Buffalo, NY (WGR 550) - Clarence Center's Case McCarthy played on the same team with Jack Hughes, Alex Turcotte, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield and Matthew Boldy. They are all in the U.S. National Team Development Program and played for the Under-18 team.
McCarthy won't go in the first round of the NHL Draft in Vancouver, but he likely will get taken in the later rounds. The defenseman said he can play both ends of the ice, "I'm a two-way guy, I like taking care of my own end first. I'm physical, you have to know where I am on the ice at all times, but at the same time, I can hurt you offensively.
"I believe my passing is one of my strongest assets, so I think I have a good balance in my overall game."
McCarthy and the top prospects were in Buffalo last week for the NHL Scouting Combine. He said being there and having it in Buffalo was great, "It's definitely special, it's definitely an honor to be selected to come here and be able to compete against the top players in the world."
A big part of things was talking to teams and McCarthy said, "It was a little intimidating at first because you walk in and there's eight guys standing there and you have to go shake everyone's hand, but teams have been interviewing us all year and gave us those questions beforehand so we were prepared when we got here."
McCarthy did interview with his hometown Sabres. He said, "It was cool, you grow up around Buffalo, you watch the Sabres, go to their games and it's definitely different now that I'm here in Buffalo and talking to the Sabres, was definitely a cool experience."
Turcotte made it pretty clear that he'd like to go third overall to his hometown Chicago Blackhawks and it won't surprise you that McCarthy would love to be taken by his hometown team, "It would be very special, growing up a Sabres fan and being around Buffalo as a hometown kid, it would definitely be very special, but at this point it's whoever takes you and gives you the opportunity."
McCarthy was a huge Jason Pominville fan growing up. He said, "I had the opportunity to skate with him a few times and he's an awesome guy off the ice." They kid also liked Chris Drury, Danny Briere and Brian Campbell. He called that a special team.
This Under -8 team may be the best team that the U.S. program has put out. Cam York, Spencer Knight, Alex Vlasic, Johnny Beecher, Judd Caulfield and Patrick Moynihan may also be taken. McCarthy knows why this team is so special, "It pushes you on a daily basis. You play against guys that can beat you in many ways, but at the same time off the ice, the great relationships are going to last a lifetime.
"You go out to eat after, you battle on the ice, but are great friends off of it."
Almost every player from that team said practices were like games. McCarthy said, "It gets intense. We battle, we celebrate, we also have fun and it's all designed to make each other better and developing as a team.
"We didn't have any cliques. On weekends, we'd all go out and see a movie, we all play golf together and I think that really went far."
McCarthy will play at Boston University, while Hughes will be in the NHL. Here are some of the other guys that will be drafted and where they'll play:
- Trevor Zegras - Boston University
- Matthew Boldy - Boston College
- Cole Caufield - Wisconsin
- Alex Turcotte - Wisconsin
- Cam York - Michigan
- Spencer Knight - Boston College
- Alex Vlasic - Boston University
- Johnny Beecher - Michigan
- Judd Caulfield - North Dakota
- Patrick Moynihan - Providence
