Growing up, the McGinn brothers shared the same childhood dream as millions of other Canadian boys: to one day play in the National Hockey League.
“I think it happened at a very young age,” said Jamie McGinn, 22. “I think just growing up in Canada … You always think about it.”
But unlike most, who either abandon their dream or have it quashed at a very young age, McGinn has already transformed that fantasy into reality, playing 94 games over the past two seasons with the NHL’s San Jose Sharks.
And his younger brothers, Tye, 20, and Brock, 16, could be on their way to joining him.
Tye, who was drafted earlier this year by the Philadelphia Flyers, agrees aspirations of reaching hockey’s pinnacle start early in life. Brock, who recently made the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), concurs and says witnessing his older brothers’ accomplishments helped motivate him even more.
On a warm August evening the three brothers sit outside with their parents, Bob and Cori, looking out over the same Fergus backyard where they skated as kids.
“It was a pretty popular spot in the neighbourhood,” Bob said, pointing out the location of the homemade rink that once covered the large lawn every winter.
Many parents can attest that raising three boys can be a chore. And as Cori hints, sometimes living with four men is no picnic; especially if two (Bob and Jamie) are Toronto Maple Leaf fans, one (Brock) is a Montreal Canadiens fan and another (Tye) is a Colorado Avalanche fan.
But, understandably, once in a while Cori almost pines for the days when all her “boys” were under the same roof.
“It is difficult. I look forward to when they come home,” she said. “It’s amazing how I look forward to seeing them on TV.”
Whether it’s Jamie and the Sharks on TV, Tye and the Gatineau Olympiques on the Internet or Brock and the Storm in person, Cori and Bob seldom miss a game. In that respect, nothing has changed over the years.
While extremely humble, the parents are obviously very proud when the conversation shifts to how Jamie and Tye were drafted by NHL teams.
Coming off a 2005-06 season in which he tallied 57 points and 113 penalty minutes in 65 games with the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s, Jamie was confident entering the 2006 NHL entry draft.
“I thought I had a pretty good year … but I went in with an open mind,” he said.
Though he was ranked 54th going into the draft, Jamie admits he really wanted to be a first round pick. He started to get nervous late in the first round and even more so when the draft entered the second round.
But from there, he didn’t have to wait long, as the Sharks traded up in the draft to select him 36th overall, much to the surprise of the entire McGinn family in attendance.
“We were just so shocked … I hurried down and grabbed my jersey before they could change their mind,” Jamie recalls with a smile.
Bob explained that when Jamie returned earlier in the year from the scouting combine, he was upset over interviews with the top brass from the San Jose Sharks, whom he said really put him on the spot and even seemed to criticize some of his skills.
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson later relayed to Bob that team officials really liked the way Jamie stuck up for himself and his overall character.
The latter is a trait that is seemingly shared by all three McGinn brothers. Bob’s voice is charged with emotion when he recalls the less-beaten path taken by Tye to the NHL draft.
Jamie and Brock were both picked in the third round of the OHL draft; Jamie 50th overall by the 67’s in 2004 and Brock 46th by the Storm this year.
But Tye was not drafted until the ninth round – 168th overall by the Owen Sound Attack in 2006 – and had a somewhat inauspicious start to his junior career.
During a two mile run at the start of his first season, despite being a great athlete, Tye finished dead last. The team wrote him off and told him to get in better shape, but Tye and his family knew something wasn’t right and went to a doctor.
It wasn’t long after undergoing tests the hospital called to inform the family Tye was struggling with hemoglobin deficiency, which severely restricts the supply of blood flowing to body tissues.
It was a tedious process, but with the help of transfusions, new medication and a strict rehabilitation schedule, Tye returned the following year to set a new record in the same two-mile run.
The ordeal may have set him back a couple of years, but he now feels stronger than ever and last season led the Olympiques, of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, in every offensive category (27 goals, 35 assists, 62 points and plus-15 in 50 games).
After going undrafted the previous two years, Tye concedes he did consider giving up on his dream, but last year’s impressive season – he doubled his previous season high in points – led in June to his selection in the fourth round of the NHL draft, 118th overall, by the Philadelphia Flyers.
“I went in [to the draft] with an open mind. I didn’t expect anything at all,” Tye said.
As luck would have it, the computer at the McGinn household in Fergus froze just before Tye was chosen. The family first heard the good News through a phone call from Cori’s sister.
Bob says Tye, who is known by hockey experts for his deft scoring touch and willingness to drop the gloves, likely has the “best hands” of the three brothers who, incidentally, are all left wingers.
But like Jamie, who’s known for his hard, accurate shot, Tye admits he’ll likely have to change his game a bit to incorporate a more “crash and bang” style.
It’s a common transition for many young hockey players that are top scorers in the CHL but find themselves playing more of a checking role in the NHL due to the abundance of world class players in the league.
“I just try to give the team energy and not be a minus,” Jamie says of his role on the Sharks’ third or fourth lines.
Brock’s game, he says, is a fusion of Jamie and Tye’s styles, which will likely serve him well as just one of two 16-year-olds on the Guelph Storm this season.
“I’m just trying to follow in their footsteps,” Brock said of his brothers. “I just want to follow my dreams as much as they did.”
After tallying 22 goals, 34 assists and 69 penalty minutes in 52 games with the Junior Storm last season, Brock’s main goal all along was making the OHL squad this year.
Team officials, on the other hand, initially expected him to be the team’s 13th forward. Even Brock himself had a back-up plan to play with the Georgetown Raiders, of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League.
But he so impressed the coaching staff he earned a spot with the big club to start the season on Sept. 24 (with a home game versus Owen Sound).
If his older brothers are also successful in meeting their pre-season goals, both will open their 2010-11 professional seasons on Oct. 8 – one in Sweden (the Sharks open the season in Stockholm versus the Blue Jackets) and the other in New York state.
For Jamie, who is in the final year of his contract and split the last two seasons between the Sharks and their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Worcester, Massachusetts, the goal is to stay in the NHL all season.
“I have to go in with a positive attitude, show them I’m in good shape and show I want to be there full-time,” he said. “I have to give them no excuses to leave me off the team.”
As for Tye, he could spend another season with the Olympiques as an overage player, but his goal is to make the Flyers’ AHL team, the Adirondack Phantoms, who open their season in Binghamton, New York in two weeks.
“I want to make sure they can’t send me back to junior,” Tye said. “I need to push myself so they want me there.”
Regardless of what jersey the brothers wear during the 2010-11 season, they have already accomplished more in hockey than most kids dream.
But it wasn’t always easy. They moved on from the Fergus hockey system at a young age to play in Toronto or Guelph or Halton, and they’ve spent more time away from home than most young men their ages (ironically, Tye, the only one of the three brothers not to take French immersion in school, ended up playing in Quebec; he says it took several months to adjust to life there).
From fall to spring, the entire family is seldom together these days. Yet when asked about the biggest reason for their success, all three said it can be summed up in one word: family.
“They definitely put a lot more into it than I ever did,” Jamie said of his parents, who were always there to push him when he needed it, not to mention how they racked up kilometres on the family car travelling to and from countless games and practices.
Tye stresses his grandparents also had a huge impact on the lives of all three brothers. He explains how his grandfather, who had health issues of his own, spent countless hours helping him train during his comeback after his blood problem.
“That was pretty special,” Tye said.
Brock echoes the comments of his brothers, and adds that looking up to Tye and Jamie also had a lot to do with his success thus far. He also mentioned the small fortune it must have cost his parents in registration fees, equipment, gas, hotels, meals and more.
Living in Fergus – where Cori was born and raised and where Bob moved from Oakville 22 years ago – likely didn’t make the travel schedules any easier, but neither Bob nor Cori would have it any other way.
“This is a beautiful place to raise a family,” Bob said.
The notion seems to have rubbed off on all three of their children.
“This is always home,” said Jamie, referring as much to the town as he is to his parents’ home on its east side. Of course, his next goal is to win a Stanley Cup, but for him, even Lord Stanley’s mug won’t change the big picture.
“At the end of the day, you always want to come home … and spend time with your family,” he said.
With all three of them pursuing their dreams across North America, that family time becomes even more important, the brothers agree.
Tye said he looks forward every year to coming home for Christmas and also for the summer, when the brothers train together in Mississauga.
“We have to enjoy these moments as a family,” Jamie adds. And if he has his way, that’s one thing that will never change, no matter what happens on the ice.
“I bought a place on Belwood Lake so I always have an excuse to come home,” he explained.
“You don’t forget how you got to where you are today … You don’t forget the little things.”
