Tyson McLellan isn’t taking anything for granted at this point.

The Denver assistant captain has experienced the highs and lows of college hockey, and he’s determined to make the most of his senior season. So far, so good.

McLellan has helped the Pioneers to an 8-1-1 start entering this weekend’s series against NCHC rival North Dakota and has points in five of the past six games. His four goals through the first quarter of the season are just one away from his career high of five, set during the 2016-17 season.

“The big difference, maybe the only one, is this season he’s fully healthy,” DU assistant coach Tavis MacMillan said. “Now we can see what he can do.”

How he got here

Tyson McLellan, University of Connecticut center? For two-plus years, that’s the track he was headed on until he de-committed in 2016 near the end of his junior career.

“I talked to Monty (former DU coach Jim Montgomery, who had seen McLellan play when both were in the USHL), and came out for a visit,” McLellan said. “I committed on the spot right before the Frozen Four in 2016.

“At the beginning, playing for Monty was a big appeal, but the whole staff was a plus. The proximity to my family (in San Jose and Western Canada), the program’s track record, the facilities. There were a lot of reasons.”

That ’16-17 campaign, McLellan’s first as a Pioneer, culminated with the program’s eighth National championship.

“It’s been a journey, that’s for sure,” he said. “Coming in as a freshman and winning, you think that’s what’s going to happen every year.

“My sophomore year I got hurt (and played just 15 games) and our team – which was even more talented than the one that won it all – got humbled at (NCAA) regionals.

“My junior year, we had no expectations, we lost all those guys to the NHL, and we made it to the Frozen Four again.”

In other words, go figure.

Finishing strong

This past summer, McLellan trained in Denver with Director of Sports Performance Matt Shaw longer than he had in the past. Some of that was due to the fact he entered an offseason healthy for the first time since 2017. The results, as they have been for so many current and former Pioneers, were predictable.

“I had a really good summer,” McLellan said. “It took me a while to find my game last season after that injury (which required surgery).”

The strength gains added other components to McLellan’s game.

“Health and confidence go hand-in-hand,” MacMillan said. “That’s allowed his game to take off, and it’s allowed him to enjoy it more.”

Linemate, roommate and frequent summer training partner Liam Finlay added, “I’m not surprised. He’s played like this in spurts before. But now it’s more consistent. He’s definitely more confident and it shows.”

Not just a stat sheet filler

The stat sheet doesn’t tell the full story about McLellan’s game. He offers the Pioneers a multitude of other strengths.

“He plays in every situation for us, and plays a lot,” MacMillan noted. “He contributes in all three zones.”

In addition to being one of the fastest Pioneers, McLellan also excels on face-offs. Finlay offered a pro comparable.

“It’s tough to put a finger who you’d compare him to, but I’d say (longtime NHLer) Carl Hagelin (of the Washington Capitals),” Finlay said. “He’s a really smart two-way center with sneaky offensive skill. He’s super fast, good on the PK and on offense.”

Another thing McLellan has brought to DU is excellent leadership ability. He’s worn an “A” for two seasons, and he was part of a group that MacMillan credited with helping last season’s team come within an overtime goal of playing for Title No. 9.

“Our upperclassmen last year were very important to our success, and Mac was in the middle of that,” the coach said. “It was a young team that needed a lot from the players. They’re around them a lot more than the coaches are, and they held them accountable.

“The other thing with Mac is he’s a great ambassador for the program. He understands how we play, how we act around campus. He’s been around the pro game and seen how the guys who are successful act.

“He knows how to do things the right way.”

Coach on the ice

McLellan’s teammates often compare him to a coach on the ice, an assessment that shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who knows him.

He is, after all, the son of longtime NHL coach Todd McLellan, currently the L.A. Kings’ bench boss. When Tyson was 9, Todd’s coaching career ascended to the NHL – first as an assistant to Mike Babcock in Detroit and then as the head coach in San Jose from 2008-15. When Tyson was 12, he saw first-hand what a Stanley Cup-winning team did.

“I was really lucky to see the game from that perspective,” he said. “I tried to be a sponge. I saw what the did on a daily basis – how they prepared, how they worked on their conditioning.”

He said he was strongly influenced by longtime Sharks captain Joe Pavelski, a seventh-round pick who also won an NCAA title (at Wisconsin in 2006) and then worked his way into a five-time 30-plus-goal scorer.

“His work ethic stood out,” McLellan said. “I got to skate with him and work out with him at times. I saw how much he put into his craft. His hand-eye coordination is unreal but he does drills all the time to work on that. He might not have the best skill set, but he’s been an NHL captain and has scored 40 goals.”

(Like McLellan, Pavelski also saw wisdom in playing for Montgomery, signing with the Dallas Stars this past summer.)

Senior moments

Leadership is a component of hockey that McLellan takes seriously, and he said an overlooked reason for the Pioneers’ 2017 title run was the roll the seniors took in helping others.

“(Center) Matt Marcinew was big, he took me under his wing and showed me what’s expected,” McLellan said. “He and the others, as well as the coaching staff, showed us the way things are. Talking about culture can be cliche, but one reason it’s so strong here is everyone has a piece of it. You hear that from Day 1.”

It’s a topic that McLellan, Finlay and fellow seniors Michael Davies and Erich Fear have discussed at length.

“We’ve had conversations about it for sure,” McLellan added. “We remember how the seniors took charge our freshman year. Look at those guys and what they did, but they were still themselves. We want to emulate that.

“Fins isn’t going to come into the room and start yelling and smashing stuff, but he will lead in his own way. We all bring our own strengths to that.”

The quartet remembers well what it takes to win, but if they’ve learned anything – particularly McLellan – it’s that the journey happens one day at a time.

©First Line Editorial 2019