Maybe this is when it all finally starts to set in for Dryden McKay.

As he watches a banner raised Thursday in honor of his winning the Hobey Baker Award earlier this year as the top player in college hockey at his now-alma mater, Minnesota State University, perhaps he’ll finally be able to appreciate his record-setting run as one of the greatest goaltenders to ever play at the NCAA level.

McKay racked up the accolades late in that run – namely the most wins in a season with 38, which came during his senior season, and most career shutouts, a whopping 34 – but the Downers Grove, Illinois, native always, at least publicly, remained laser-focused on the task at hand during all of it – winning a national championship.

Ultimately, the Mavericks fell short of the big prize at back-to-back Frozen Fours, but now that McKay has moved on to his first year of pro hockey with the ECHL’s Newfoundland Growlers, has he finally been able to take a step back and reflect on his historic four-year collegiate career?

“I think I finally did,” McKay told FloHockey via cellphone. “This summer was a little bit longer, and without having to be at school for summer school and stuff like that, that’s when it kind of hit. When guys are going back to school for this school year, and I wasn’t going back, it hit me that school’s over.”

When Ken Dryden introduced Dryden McKay at the 2022 Hobey Baker Banquet (2 of 2) @MinnStMHockey #hobeybaker #collegehockey #CawlidgeHawkey @NCAAIceHockey @CCHAHockey @CanadiensMTL @HockeyHallFame pic.twitter.com/xcK40WlmiE

— Hobey Baker Award (@HobeyBakerAward) December 15, 2022

While his former teammates were back on campus getting reacquainted and settling in for another campaign on the ice, McKay used the time to reflect. 

“You start thinking about all the great things we did, and all the fun times that we had,” McKay said. “All the wins, especially. It was a little bit bittersweet, but, I think once I got to Toronto, I was able to turn the page and get excited about the pro game and this new chapter in my career.”

You’ll notice, however, the answers are all “we” and not “me.” That extends to being asked about the moment of which he was most proud during his four years with the Mavericks, with the assumption being that it was when he won hockey’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

Talk to McKay long enough, and it quickly becomes evident that what he’d focus on the most was a team-related accomplishment over anything he did individually, and that shouldn’t be a surprise at all. 

 “I think it has to be in the COVID year when we shut out the Gophers to go to the Frozen Four,” he said. “That was one of the top moments for sure. That was kind of when our program earned that respect, especially within our state. Everybody always looks at the Gophers, as they should, as the top dogs. And they’re obviously a really good team again this year, but I think we were able to shut them out on the big stage and on ESPN, and I think it really did a lot for our program as far as recruiting and the attention that we got.”

The confidence and attention that came with that win carried over to the next season.

“It felt like last year, throughout the whole year, that we really had people believing in us and everybody knew we were for real,” McKay added. “I think that game was the one game that really sticks out and was a big step the program had to take. Being a part of that was really cool.”

Of course, while there were plenty of eyes on the program as a whole, many of them were on McKay, who went undrafted, despite four years of putting up video game-type numbers at the college level.

After a much-publicized USADA ban following a reported accidental 22-picogram appearance in his system of the banned substance Ostarine, he signed a two-year, American Hockey League contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs top minor-league affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

While he certainly wasn’t going to be able to replicate the four years of sub-two goals against averages he had in college, things still have gone well for McKay in his first pro season. 

He earned his first AHL win earlier this year, playing primarily with Newfoundland, posting a 6-3-1 record and .892 save percentage in his first 10 ECHL games. 

“It’s definitely been an adjustment,” McKay said. “But I’m in a good situation here and part of a good organization, and it’s been good so far. With more games comes less practices, so I think just being able to learn how to prepare, both on and off the ice, for the games being mid-week or three-in-threes or whatever it is, it’s a lot of games in a short period of time. Just being able to handle that has probably been the biggest thing.”

It has been a learn-on-the-fly type of season for McKay in the Maple Leafs organization, especially in the ECHL, where chances against a goalie can come seemingly out of nowhere, and there might be slightly less structure than there would be in the AHL, despite high skill levels in both leagues.

His time with the Marlies, albeit a brief two-game stint earlier this year, provided a unique glimpse into the style of play he’ll be facing as he continues to move up the organizational ladder.

“Things worked out for me to play two games in Grand Rapids, and that was huge for me to get the confidence that my game works at that level and I can have success,” he said. “But also seeing how hard it is to play at that level and how slim the margin for error is, there’s a lot of really good players in that league. That was a positive experience, and to get those games in earlier this season was big for my confidence going forward.”

The Leafs had shown interest in McKay for a while. 

In speaking to multiple players who’d been in their organization, McKay learned Toronto would be a good fit, especially when it comes to resources for goaltenders. McKay says that having constant interaction with a multitude of goalie coaches is something he’s appreciated and something you wouldn’t necessarily find everywhere.  

#Growlers update thread (12.11)

AHL-signed Dryden McKay stopped 22/24 in a 3-2 overtime win against Iowa, including this nice breakaway save. Good for him to right the ship after allowing 6 goals in back-to-back starts.

Totals: 10 GP, 6-3-1, .892 SV%, 3.28 GAA pic.twitter.com/Sh2pRvR4hL

— Kyle Cushman (@Kyle_Cush) December 12, 2022

There also has been consistent opportunity in the past for netminders in the organization regardless of where they are – Keith Petruzzelli recently dressed for several NHL games after having manned the pipes in Newfoundland just last year – so that there was a path to the game’s highest level for McKay regardless of where he got assigned to start the year also was  important.

“I knew some guys had played here, and they had really good things to say,” McKay said. “They made it clear that you’re not going there because they don’t believe in you or it’s a negative thing, you’re going here because it’s a good place to play and get minutes and get used to the pro game. Toronto isn’t going to forget about you. If you perform, and you do well, they’re watching and they know. They stay in contact, and it’s all part of the development process.”

That makes the mindset McKay is taking toward the remainder of his first professional season easier to understand, focusing more on that development, instead of trying to rush where it’s taking place.

“It’s just continuing to learn and get better every day,” he said. “Take the positives and the negatives from the games, and just keep trying to progress forward. Hopefully, at the end of the year, I can look back and feel that I’ve made a big jump from where I’ve started to where I finish. We’ve got a really good team here in Newfoundland, and we’re hoping to make a really deep playoff run. I hope to be a really big part of our continued success.”