When Zack MacEwen signed with the Vancouver Canucks in March 2017, he saw a young team on the rise he could grow alongside.
As the Stratford native got his feet wet in his first three years of pro hockey, MacEwen improved and so did the Canucks. He wanted to be part of the team’s next steps of growth and the feeling was mutual.
The six-foot-three, 205-pound right-winger recently signed a new two-year NHL contract with the Canucks.
“It’s really exciting, especially moving forward with the young skill and talent on this team,” he said Thursday. “The position that I’m in here … really excites me and it makes want to strive to keep improving and keep building with the team.”
The Canucks announced Tuesday they had signed him to a new contract which carries an average annual value of $825,000. It comes after MacEwen’s three-year, entry-level contract had expired and he was heading into restricted free agency with arbitration rights.
“(It brings) a little bit of stability for the next couple of years, being signed and in a great city like Vancouver,” MacEwen said. “Seeing the work that I put in over the last few years pay off and get rewarded with a new contract is a great feeling.”
GM Jim Benning said MacEwen's phyiscal, two-way brand of hockey complements the team team's roster.
“He’s a talented young player with a high compete level and we're excited to have him continue to develop his career as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.”
The 24-year-old power forward had five goals and an assist in 17 games with the Canucks in 2019-20. He also got into six playoff games inside the NHL bubble as the Canucks knocked off the defending champion St. Louis Blues before taking the Vegas Golden Knights to Game 7 in the quarter-final.
“It was really fun to play in,” he said, noting the historic nature of the games being played during the coronavirus (COVID-19 strain) pandemic. “It was the Stanley Cup playoffs, once you got into the games, and you got playing, you forget about there being no fans there, you’re kind of just caught up in the heat of the games.”
MacEwen also had five goals and six assists in 20 games in the AHL with the Utica Comets, a place where he said he learned to be a pro.
“They gave me the tools that I needed to understand what it takes to play in the NHL,” he said. “I owe a lot of my success to the time I spent in Utica, so it’s always going to be a special place for me there.”
After the Canucks were eliminated from the playoffs, MacEwen considered coming back to the Island, but decided to stay in Vancouver as opposed to losing two weeks in self-isolation in P.E.I. and then two more in B.C.
With a condensed off-season underway, MacEwen is training to solidify his spot fulltime on the Canucks. He is working on his skating, speed, edge work and agility.
“I want to come into camp ready and in good shape and be noticeable,” he said.
