SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — A season in which a serious health condition overshadowed hockey has ended with optimism for a Summerside native.
Defenceman Sid McNeill, who turned 16 in April, played only one pre-season game with the Oakland Junior Grizzlies' under-15 team in Michigan before a physical exam detected a serious heart issue. As a result, McNeill’s year ended before it really started.
“It was certainly a different (season), that’s for sure,” acknowledged McNeill, who had already caught the eyes of scouts.
Despite losing a full year of hockey, it did not deter two high-profile Maritime teams from drafting him. The Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League took the five-foot-seven and 140-pound McNeill in the 13th round on June 6, and he was announced as a territorial pick of the Maritime Junior Hockey League’s Summerside Western Capitals on June 8.
“Everybody dreams of getting drafted when they’re a kid,” said McNeill. “It’s a big day.
“After not playing for a year, I didn’t expect to go high in the draft, but just being able to be drafted is a huge honour. To be drafted by such a great organization like the Mooseheads, probably one of the better ones in the (Canadian Hockey League), it’s pretty special.”
McNeill said it is “awesome” to be taken by his hometown Caps. He noted junior A is a great option if he can’t play in the Q, and it saves his NCAA eligibility.
“It can be the best of both worlds," said McNeill. “I live two minutes from the (Summerside) rink, so there is nothing better than that.”
Physical exam
McNeill’s 2019-20 story begins in late August. He was attending the training camp with the Michigan-based Grizzlies. As an international student, he was required to undergo a physical exam. An issue with his heart was detected, and it was strongly recommended he immediately go to the local emergency room for further evaluation. From there he was transported by ambulance to the child cardiac centre in Detroit. He was diagnosed with ventricular arrhythmias, essentially an irregular heartbeat.
Sid’s father, Dwayne, remembers receiving the call from the ER doctor, who used big words to describe the diagnosis.
“I think he has this, and he probably shouldn’t have been playing competitive sports,” Dwayne was told. “Then, when he got to the child cardiac centre, that doctor called me and said, ‘I have seen this before and I’m glad this doctor in the ER caught this because it is serious, but I think we can fix it.’”
Due to health insurance reasons, Sid was forced to return to Canada. He had the first of three surgeries in Halifax on Sept. 18 – a nine-hour procedure. Sid said he was awake the entire time because the heart reacts differently when people are awake and asleep, and doctors wanted to see how the heart responded. He underwent a second surgery in November and attended a doctor’s appointment in Halifax on Dec. 22 with the hope he would be cleared to play with some parameters in place. This appointment showed an irregular heartbeat, despite regular electrocardiograms (ECGs) not showing anything previously.
That meant another surgery, where an ablation was performed, on Feb. 4.
“The minute they did it they found two spots around his aorta and they burnt the extra fibres,” said Dwayne. “Now he hasn’t been monitored every day, but he hasn’t had an irregular heartbeat since.”
On ice
Sid practised with the Charlottetown Knights’ major midget squad last season when he could. He worked out with them and even travelled with the team despite not being able to play.
He had just received clearance to join the Knights for Game 3 of the provincial championship series when Hockey Canada suspended all sanctioned events due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in mid-March.
“I can’t thank (head coach) Luke Beck enough for what he did for me this year,” said Sid. “He welcomed me to the team and even though I didn’t play, he treated me like one of the players and was great to me.”
Halifax Mooseheads’ assistant general manager and chief Atlantic scout Allie MacDonald said Sid features many positive attributes.
“You always like a kid who overcomes adversity. I think we all have a little empathy for these kids in the prime time of their life who suddenly hit a wall as he did and to hang in there and commit that he still wants to be a hockey player is impressive from our point of view.”
- Allie MacDonald
“First of all, is he is a very smart hockey player,” said MacDonald. “He moves well, and the last part we like is he has a good compete level.
“It used to be that size meant so much for a D but not anymore. If he can skate and think the game, he’s a player who usually has a lot of success at the major junior level.”
MacDonald said the Mooseheads also like Sid’s character.
“You always like a kid who overcomes adversity,” said MacDonald. “I think we all have a little empathy for these kids in the prime time of their life who suddenly hit a wall as he did, and to hang in there and commit that he still wants to be a hockey player is impressive from our point of view.”
Jimmy McGroarty, who coached McNeill with the Honeybaked bantam major AAA team in Michigan in 2018-19, described Sid as an “absolute steal” for a 13th-round pick.
“Wherever Sid is going to play next year, somebody is going to hit a home run with him,” added McGroarty. “I know how hungry and driven of a person he is.”
Comments
Here's what people are saying about Sid McNeill:
- “It tells you about his character (to be drafted after missing a season). Every time you see Sid, he has a smile and that smile goes on for days. When you are around kids like that, it becomes contagious in a very positive way. Let’s put it this way, he didn’t play and got drafted in the 13th round. If he would have played for us with the Oakland Junior Grizzlies, I believe he would have had a chance at the World Youth Olympic Games team for Canada.”
- Jimmy McGroarty, who coached McNeill with the Honeybaked bantam team in Michigan in 2018-19
- “He’s a very smart hockey player and we kept that in our mind and we didn’t get down to see him play (last year) because he didn’t play. We did follow the health reports and our scout on P.E.I., Darcy Ashley, spoke very well of him. He was on our radar all year and we thought we may get to see him play towards the end of the year before hockey was cancelled. . . A lot of credit goes to Darcy for keeping him on our radar.”
- Allie MacDonald, assistant general manager and chief Atlantic scout for Halifax Mooseheads
- "We are excited to have Sid part of the organization. He has a lot of skill and we anticipate he is going to push to make our team this year. … We feel he is going to be a good player for us and felt it was necessary to take him as a territorial pick.”
- Pat McIver, general manager of Summerside Western Capitals.
