McGregor 'humbled' to lead Canada's National Para Hockey team

BUFFALO -- Tyler McGregor was once the one looking up to others. Now six years into his role as captain of Canada’s National Para Hockey team, he’s leading the charge.

The forward was named captain in 2019, when he was 25 years old. He grew up idolizing some of the biggest names in hockey who were captains, including the likes of Sidney Crosby, Joe Sakic and Doug Gilmour.

“It was extremely humbling,” the 31-year-old said. “I idolized those people, people that were captains. But then I started this sport, and I met (former Team Canada captain) Greg Westlake and not just got to be his teammate and become a friend of his, but to understand how to be not just a good athlete and teammate, but a good member of the community, someone who contributes relentlessly to evolving sport. And I feel so humbled that I got to learn from those people and represent this team and this sport, and kind of share this journey with, honestly, people that I care most about. It's been incredible.”

McGregor helped guide his team to gold at the 2024 World Para Ice Hockey Championship in Calgary, and is looking for the repeat at this year’s tournament at LECOM Harborcenter. It’s part of the lead-up to the 2026 Milano Cortina Paralympic Winter Games in Italy, where Canada will be looking to end Team USA’s run of four straight gold medals.

“I think it's really important to appreciate looking ahead and what that actually means,” he said. “We're pretty grateful to punch our ticket officially to Milano Cortina earlier this week, and hopefully we can finish with another championship here on our way there.”

Canada coach Russ Herrington has watched McGregor come into his own as a leader after taking over for Westlake.

“That was a tough sled to fill, because Greg Westlake had done such a tremendous job, and before him, people like Jean Labonte and some of the other Canadians who have worn the ‘C’ for the para hockey team have all been tremendous ambassadors for the game,” Herrington said. “I think the weight of that hit him a little bit early on, but he's learned that it's a natural thing for him. I think he took the best parts of what he saw from Greg and Brad Bowden and Adam Dixon and some of the veterans that he played under, and now has crafted that into his own authentic self.”

A self that he wasn’t even sure of at one point.

McGregor’s life changed when he was 15 years old. He was an OHL prospect at the time, heading into his draft year. But in his first game of the season that year with the Huron Perth Lakers AAA team, he broke his leg in a collision with a defenseman from the opposing team, requiring him to have surgery.

Two months into his recovery, he started light training on the ice. Around the same time, a mass started to develop on his left knee, but it didn’t cause any pain; it was attributed to an excess of blood following surgery. Then, in late December, everything started to get worse with the mass having grown to the size of a tennis ball and he felt weak.

He felt better after a couple of weeks of rest and was on the verge of being cleared for contact, pending a final X-ray. It was in that X-ray that doctors discovered the cancerous growth. He was diagnosed with spindle cell sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, and two weeks leader was told they needed to amputate his left leg to save his life.

“It broke my heart and then it was really isolating, then it became confusing, not really knowing who I was anymore, what my path was going to be,” McGregor said. “And I went through probably a year of that.

“There was always this weird sense of belief that always, as much doubt as there was, the brief always outshone that, and that I was going to find my way back to this sport. I didn't know how that was going to happen, but I'm so fortunate that I did, and I couldn't have imagined, or I couldn't imagine anything else in my life at this point, 16 years later.”

Liam Hickey has grown up playing with McGregor, including as linemates. He says McGregor has “meant everything” to the team, with leadership qualities that were evident from the get-go.

“It’s his composure, his dedication to his craft,” Hickey said. “That guy works so hard to perfect every little thing that he can, and not only do it for himself, but do it for everybody around him and he brings guys with him. … He's the best friend, best teammate and the best captain in the world.”

Players are drawn to him not only because of his talents on the ice but what does off it. In 2023, McGregor raised $100,000 for cancer research with his Sledge Skate of Hope, skating 420 kilometers on ice trails from Invermere, British Columbia, to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

“I feel it's part of my purpose to whatever way I possibly can, to try and have even just as little of an impact as all of those communities and people within those communities have had on my life,” he said. “It's one of the reasons I wake up every day.”

In April, McGregor went to Mexico to help out at a sled hockey camp. He was joined by Josh Pauls, captain of the U.S. National Sled Team, and some others for the venture, which was in partnership with the Vegas Golden Knights. They ran six clinics over three days to introduce the sport in Mexico City, and the turnout was so high, they had to rotate players to ensure everyone got an opportunity.

“The way he approaches being a high-performance athlete is one thing where there's been influence, but also just his willingness to be a representative of inclusivity and diversity,” Herrington said. “Being an ambassador for Cancer Research for trying to help youth overcome and survive cancer. He does a lot in that area, a lot, and it rubs off just how willing he is.”