celebration following the Devils’ victory in Game 7 of the 2003 Stanley Cup Finals at the Meadowlands when they captured their third championship. John, who was in his first season behind the bench, was an assistant to head coach Pat Burns.

“I was on the ice after the Devils won, and then there was the party we had after with the Cup,” remembered Kyle, who was 4 years old. “I’ve seen pictures and stuff as well. I was young, but that was really cool.”

MacLean’s dad isn’t the only person who influenced him when he was a kid. His brother, John Carter, a forward two years his senior and entering his sophomore season at Clarkson, also played a significant role. At the least, they brought out each other’s competitive spirit.

“Mini sticks and knee hockey in the basement used to get heated,” said Mac-Lean, who has a left-handed shot, unlike his father and brother. “Some fights ended that, but it was all fun. It was great having him, as an older brother, paving the way. He taught me a lot as well.”

MacLean admits that J.C. won those fights.

“I always lost,” he chuckled. “I’m not afraid to say it. He was always bigger than me. I tried, tried a lot, but he came out on top.”

Inspired by his father and brother, Mac-Lean set out to carve his own hockey-playing path. His first stop was with the Montclair Blues, with whom he learned how to skate, play organized hockey and be part of a team.

MacLean’s next club was the New Jersey Colonials. Just thinking about his playing days with them brings a smile to his face.

“Those were some of my best times playing hockey,” he recalled. “We had a great group. I was playing with kids I grew up with, kids from New Jersey. We went all over North America, winning tournaments and beating top teams.

“We were just a team from New Jersey, and we’d be playing a team from Toronto, which always had the best teams, and we’d beat them or hang in there. Our coach (Jerry Brophy) taught us how to play the right way, and we could compete with the best of them.”

At age 14, MacLean left his comfort zone in the Garden State and went south to skate for the Carolina Junior Hurricanes. It was a valuable learning experience, not only as a player, but also as a person.

“I grew up playing in New Jersey, knowing everyone I was playing with, and I was good friends with them,” he explained. “Then I go to Carolina, and I was the new guy on the team, for the first time ever.”

‘Being drafted is out of my control. I’m just worrying about things that I can control, which is what I need to do to get better. I play a good 200-foot game and I work hard on the ice.’

MacLean played just one season with the Hurricanes, but he still feels its impact to this day. “I had great coaches (head coach Colin Muldoon and assistant Rod Brind’Amour),” he said. “I still hang out with a lot of those guys, too. We weren’t the best team, but we had a great group of guys. I really enjoyed my time there.”

After that campaign, he returned home to play for the New Jersey Rockets. It was with them, and under the tutelage of bench boss Bob Thornton, that MacLean really matured as a player.

“I took that step from minor hockey to juniors,” MacLean said. “He taught me a lot about being professional. Even though we were young, he ran it like a professional and a junior organization.”

Taking those lessons to heart, MacLean realized one of his dreams when he joined the Generals, who drafted him 78th overall in the 2015 OHL Priority Selection.

“I always wanted to play junior,” he said, “and Oshawa was the best option for me. I felt really comfortable going and living there since my dad has family up there.”

Some of those family members head to the arena to watch him play, just as they did over 30 years ago, when his dad roamed the rink.

“My grandparents still go to a lot of games,” MacLean said. “That’s special for me.”

What’s also special is that he dons the same jersey number his dad did for most of his playing career — No. 15.

“There’s a lot of time in between,” he chuckled. “But it’s definitely a cool thing.”

More important, though, is what MacLean does on the ice in that jersey. And his hard work came to fruition this past season, following what he called a “feeling-out process” during his first two junior campaigns.

‘I think I have to bear down and put pucks in the net. I have to start producing points. That’s a big thing for me to take the next step in my career.’

After recording nine points (4-5-9) in 47 regular-season games and going scoreless in five playoff games as a rookie, and registering 13 points (6-7-13) in 68 regular-season contests with two goals in 11 playoff matches in his second season, a more comfortable and confident MacLean totaled 28 points (10-18-28) in 44 regular-season contests in 2017-18 before adding three goals in five postseason games.

And although he missed a chunk of the season with a right shoulder separation he suffered in a tussle with an opponent, he doesn’t view that as a negative. It just adds another element to his development.

“When you sit in the stands for that long, you see the game from a different perspective,” he explained. “That definitely helped when I came back. You see a lot of things watching from up top that you might not see when you’re on the bench.”

Unfortunately for MacLean, he wasn’t selected in the 2018 NHL draft in his second year of eligibility. But instead of being down or deterred, he’s determined to keep fine-tuning his craft.

“Being drafted is out of my control,” MacLean concluded. “I’m just worrying about things that I can control, which is what I need to do to get better. I play a good 200-foot game and I work hard on the ice. I think I have to bear down and put pucks in the net. I have to start producing points. That’s a big thing for me to take the next step in my career. But I can’t think it’s all about that, and I won’t. I’m going to do it the right way.”

And perhaps, one day, MacLean will play in the NHL wearing a jersey with the No. 15. Just like dad.