PROFILE
NOLAN MCGUIRE
The Hometown Hero
BY ADAM PELESHATY Photos by Ryan Sawatzky
One day during the 2017 offseason, months after his team was swept by the OCN Blizzard in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League semifinals, Winkler Flyers right winger Nolan McGuire had just finished his workout. While driving, he was approached by the vehicle of his head coach Ken Pearson.
“ He rolled down his window at a stop sign and asked me to stop at the rink,” McGuire recalled.“ When I came into the rink, he sat me down in the office and we started talking. He looked at me and asked,‘ Would I like to be the captain of the Winkler Flyers for this season?’”
He accepted and this season, the 21-year-old has become a leader on and off the ice. In his fourth and final season with the Flyers, McGuire has career-highs in goals( 25) and points( 42) in
46 games as of mid-February, with both totals ranking in the top three on the team. He is also tied for the league lead with the Selkirk Steelers’ Connor Barley in power play goals with 12.
Last December, he was named the team’ s Player of the Month after recording seven points in seven games. The next month, he played for Team Belfour( named for former Flyer and Hall of Fame netminder Ed Belfour) in the two-day SJHL / MJHL Showcase in Regina. He scored a goal in both games and was named the MJHL’ s Player of the Game in the final match.
McGuire is also part of a veteran-laden squad with seven other 1997-born players, currently ranked fourth in the MJHL with a 32-21-0 record for 64 points. While his team will not reach
32 | GAME ON | PLAYOFF EDITION 2018