Men's Hockey | 8/18/2024 1:51:00 PM
MONTREAL – The McGill University men's hockey team has embarked on its 149th year of operation with an international training camp in Germany and Czechia. This will be the program's 10th overseas excursion – including its second trip to the Czech Republic – but the team's first since the 2007-08 season.
The schedule includes three games as part of the Czechia International Tournament. The Redbirds will be playing Kladno (Aug. 20) from the elite league and Pribram (Aug. 22), a third division squad, in addition to the Czech University Selects (Aug. 24), an all-star group, in Prague. McGill has a lifetime 24-26-3 record in overseas play, and a 4-9-0 mark against Czech squads.
Previous hockey trips took place in
1981-82 (2-3-0 vs teams in Switzerland);
1983-83 (5-0-2 vs teams in Switzerland);
1985-86 (2-9-0 vs teams in Czechoslovakia);
1991-92 (5-1-0 vs teams in Germany and France);
1994-95 (4-3-0 vs teams in the UK);
1997-98 (0-4-0 vs teams in Slovakia);
2000-01 (3-1-0 vs teams in Germany);
2004-05 (0-4-1 vs teams in France); and
2007-08 (3-1-0 vs teams in Serbia and Hungary).
The Redbirds flight landed in Munich on Aug. 18 and began in earnest with a guided tour of Allianz Arena, home of the Bayern Munich soccer club. After a day to acclimatize, an on-ice practice is slated for Monday, followed a day later by the tourney opener against Kladno, hometown of Czech hockey superstar
Jaromir Jagr, who played for HC Kladno – and currently owns the team – before being drafted by the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins in 1990. Jagr, still plays in most home games for Kladno, a club currently captained by former Montreal Canadiens star
Tomas Plekanec.
McGill head coach
David Urquhart, a 39-year-old native of Thorold, Ont., enters his fourth season as head coach at McGill, where he owns an overall record of 59-47. He was named as the OUA East coach of the year in 2023-24 after guiding the Redbirds to a 30-14 record overall in 2023-24, including an OUA conference-leading 21-5-2 record in regular season play and a bronze-medal finish at the U SPORTS Final Eight national championship tournament.
McGill's current 28-man training camp roster is composed of seven freshmen, five sophomores, seven juniors and nine seniors. The geographical breakdown has 20 players from Quebec and four from Ontario, plus one each from British Columbia, Manitoba, Newfoundland and England. The lineup features 25 players with major junior experience in the Canadian Hockey league (CHL), including two from the WHL, one OHL product and 22 who have skated in the QMJHL. Two players have been drafted by an NHL team: third-year forward
Zach Gallant (2017: Detroit, 3rd round, 83rd overall), who has attended NHL rookie camps in Detroit (2017, 2018) and San Jose (2019, 2020, 2021), while freshman rearguard
Xavier Bouchard was drafted in 2018 by Las Vegas (6th round, 185th overall.
This season, the McGill hockey program will be based at Place Bell's community arena in Laval, Que., as McConnell Arena is closed for major renovations. The McGill program was the first organized hockey club in the world and was founded during the 1876-77 school year. The team's first organized hockey game was played on Jan. 31, 1877, a 2-1 win against members of the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal.
FOLLOW CURRENT OVERSEAS TOUR VIGNETTES VIA INSTAGRAM
REDBIRDS TRAINING CAMP ROSTER
2024-25 McGILL HOCKEY TEAM SCHEDULE
LIFETIME OVERSEAS TRIPS BY McGILL MEN'S HOCKEY TEAM
| MO |
DY |
YEAR |
|
RESULT |
McG |
OPP |
|
|
OPPONENT |
TOUR |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
20 |
1981 |
* |
L |
8 |
9 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Kloten HC |
(Switzerland Centennial Tour) |
| 12 |
21 |
1981 |
* |
L |
2 |
3 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Visp HC |
(Switzerland Centennial Tour) |
| 12 |
22 |
1981 |
* |
L |
3 |
6 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Lugano HC |
(Switzerland Centennial Tour) |
| 12 |
26 |
1981 |
* |
W |
5 |
3 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Porrentruy HC |
(Switzerland Centennial Tour) |
| 12 |
27 |
1981 |
* |
W |
3 |
1 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Wetzikon HC |
(Switzerland Centennial Tour) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
21 |
1983 |
* |
W |
8 |
6 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Ajoie HC |
Switzerland Tour |
| 12 |
22 |
1983 |
* |
W |
6 |
4 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Ambri-Piotta HC |
Switzerland Tour |
| 12 |
26 |
1983 |
* |
W |
9 |
1 |
|
at |
Switzerland - St. Moritz HC |
Switzerland Tour |
| 12 |
27 |
1983 |
* |
W |
8 |
2 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Visp HC |
Switzerland Tour |
| 12 |
28 |
1983 |
* |
T |
4 |
4 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Langnau HC |
Switzerland Tour |
| 12 |
29 |
1983 |
* |
T |
3 |
3 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Fribourg HC |
Switzerland Tour |
| 12 |
30 |
1983 |
* |
W |
11 |
2 |
|
at |
Switzerland - Basel HC |
Switzerland Tour |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 8 |
27 |
1985 |
* |
L |
4 |
9 |
|
at |
Czechoslovakia - Litvinov (Div. 1) |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 8 |
28 |
1985 |
* |
L |
5 |
6 |
|
at |
Czechoslovakia - Slany (Div. 2) |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 8 |
29 |
1985 |
* |
L |
1 |
6 |
|
at |
Czechoslovakia - Kladno (Div. 1) |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 9 |
2 |
1985 |
* |
L |
4 |
9 |
|
vs |
Czechoslovakia - National U-20 Team |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 9 |
3 |
1985 |
* |
L |
5 |
9 |
|
at |
Czechoslovakia - Pribram (Div. 2) |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 9 |
4 |
1985 |
* |
L |
2 |
8 |
|
vs |
Czechoslovakia - National U-20 Team |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 9 |
6 |
1985 |
* |
L |
3 |
7 |
|
vs |
Czechoslovakia - Plzen (Div. 1) |
Banik-Sokolov Tournament |
| 9 |
7 |
1985 |
* |
W |
4 |
3 |
|
at |
Czechoslovakia - Sokolov (Div. 2) |
Banik-Sokolov Tournament |
| 9 |
8 |
1985 |
* |
L |
5 |
6 |
|
vs |
Czechoslovakia - National U-18 Team |
Banik-Sokolov Tournament |
| 9 |
9 |
1985 |
* |
W |
5 |
1 |
|
vs |
Czechoslovakia - National U-18 Team |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
| 9 |
11 |
1985 |
* |
L |
4 |
10 |
|
vs |
Czechoslovakia - National U-18 Team |
Czechoslovakian Tour |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
28 |
1991 |
* |
W |
9 |
2 |
|
at |
Germany - Baden Selects |
European tour to France and Germany |
| 12 |
29 |
1991 |
* |
W |
8 |
1 |
|
at |
Germany - Baden Rusty Raiders |
European tour to France and Germany |
| 12 |
30 |
1991 |
* |
W |
7 |
2 |
|
at |
Germany - Lahr Selects |
European tour to France and Germany |
| 1 |
2 |
1992 |
* |
L |
2 |
5 |
|
at |
France - Viry Chatillon |
European tour to France and Germany |
| 1 |
5 |
1992 |
* |
W |
3 |
0 |
|
at |
Germany - Baden Raiders |
European tour to France and Germany |
| 1 |
6 |
1992 |
* |
W |
10 |
3 |
|
at |
Germany - Wernau |
European tour to France and Germany |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
28 |
1994 |
* |
W |
12 |
4 |
|
at |
UK - Humberside (Premier Division) |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
| 12 |
29 |
1994 |
* |
W |
8 |
7 |
|
at |
UK - Peterborough (Premier Division) |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
| 12 |
30 |
1994 |
* |
L |
3 |
11 |
|
at |
UK - Great Britian Selects |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
| 1 |
2 |
1995 |
* |
L |
2 |
9 |
|
at |
UK - Fife Flyers (Premier Division) |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
| 1 |
4 |
1995 |
* |
L |
4 |
8 |
|
at |
UK - Paisley Pirates (First Division) |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
| 1 |
5 |
1995 |
* |
W |
5 |
3 |
|
at |
UK - Durham Wasps (Premier Division) |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
| 1 |
6 |
1995 |
* |
W |
6 |
4 |
|
at |
UK - Great Britian Selects |
Overseas Tour in the United Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
29 |
1997 |
* |
L |
3 |
5 |
|
at |
Slovakia - Plastika Nitra (Extra League) |
Overseas Tour of Slovakia |
| 12 |
30 |
1997 |
* |
L |
4 |
6 |
|
at |
Slovakia - Liptovsky Mikulas (Extra League) |
Overseas Tour of Slovakia |
| 1 |
2 |
1998 |
* |
L |
1 |
5 |
|
at |
Slovakia - Dubnica (Division 1) |
Overseas Tour of Slovakia |
| 1 |
3 |
1998 |
* |
L |
2 |
3 |
|
at |
Slovakia - Skalica (Extra League) |
Overseas Tour of Slovakia |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
29 |
2000 |
* |
L |
4 |
6 |
ENG |
at |
Netherlands - Tilburg EHC (Amsterdam) |
125th anniversary European Tour of Germany & Netherlands |
| 1 |
2 |
2001 |
* |
W |
8 |
3 |
|
at |
Germany - Sonthofen EHC |
125th anniversary European Tour of Germany & Netherlands |
| 1 |
4 |
2001 |
* |
W |
5 |
3 |
|
at |
Germany - Schongau EHC |
125th anniversary European Tour of Germany & Netherlands |
| 1 |
6 |
2001 |
* |
W |
6 |
3 |
|
at |
Germany - Atlantis EHC (Ulm-Neu-Ulm) |
125th anniversary European Tour of Germany & Netherlands |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
27 |
2004 |
* |
L |
3 |
9 |
|
(at) |
Russia - Nat'l B Team |
Mont Blanc Tournament in France (at Albertville) |
| 12 |
28 |
2004 |
* |
L |
1 |
4 |
|
(at) |
Finland - Nat'l B Team |
Mont Blanc Tournament in France (at Albertville) |
| 12 |
29 |
2004 |
* |
L |
0 |
2 |
|
at |
France - Nat'l A Team |
Mont Blanc Tournament in France (at Albertville) |
| 12 |
31 |
2004 |
* |
L |
6 |
7 |
|
at |
France - Briancon HC |
(at Briancon, France) |
| 1 |
2 |
2005 |
* |
T |
4 |
4 |
|
at |
France - Morzine HC |
(at Morzine, France) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 12 |
29 |
2007 |
* |
W |
7 |
3 |
|
at |
Serbian Selects |
at Belgrade, Serbia |
| 12 |
30 |
2007 |
* |
W |
3 |
1 |
|
at |
Serbia - Vojvodina-Novisad All-Stars |
at Novisad, Serbia |
| 1 |
3 |
2008 |
* |
L |
1 |
2 |
|
at |
Hungary - Dunaujvaros Steel Bulls |
at Dunaujvaros, Hungary |
| 1 |
4 |
2008 |
* |
W |
4 |
2 |
|
at |
Hungary - UTE Budapest |
at Budapest, Hungary |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 8 |
20 |
2024 |
* |
|
|
|
|
at |
Czechia - Kladno (Div. 1) |
Czechia International Tournament (in Prague) |
| 8 |
22 |
2024 |
* |
|
|
|
|
at |
Czechia - Pribram (Div. 2) |
Czechia International Tournament (in Prague) |
| 8 |
24 |
2024 |
* |
|
|
|
|
at |
Czechia University Selects |
Czechia International Tournament (in Prague) |
SOURCE:
Earl Zukerman
Sports Information Officer
McGill University - Athletics & Recreation
CELL:
514-983-7012
TWITTER:
@EarlZukerman
E-MAIL:
earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca
