FÜSSEN, GERMANY – Centre Wellington District High School student Malcolm McCrae, 15, hasn’t always been a student in Canada.
For most of his life he lived in Germany, where he had been dedicated to becoming a professional hockey player.
After moving to Fergus for his Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft year, McCrae got an opportunity back home.
Since Feb. 4, he’s been practicing with the U16 Men’s German National hockey team before ahead of a Three-Nations tournament in Füssen, Germany.
The team’s games were set for Feb. 6 and 7 against Norway, then Feb. 9 against France.
MALCOLM MCCRAE
No gold medal will be awarded at the end, but rather a “golden handshake,” stated McCrae’s father Roy.
The tournaments are used to evaluate players’ skill levels, see if they fit the team and if they should proceed to the U17 team.
“I feel ready to go,” McCrae told the Advertiser. “I’m hoping it’s a good game.”
McCrae plays defence and has been involved in the game since he was four. He played in Germany, where he was born, until 2018, when he switched to playing hockey in Switzerland.
“I thought I’d get some better hockey there (Switzerland),” McCrae explained.
He played for the Zurich Lions Club from 2018 to 2024, which is known to be one of the top youth hockey clubs in Europe, according to Roy.
His parents, while both born in Canada, moved to Germany in the early ’90s so his father could pursue his dream of playing professional hockey. The pair later started their family together.
National team
McCrae played for various teams in Germany/Switzerland, attracting attention from national coaches for “Young Talent” teams.
In November 2023, national team officials invited him to the tryouts along with 80 other players.
“It was fun,” he said. “There were all kinds of new guys who were pretty good so I was nervous … but I thought I fit in.”
He was then invited back for another round in January 2024, where he showed off his skills and even scored a goal.
After February, officials had cut the players down to a pool of roughly 40 players, McCrae being one of them.
Teams accept tons of players to accommodate for injuries and absences. In May all the players who made the cut needed fitness testing, which spanned two days in Frankfurt, Germany.
McCrae, who received the good news while in Switzerland, said, “I was happy … I’ve been working really hard to get to this point.”
One of his goals is to be successful enough in the German hockey scene that he can proceed through the system, making it to the U18 international team.
“That is when they play internationally against Canada and the U.S. in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup,” explained Roy.
The upcoming Three-Nations tournament will be his first with the team, as he rejected previous opportunities so he could play for the Cambridge Redhawks U16 AAA hockey team.
Hockey in Canada
Some may think passing up a national tournament is ludicrous, but McCrae has his sights on a variety of paths in the hockey world.
He moved to Fergus for two main reasons.
“You’ll get the high school experience that you won’t get over here (Switzerland) and you’ll get the hockey experience,” stated Roy, referring to a past conversation with his son.
McCrae, who studied at a sports school in Germany, is in his U16 year so he has the opportunity to be drafted into the OHL.
He decided to play for the Cambridge Redhawks, just as his father did back in the day.
“It’s been great so far; the season has been going up and down but we just keep working on it,” McCrae said. “It’s a great team and I love the guys.”
In Europe players have a bigger ice surface, giving them more time and space, but in North America the ice surface is smaller, meaning players must make quicker decisions, explained Roy.
“Switzerland is very skilled; they put more emphasis on power skating and skill work,” added Roy. “Cambridge is more tactical and game oriented.”
McCrae said his goal is to be drafted next year and “it doesn’t matter what round and what team I go to because at the end of the day it’s whoever works harder.
