As his Checkers teammates head home for a relaxing holiday, Drew MacIntyre will be doing something completely different.
Charlotte’s well-traveled goaltender is set to represent Team Canada at the annual Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland. The event runs from Dec. 26-31, meaning MacIntyre will miss three Checkers games before returning to North America on Jan. 1.
Even though it means being away from his club team for a short time, the 31-year-old veteran of 16 professional seasons felt it was a unique experience that he couldn’t pass up.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” said MacIntyre, referring to himself, his wife and two daughters, who will also make the trip. “It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I’ve always watched the tournament around Christmas time and always wanted to do it. Guys that I’ve played with have been invited and deep down I was always hoping they’d invite me too.”
MacIntyre, who will depart for Switzerland the day after the Checkers’ final pre-holiday game on Dec. 21, said he first learned of the possibility when Carolina Hurricanes General Manager Ron Francis called him around three weeks ago to relay interest from Team Canada management. From there, he had conversations with Canada GM Steve Tambellini, who he previously worked with when both were in the Vancouver Canucks organization, and Checkers coach Jeff Daniels to work out the details.
It’s somewhat of a strange request to ask to miss games to participate in an unrelated tournament, which annually sees a Canadian national team entry complete against various club teams primarily based in Europe and, sometimes, North America (the AHL’s Rochester Americans took part in 2013). However, MacIntyre said those were easy conversations.
“Right away they said they were totally cool with it, and at that time they thought I’d miss more than three games,” said MacIntyre. “(Daniels) thought it would be a good opportunity for me, and not all teams would be cool with it so I really appreciated that and thanked them right away.
“I didn’t want to go if my team wasn’t comfortable with it. I’ll only end up missing three games and they’ll be in good hands with (John Muse).”
The format for the tournament, which dates back to 1923, only guarantees each team two games, with the finalists each playing five. Regardless of how Canada fares, MacIntyre said he would return to Charlotte on Jan. 1 and be available for back-to-back home games against Texas starting two days later.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, downplaying concerns about jet lag and increased workload relative to other Checkers players.
MacIntyre expects to be the only AHL player in the tournament, with the rest of the Team Canada roster coming from European club teams. Though Canada has not yet released its roster, MacIntyre knows he’ll be playing alongside Derrick Walser, his offseason training partner and a one-time Hurricanes prospect currently based in Switzerland. He also knows he’ll be playing against fellow Prince Edward Island native and former Checker Mark Flood, whose KHL team, Zagreb, is participating in the tournament.
Knowing other players and their families made the prospect of attending himself an alluring one to MacIntyre.
“It’s a first-class event and they really take care of you and your family,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a beautiful place, especially around Christmas time.”
The tournament will also mark the first time MacIntyre has represented Canada since his junior days, when he played on the under-18 team and attended a tryout camp for a World Junior team.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” he said. “Knowing I’ll get to put on that Team Canada jersey, and even just talking to management, has been quite a feeling.
“The biggest thing will be the experience. It’s something that I’ll look back on long after my career is over and always remember.”
