Legendary Lumber Kings Coach Mac MacLean Passes Away at 90 Years of Age
Mac Maclean was among the most influential people in the over sixty-year history of the Central Canada Hockey League. His passing gives everyone who has had the opportunity to be part of the league to reflect on just how he impacted virtually every area of how the league exists to this day.
In the early 80’s Mac was among a small group of operators who recognized the league was in jeopardy and its very existence was in the hands of this small group that included legends like Mac, Art Nielsen, Jeff Maclean and Jim Farelli. They chose a path that would forever be the leagues identity. They made the league one that focused on player development and advancement and made it easier for young players to excel. It was groundbreaking and life saving. Down to only five teams and all losing money, this change saved the league.
I first dealt with Mac directly when he had become President in the early 1990’s and our Kingston Junior team had – for the only time in history – been granted permission to leave the OHA and join the ODHA. I worked with Mac who lobbied for us to get in and had secured the votes. When some teams did a 180 and voted no, we didn’t get in and I saw first hand the passion that Mac had for the league. He said they would forever regret not accepting this entry. I think people today would agree.
In the mid 1990’s we crossed paths again when he was running the Braves and I was running the Bears. We were great rivals and the matchups were epic.
Mac ran the teams in Pembroke, Hawkesbury, Brockville and Smiths Falls (he brought them back from extinction) and after a spin in management went back to his roots in Pembroke in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
Then he became the Commissioner and I came to know him again in the early 2000’s when I re-joined the league in Pembroke in 2003 prior to my tenure as CCHL Commissioner from 2006-2023.
He was a visionary at the national level and a key voice in the Canadian Junior Hockey League. The World Junior A Challenge was one of his biggest national accomplishments.
As a coach and manager, owner and operator and President and Commissioner Mac Maclean did it all for the CJHL/CCHL.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to a man who always saw the big picture for the league, made tough decisions and was passionate and committed like no other.
He provided me with wise counsel and was a leader in every way.
While I may have served the longest as Commissioner, my appreciation for the wisdom of those before me like Mac Maclean, Pat Parker, Don Brown and Peter Peckett was something I valued greatly. They were often a source of information and counsel and I am forever grateful to all of them.
Mac Maclean will be missed but never forgotten.
For those in the CCHL today, be grateful for his vision.
I will always be thankful for his friendship and support as Commissioner.
Kevin Abrams
CCHL Commissioner
2006-2023
