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Veteran blueliner takes on Oilers captaincy

Hockey: Tucker McRae to wear the C in third season with Okotoks
SPORTS-McRae
Okotoks Oilers defenceman Tucker McRae has been named the team's captain for the 2021-22 season, his third with the team. (BRENT CALVER/Western Wheel)

There’s a new leader from the back as the Oilers enter a youth movement.

Third-year defenceman Tucker McRae was introduced on July 15 as the Okotoks Jr. A Oilers’ captain for the 2021-22 season in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

“It means a ton to me,” said McRae, a 2001-born blueliner from Calgary. “I know there’s been a lot of great players, a lot of great people that have come through the Oilers organization that have worn that C.

“And I know it has a lot of meaning and there’s a lot of history with this organization so to me it means a lot and it’s a big responsibility that I’m excited for.”

For McRae, the role entails being the guy everyone on the team looks to when things aren’t going your way as well as ensuring everyone feels a part of the team. It’s a responsibility he earned at several stops along the minor hockey route most recently with the Edge Mountaineers before making the jump to junior.

"With his qualities and the intangibles he has to kind of bring everyone together and pull on that rope in the same direction and just with his work ethic and his accountability and how professional he is that's just huge for the dressing room," said Oilers head coach and general manager Tyler Deis.

The 6-foot, 180 pound blueliner put up 11 points over his rookie season in 2019-20 while being named to the AJHL’s All-Academic Team. He added a pair of assists in eight games during the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign.

Over that time, Deis lauded McRae's ascendance in his all-around game and his hard work and dedication to his craft to overcome the obstacles faced by all players with the COVID-shortened season.

"We're very happy for him to steer the ship the right way," the coach added.

"He's been with the program now going into his third year and has been around a lot of good leaders with (Ayden Roche-Setoguchi), with (Louis) Jamernik, with (Carson) Dyck. So he knows what the expectations are, he knows how to make sure that room runs in the right way and the right direction.

"He was just that next successor in the sense of the leadership program we're trying to create here."

Playing under the leadership of Setoguchi, Jamernik and Dyck as captains during his tenure in Big Rock Country, McRae hopes to apply some of the examples that were set for him.

“They had a big influence on my career as an Oiler so far, I’ve learned a lot of valuable things from them,” he said. “With Seto, that was my first year and it was great to have him there, he brought me right in, I didn’t feel like a rookie at all, he brought me right in and I though that was huge for bringing the team together.

“With Louis, I’ve known him a long-time and he’s always been a guy that’s helping motivate guys and keeping everyone focused and making sure everyone’s got the same goal in mind.

“And with Dyck, in the second half of that season, I was quite close with him and it was great to have him as we went through some tough times as a team with quarantine and all that and he was a great guy at keeping things positive and making sure guys were still enjoying everything.”

McRae is projected to be the only 2001 born player on the team this season and the steadying force on a blueline that will feature fellow incumbents Brayden Kapty, Logan Magowan and Sam Moshurchak.

“It’s definitely going to be different from past years with last year having six 20s to this year at the moment only having one,” McRae said. “It will definitely be a different dynamic, but it should be exciting.

“It will be plenty of young, new faces that I’m sure are eager to come out there. The biggest thing will be to make sure we bring those young guys right in and make sure they feel they’re at home as soon as they get there.”

The home-front has been a source of motivation for McRae to get to this point.

Tucker’s younger sister Tate McRae is a pop music sensation with over 3.5 million subscribers to her YouTube channel and over 570 million views.

“It’s really awesome to see, we both grew up playing sports and we were always super competitive with each other,” Tucker said. “I think that’s what pushed both of us to the levels we’re at now. I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without her pushing me and she wouldn’t be where she is.

“It just makes me super proud seeing all the things she’s accomplishing and all the things she’s doing.”

The Oilers return to the Pason Centennial Arena ice for its main camp beginning on Aug. 27 in preparation for the 2021-22 season.

To say there’s pent up energy for a return to action among the Green and Gold would be an understatement.

“Everyone is just itching to get back to hockey,” he added. “I know for a lot of guys, our team included, it’s been a while since we’ve played regular season games in a regular schedule and I think guys are just looking forward to that and getting rid of the quarantine and things like that.

“Guys are just really looking forward to getting back to playing hockey.”

For more information go to okotoksoilers.ca


Remy Greer

About the Author: Remy Greer

Remy Greer is the assistant editor and sports reporter for westernwheel.ca and the Western Wheel newspaper. For story tips contact [email protected]
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