RALEIGH, N.C. — For all the ink spilled about Kyle MacLean’s local connections, thanks to his father, John, being a Devils great, he might be more at home down here in Carolina.
Yes, Kyle MacLean was born in Basking Ridge, N.J. and yes, John MacLean spent some time on staff with the Devils, even though he played his last game with the team before Kyle was born in 1999.
But Kyle’s 14U AAA team just so happened to be the Carolina Jr. Hurricanes. And one of the coaches he worked with just so happened to be Rod Brind’Amour.
“He played with [my son] Skyler,” Brind’Amour said Sunday. “I coached him. He was here every summer training with Skyler. He has been for many years. We’re definitely good friends in the summer. Not so much right now.”
When Kyle MacLean was 12-15 years old, John was on staff with the Hurricanes. So there was an added bonus to the goal he scored in Game 1 on Saturday, an eventual 3-1 loss for the Islanders — the second time in a week he scored in a building to which he had access as a kid, after the Prudential Center.
“My dad coached here, obviously I watched a lot of games here as well,” Kyle MacLean said. “Two buildings, kinda funny how it works out. I watched a lot of games here when he was coaching for the Hurricanes.”
MacLean’s ascension into an everyday player and key piece down the middle for the Islanders has drawn notice from his former coach, who now has to game plan against him.
“Didn’t like seeing how he got us [Saturday] night,” Brind’Amour said. “I saw how hard he’s worked. Everything he’s doing right now, he’s earned it. It’s nice to see. Obviously have a connection with him over the years.”
Islanders coach Patrick Roy did not say whether Jean-Gabriel Pageau would return to the lineup in Game 2 on Monday, but sounded optimistic about the possibility.
“Still day-to-day,” Roy said. “Certainly a good chance for him to play [Monday].”
If not, then Roy sounded content with how Simon Holmstrom fared at center on Saturday despite the Swede winning just one of five faceoffs.
“He was heavy on pucks. I thought he did really well in the position of centerman,” Roy said. “Not easy for him, but I thought he was very reliable. Obviously he was playing with [Cal Clutterbuck] and [Matt Martin], two really solid vets. But I thought he did really well.”
