The season may be young, but Aidan McDonough has wasted no time finding his scoring touch.
The second-year pro has lit the lamp six times through Charlotte’s first four games, putting him over halfway to his total from a season ago.
So it’s safe to say that things are falling McDonough’s way so far.
“I feel good,” said McDonough. “It’s obviously nice to get on the scoresheet. I’m playing with some really good players on the power play and on 5-on-5 as well. They’ve all really helped me with the adjustment to the new team. It’s been a lot of fun.”
McDonough was a standout performer over his four-year career at Northeastern, earning First All-American Team honors twice, among other accolades. After a six-game taste of the NHL life with Vancouver at the end of the 2022-23 season, the Canucks’ seventh-rounder from 2019 began his proper rookie campaign in the AHL with Abbotsford - where he would finish with 19 points (11g, 8a) in 58 games.
“Last year was a huge learning experience,” he said. “Learning what pro hockey is like day-to-day, what the season is like, how to treat your body, how to prepare yourself away from the rink. But also kind of how to play with the puck and away from the puck. In college you’re used to having the puck a lot and scoring a lot of goals and then you come to the pros and it’s really hard to do, so you have to learn how to keep it simple and then when there’s chances you do it.”
With those lessons tucked away, the 24-year-old headed into a summer of free agency and ended up on an AHL deal with the Checkers.
His new home has proven to be a quick fit for the forward.
“I’ve made a lot of adjustments,” said McDonough. “Learning and growing and then coming in here with a new system and a new team. It’s been really smooth so far and it makes coming to the rink and working hard that much easier.”
The offensive damage that McDonough has been able to do early on may come across as effortless, but make no mistake - there’s plenty of grinding going on behind the scenes.
“He's a hard-working kid that works on his game afterwards,” said head coach Geordie Kinnear after last Friday’s win. “He’s shooting pucks all the time. I think if you talk to him, he’s come in in really good shape compared to previous years. He’s only a second-year player that is continuing to grow and wants to continue to have that consistency.”
Kinnear has been clear over the years about his demand for hard work during practice weeks, and that’s a mentality that McDonough has quickly latched onto.
“Every day is like a game day,” said McDonough of the team’s practices. “You’re out there on the ice and you’ve got to be ready and focused, you’ve got to compete. And it helps, because when you get to the game it’s not like it’s a huge step up. You’ve been doing it all week and you’re prepared. Your legs feel ready, your mind feels ready, you’re prepared for all the situations that you’re going to encounter in the game, now it’s time for you to just go out there and make reads and make plays.”
McDonough’s red-hot start is certainly eye-catching - for instance, he has more multi-goal games (2) than games without a goal (1) - but the young forward is aware of the reality that comes with the grueling, 76-game AHL season.
“I learned last year that it’s a long year,” he said. “There’s going to be a lot of ups and downs. Things are going good now but you need to stick with it.”
For advice on how to navigate the beast of a pro season, McDonough doesn’t have to look far in the Checkers locker room.
“Having those older guys to lean on is great,” said McDonough. “I think I ask [Kyle] Criscuolo about 100 questions just about every day. Dalps [Zac Dalpe], same thing - where to live, where to get food, where to get groceries. Those guys are huge to have around. They have great attitudes and you can see the work they put in day in and day out and what it means to be a longtime professional. That’s obviously all of our goals is to do this for as long as we can. To see how they do it is pretty inspiring.”
Hard work has propelled McDonough into the stratosphere early on this season, and he has no plans to let up.
“It’s been a good start but now it’s time to keep it going,” he said.
