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AnthonyOuellet · 06-10-2021, 12:04 PM

PRE-DRAFT INTERVIEW - Austin MacWard

Barry Melrose: Hello everyone, welcome to another edition of the Pre-Draft Interview. For a couple of weeks, we are following some young players at the merge of entering SMJHL. We had some very talented players that came here in the last couple of weeks, however, we introduce today an interesting player, to say the least. Austin MacWard is with us today, we will talk about his life in general, where he comes from, and what we can expect from him as a hockey player. Austin, welcome here, first time in ESPN's studio?

Austin MacWard: Thank you, very fortunate to be here. I follow all of your shows since I'm a little kid back in Ireland, I love ESPN and I love the work you do here Barry.
Barry Melrose: Well, this makes me feel pretty old, but I will say thank you. Anyway, As I said in the introduction, you are a special specimen out there. Explain '' your road to the ice hockey '' to the public.

Austin MacWard: Yeah, it's fair to say that my road is uncommon, compared to the majority of the players here. Firstly, I'm from Belfast, Ireland, and it's fair to say that Hockey isn't the main sport in our country. Despite the fact that it's getting more popular with time, I think we can say that our youth hockey development is far from optimal. I actually started playing hockey at the age of 14 years old. Initially, I was a hurling player. For those who don't know about this game, the objective of the game is for players to use a wooden stick called a hurley to hit a small ball called a sliotar between the opponents' goalposts either over the crossbar for one point or under the crossbar into a net guarded by a goalkeeper for three points. Hurling is considered to be the fastest sport in the world (on grass). It's a mix of field hockey, LaCrosse, and baseball. I loved that sport from the first time I played to the last time. Unfortunately, both of my parents had to leave the country for work, we moved from Ireland to Arizona, then Chicago. This was a very hard time for me, Hurling was my passion. When I landed here, I had to find a new sport that would drive me. I wanted to find something '' similar '' to the hurling.

Barry Melrose: My report said you tried baseball, football then ended up trying hockey? When did you find out hockey was the one?

Austin MacWard: I tried hockey, at first I was struggling with skating, but I worked really hard to understand the physics behind the skating ability, and then I fall in love with the physicality of the game. I played my first game at 16 years old, it was against South Michigan High School. I ended the game with 14 totals hits, 2 goals. After that game, that when I knew I want to play this sport. There a very big learning curve when you start to invest time in a sport at 16 years old. No muscle memory, you have to work extremely hard to be optimal on the ice. That's still a big issue for me as a player, I'm still learning a lot every time I step on the ice.

Barry Melrose: 14 hits are something pretty cool, how would you describe yourself as a player, for those who heard nothing about you?

Austin MacWard: I'm confident to say that I'm a physical guy on the ice, I love to play hard in the corner of the ice, fight for the puck behind and in front of the net. I like to put my nose in the dirt and work for it. Despite the fact that I started skating really late in my life, I can fairly say I'm a great skater. My Hurling background helps a lot, I feel like I'm a strong player on the ice. One thing my coaches told me is that I play with passion. I'm still pretty new to this game, I acknowledge many things each and every night about this game. But when I'm on the ice, I'm comfortable and I love to make the life of my opponent miserable. Hit on the board, in front of the net, some high speed on dump and chase, I want other players to struggle when I'm on the ice.

Barry Melrose: What about your weaknesses?

Austin MacWard: I think in some situations, my lack of experience is seen. I'm not the best player with the puck, in terms of vision, passing the puck to teammates, etc. I started pretty late in this sport, I need to work on these things that come with just playing the games. Vision is something I'm trying to develop every day, by watching films, watching other legends play, even look at some tapes from players in my own draft class.

Barry Melrose: I feel like you have a good work ethic, this can bring you everywhere in this game. As long as you keep working and learning every time you step on the ice. Speaking of the draft class, how do you feel about your position in this very very big S61 SHL draft class? Where do you see yourself drafted? 1st round? Late round, how do you describe your potential and how GMs might see you?

Austin MacWard: This draft class is stacked no doubt about that. I don't expect a gm to pick my name in the first round. For two reasons, there is a lot of pure talent in this draft class, players that we already know will perform straight after the draft. I think I represent a high-risk high-reward type of player and GMs generally pick these types of guys later in the draft, which I'm fine with. I had very limited scouting, to be honest, but again, I understand the amount of work these GMs have since a couple of weeks, try to plan the draft, potential pick, etc. I'm here to create doubt in every GM's mind, create a possibility. I know my value and I know that my game will improve every time I put my gear on, at this point, I only need one GM to take a guess and hopefully, I'll be considered a steal in this very huge draft class.

Barry Melrose: Austin, thank you for your time, I love the fact that you are confident in what you can bring to the table in the SMJHL, and I love the fact that you consider yourself a potential steal. Confidentness is the key in the sport, as well as the work ethic. Ladies and gentlemen, it was Austin MacWard, the old Hurling player now a potential SHL start in the future. After the break, we will take a look at a potential mock draft and we will also take a look where our friend MacWard could land!

1162 words.

Austin MacWard scouting report --> https://simulationhockey.com/showthread.php?tid=116532

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