‘It’s an exciting moment for me’ Hamilton Bulldogs player to represent Canada at Winter Olympics

Mason McTavish has donned the maple leaf before but he says getting the call to represent Canada at the Winter Olympics just hits different.

“It’s an exciting moment for me and you know my family was on the line too so that was nice,” said McTavish. “Just kind of, you know, pretty fired up and, you know, excited to get over there and start training.”

Head coach Claude Julien says the Hamilton Bulldogs centreman – who was drafted by the Anaheim Ducks last year – has all the skills to be a contributor for the red and white.

“For us, he’s one of those guys that we feel is a player that’s ready to jump into the lineup and help us at the Olympics,” said Julien.

McTavish shined during the Covid-shortened World Juniors last month. In just two games he netted three goals and two assists.

He says the World Juniors tournament helped prepare him for the level of competition the Olympics will bring.

“Great pace of hockey out there and you know obviously the Olympics is going to be an even higher pace,” he added.

At just 18 years old, McTavish is the youngest player on Team Canada. Despite that, both he and Julien feel that he’s ready to take on the more mature competition.

“[I have a] decent amount of experience, you know, playing against older guys. In Switzerland, I played against some older guys and obviously, in the NHL, I got my nine games there,” said McTavish.

“He can handle playing at this kind of level against men. He was dominant in the World Juniors. In that little sample, we got to see him and he really handled himself really well,” said Julien. “You can tell his strength was dominant.”

While McTavish says he’s focused on earning Canada its 10th Olympic gold medal in Beijing, he admits that he still intends to take in the moment.

“I’m looking forward to it, you know, just being in the Olympic village. It’s going to be pretty cool. Just seeing those other world-class athletes just kind of do what they get to do,” said McTavish. “An 18-year-old just kind of getting to witness that I think it’s going to be pretty special for me.”