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A final word from Aurora Tiger Zack MacArthur

May 14, 2013   ·   0 Comments

By Jeff Doner

The Auroran has been doing a series of Q and A’s with some of the Aurora Tigers Junior A players who are moving on to the next step in their hockey and academic careers. This week is bruising blue liner Zack MacArthur, who was brought in from Lindsay at the trade deadline to shore up the Tigers’ defence for the playoffs.

Born: Tottenham, ON (Now lives in London)

Age/birthday: Sept. 24, 1992 (20)

Seasons with Tigers: 1

Shoots: Left

Position: Defence

Past hockey career: Started in Villanova, moved with the team to Orangeville and then got traded to Lindsay and traded again to Aurora.

Season Stats with Tigers: GP 37 – G 4 – A 7 – PTS 11 – PIM 25

Best memory playing with Tigers? “Probably my fight against MacCormack [Whitby], just because I didn’t really know the guys that well, I had only been there for a few weeks. That really helped me gain confidence with the team.”

What’s on tap for next season? “I had an offer to go division 3, but I think I’m going to go out west and work for a year to make money to go to school here.”

What was it like playing against your old team, Lindsay, in the playoffs: “It was tough because I’m friends with a lot of the guys, but obviously when you’re in a playoff atmosphere you can’t really be friends with anybody on the ice. I knew they were coming after me and if they pushed me it would get me out of the game. It was tough for sure. They played well. I billeted with Tanner Davis [Lindsay goalie] when I was with them.” Davis stole the series for Lindsay.

Hobbies? “I go to the gym every day. That’s just something I look forward to. I golf in the summer and still get on the ice a couple times a week for fun.”

Favourite movie? Anchorman.

Favourite sports movie? The Mighty Ducks.

On your iPod? “I listen to everything – a lot of house and metal. Those are pretty much my two, but kind of a weird mix. I’ve always been a pretty big Metallica fan.”

Favourite hockey team and why? “New Jersey Devils. When I was growing up I always liked to watch Scott Stevens. They’ve always kind of been my team because of him.”

Who will win the Stanley Cup this year? “Pittsburgh Penguins. I don’t think anyone can beat them – Chicago did well this year, but Pittsburgh just seems too stacked when everyone is healthy. Even with Crosby out of the lineup in game one they won 5 – 0 and there was a bunch of a different guys putting points up. They’re just too deep to lose.”
Favourite NHL player: “Scott Stevens for sure is my all-time favourite player. I enjoy watching Colton Orr.”

Which super hero would you want to be, why? “The Hulk, just because he’s a beast and nobody can really touch him. Spiderman? No, I just think running around shooting webs would get boring after a while.”

Who is your hero/idol/role model? “My cousin, Adam MacArthur. He played in the OHL [Barrie and Windsor] for a few years, so having him playing there when I was growing up gave me something to strive towards for sure. Having him there and me trying to make AAA, it definitely motivated me to work a little harder.”

Best thing about playing for the Tigers? “Split between the coaching staff and how well we got treated. I had never had coaches like the ones we had there. JR knew so much and he was definitely the best coach I had in the OJHL while I was there. Anything we needed, they were always there to help us. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

What will you miss about it? “Whenever I think about Jr. A, I’m going to think about my time with the Tigers just because it was that good. As far as the game in Jr. A, I’m going to miss the competitiveness and being on the ice every day doing what I love to do.”

Who is the funniest guy on the team? Any prank stories? “Brett Sinclair was pretty funny. He always made me laugh. He could sit there with a stare on his face when someone was doing a speech or talking and he would make us laugh. He was just one of those guys that could make people laugh. There was a lot of guys like that on the team though – it was a good group of guys.”

What type of hockey player are you, what are you known for? “When I started off in the league, I was just a hitting, grinding player, but I slowly started to turn into a little more offensive defenceman. Then I focused more on being a defencive defenceman in Aurora.”

Best accomplishment on and off the ice? “On the ice, I would say just making Jr. A. Growing up I just played single A hockey and could never make the AAA team – first year of major midget was the first year I made AAA. Obviously going into that year I never thought I would play Jr. A. Just playing in the OJHL for three years was my biggest accomplishment on the ice. Off the ice, it’s still hockey related but, my whole life I’ve played ball hockey in the summer and I got scouted to play in the Czech Republic with the under 20 team Canada last summer.”

Are you superstitious? “I would say no, but obviously there are some things I do as part of a routine before the game, but if I screw something up as part of my routine before the game it’s not the end of the world, I get over it pretty quick.”

Stance on fighting in hockey: “I like it. I think other than scoring a goal, you can’t really get your team going better than you can if there’s a good fight, especially if you’re down by a goal in a game or if the team is losing momentum. If somebody steps up, it gets the guys going.”

Should all NHL players be made to wear visors? “I would wear one, but I also think it’s a personal decision. I also understand for fighters in the NHL you don’t want to wear one because the guy punching you is going cut his hand on the visor and the guy wearing the visor is going to get a cut on his nose.”

If you were GM of Team Canada, who would be your top forward, defenceman and goalie? “Top forward is Sidney Crosby. Defenceman, probably Drew Doughty, because he is from London and he’s good obviously. Goalie, I would have said Brodeur for a long time, but he’s getting older, I’d probably go with Carey Price, Luongo is too up and down.”.

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