User:GhostRiver/mac

Zack MacEwen is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in the NHL for the Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Los Angeles Kings.

Early life
MacEwen was born on July 8, 1996, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, to parents Craig and Juliana, and he was raised on his family's berries and cattle farm in Stratford. MacEwen began playing organized ice hockey when he was three years old, and as an adolescent, he played minor ice hockey with the Pownal Red Devils and the Charlottetown Islanders. After going unclaimed by the major junior leagues during his draft year, MacEwen began playing for the Amherst Ramblers of the Maritime Junior Hockey League (MJHL), a Junior A league. The Ramblers took MacEwen in the fifth round, 45th overall, of he 2013 MJHL draft. Following a rookie season in which he recorded nine goals and five assists in 50 games, MacEwen had a breakout 2014–15 season, scoring 29 goals and 23 assists in 46 games.
 * https://ottawasun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/ottawa-senators/tough-macewen-plays-on-with-his-father-on-his-mind

Junior
The Moncton Wildcats of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) signed MacEwen as a free agent on December 27, 2014. They had noticed his performance with the Ramblers and asked him to fill in while several Wildcats were away for the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.


 * Moncton Wildcats 2014-15
 * Moncton Wildcats 2015-16

On August 12, 2016, the Wildcats traded MacEwen to the Gatineau Olympiques in exchange for a fifth-round selection in the 2017 QMJHL Entry Draft. While Moncton had expressed interest in retaining MacEwen for the 2016–17 QMJHL season, there were limited roster positions for 20-year-olds in the league, and they could not guarantee he would play. After the trade, the Olympiques named MacEwen one of three assistant captains to Marc-Olivier Crevier-Morin. MacEwen experienced a career resurgence with Gatineau, surpassing his season high goal and point totals by January 21. He told reporters that, unlike the utility player role he held in Moncton, "Here, I've been given the opportunity, and put in situations, where I can put up points."


 * Gatineau Olympiques 2016-17

Vancouver Canucks (2017–2021)
On March 3, 2017, the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) signed MacEwen to a three-year entry-level contract. At the end of the Olympiques season, he joined the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Utica Comets, on an amateur tryout contract, but he did not appear in a game for them during the 2016–17 season. He made his professional ice hockey debut on October 28, 2017, facing the Charlotte Checkers, and scored hist first AHL goal against Charlotte the following day.


 * 2017-18
 * 2018-19
 * 2019-20

MacEwen began the season in Utica, recording three goals and eight points in his first 13 games of the year. Following injuries to Brandon Sutter and Jay Beagle, MacEwen and Tyler Graovac were promoted to Vancouver on November 13. His first NHL goal came on December 3, when MacEwen scored on Anders Nilsson as part of Vancouver's 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators. MacEwen was briefly reassigned to the AHL when Micheal Ferland returned from a concussion, but was promoted back to Vancouver four days later after Ferland suffered another injury.

On October 6, 2020, the Canucks re-signed MacEwen to a two-year, $1.65 million contract, and he was named to Vancouver's opening night roster in January. Canucks coach Travis Green praised MacEwen for his role as a third-line grinder, describing the player as "a big guy who worksa nd is hard to play against with an in-your-face game and good hands". In April, MacEwen was one of 21 Canucks to contract the COVID-19 virus as part of a team breakout, forcing the NHL to postpone six games. Initially asymptomatic, MacEwen later described experiencing headaches, fever, muscle aches, and "uncomfortable tiredness" from the virus. On May 7, MacEwen received a one-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety for kneeing Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse the day prior. MacEwen struggled during the pandemic-shortened season: he was a healthy scratch 22 times in 56 games, sometimes missing three or four games at a stretch. In the 34 games he did play, MacEwen recorded only two points.

Philadelphia Flyers (2021–2023)
Although the Canucks named MacEwen to their opening-night roster for the season, they soon placed him on waivers to clear space for newcomer Alex Chiasson. The Philadelphia Flyers claimed MacEwen from Vancouver on October 13, 2021. After successfully acquiring his US work visa, MacEwen joined the Flyers on October 20, skating on the fourth line alongside Nate Thompson and former QMJHL teammate Nicolas Aubé-Kubel. MacEwen's role on his new team was mostly as a physical presence: by the NHL Christmas break, he had one goal and two points in 27 games but was third on the team with 57 hits. Interim coach Mike Yeo used the fourth line as a defensively-minded, physically opposing group to deploy against skilled opponents. MacEwen's size and play became more important as injuries and COVID-19 protocols left him the only consistent member of the fourth line. MacEwen finished the season with three goals and set career highs with nine points and 75 games played. He was also the 2021-22 recipient of the Gene Hart Memorial Award, given to the Flyer who demonstrated the most "Heart" during the season. He also led the team with 12 fights, including bouts with Zdeno Chára, Wayne Simmonds, and Tom Wilson.

A restricted free agent during the 2022 offseason, MacEwen signed a one-year, $925,000 contract extension with the Flyers on August 2. He failed to make the team's opening night roster for the season, instead placed on waivers to make room for Hayden Hodgson. After clearing waivers, MacEwen played two games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Philadelphia's AHL affiliate. He scored one goal and three points in Lehigh before being called back up to Philadelphia on October 18. Playing on a lineup decimated by injuries, MacEwen took an expanded role on the Flyers, raising his average ice time to 14 minutes and 32 seconds by the end of November. MacEwen's season was interrupted at the end of January, when he fractured his jaw during a fight with Minnesota Wild player Marcus Foligno. At the time of the injury, MacEwen had five goals and nine points in 46 games for Philadelphia, as well as 54 penalty minutes.

Los Angeles Kings (2023)
On March 3, 2023, the day after he was activated from injured reserve, the Flyers traded MacEwen to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Brendan Lemieux and a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. He had difficulty breaking into the Los Angeles lineup after the trade, sitting as a healthy scratch for four of his first eight Kings games. In 10 regular-season games with the Kings, MacEwen recorded only one point, an assist against the Calgary Flames on March 21. MacEwen appeared in one game for the Kings during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs, recording two penalty minutes in the process.

Ottawa Senators (2023–present)
On July 6, 2023, MacEwen signed a three-year, $2.325 million contract with the Ottawa Senators. Ottawa general manager Pierre Dorion praised MacEwen as "a player with strong character who adds increased physicality" to the Senators.

Personal life
Following his father's sudden death from a stroke in 2021, MacEwen and his family established the My Biggest Fan Foundation. The charitable foundation provides scholarships and other financial support to children who want to play hockey across Canada.