Mason McDonald, Nova Scotian Calgary Flames prospect, ready to turn pro

Hoping to start the season in the pros this year and he's doing everything he can this summer to make sure he's ready to impress at training camp.

'I'm doing everything I can this summer to put me there,' says Halifax player

Paul Palmeter CBC News Posted: Jul 04, 2016 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 4, 2016

Mason McDonald warms up during practice prior to the start of the IIHF World Junior Championship. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Mason McDonald is ready for the next chapter in his hockey career.

The Calgary Flames goaltending prospect from Halifax has likely played his last game of junior hockey and he's hoping to playprofessionally next season.He'll be spending this week at a Flames evaluation camp.

"It's pretty intense. We start with physical testing on Monday,"said McDonald. "The rest of the week is practices and scrimmages but there's a little fun mixed in there too, they take us out to Banff."

Top goalie in his draft class

Two years ago Calgary selected McDonald 34th overall in the NHL draft, making him the top goalie to be picked in his draft class.

He has been staying busy since the end of the hockey season working with a local conditioning coach who is pushing McDonald through a workout program provided by Calgary's strength and conditioning coach.

"The big thing for Mason is his core strength", said Bobby Pederson, manager of hockey development at ProEdge Sports Conditioning in Bedford, N.S.

"When I first met him he was a little bit hunched over and not having that core strength to remain big in the net. So we've worked really hard at that over the last couple of years and especially so far this summer."

Played in QMJHL

The 20-year-old graduate of the Halifax Hawks minor hockey program played the last two and a half seasons with the Charlottetown Islanders of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

He also played for Canada at the World Junior Championships in Finland last season. He says he felt some pressure leading up to his selection for the World Junior tournament.

"The first half of the season was pretty stressful because the World Juniors wereon my mind,"said the six-foot-four-inchleft-hander.

"Once the team was announced, it took a lot of the weight off my back and the second half I thought I played a lot better."

Ready for the Flames

Now he's ready to make an impression on the Flames.

While he still has a year of eligibility left in junior hockey, he wants to start the season playing pro either with the Flames AHL farm club in Stockton, Calif., or their East Coast Hockey League affiliate in Adirondack, N.Y.

"My goal is to be in Stockton this year and I'm going to do everything I can this summer to put me there,"McDonald said.

"It starts in the gym and on the ice everything I can to push myself to the next level."

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