Alumni Spotlight
Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Sault Ste. Marie, 1996 - 99
3rd Round (84th Overall) to the Detroit Red Wings, 1998
University of Waterloo, 2000 - 02
By ROB ANDRUSEVICH
At his pharmacy counter in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Jake McCracken is part pharmacist, part local hockey hero.
The 27-year-old grad of the Soo Greyhounds is fondly remembered by his clients for his on-ice heroics years ago, and respected for patient care he provide those same individuals. McCracken was a rising star on junior and pro hockey charts, but an injury ended a promising career on the ice, so his education package with the Hounds set him up to succeed off the ice.
The native of Melborne, near London, was a second round pick of the Hounds in the 1996 OHL priority selection, and recalls it was quickly followed by a discussion with his parents Ted and Elaine about which option to pursue – the OHL, or an NCAA hockey scholarship.
“We felt I was drafted pretty high so the odds were good I would make the team. I could play hockey and if it didn’t go well I had the education package. If I went the NCAA route I’d have to stay and play junior B hockey for a couple more years and the NCAA doesn’t have as many games as the O.”
He remembers his first game in Hound uniform, and helping the team make a long playoff run in his rookie season. “On the ice you felt bigger than life. I remember my hair standing up on the back of my neck. The energy of the crowd . . . 4,000 noisy, cheering fans - I couldn’t believe how loud they were cheering for us. It was pretty exciting.”
The move was a good one for McCracken and the Hounds. He had two solid seasons between the pipes, and was recognized for that when the Detroit Red Wings selected him in the third round of the ’98 NHL draft. “I was happy, but at the same time I’d been brought down to earth. You still had to play well, sign a contract and make the team. (Getting drafted) was nice recognition for what I had worked for.”
But his career took a bad turn the following season in the Wing training camp when he tore his groin. Despite efforts to rehabilitate, the groin continued to tear after returning to the Hounds and he was forced to retire.
“When you’re playing here you loathe the long bus rides (to games),” he remembers. “When you’re done, you miss them.”
Fortunately his education plan was in place. He had worked with team education advisor Jerry Bumbacco to take high school courses that gave him career options including pharmacy. He graduated from high school, and managed to earn a pilot’s license at the age of 19, also paid for through education funds from the Hounds while heading off to university to pursue his career as a pharmacist.
Following graduation, McCracken says there were plenty of great reasons to make the OHL city his home.
“It’s a bummer I didn’t heal, but I wouldn’t trade anything (for the experience). I have a good lifestyle here, met my fiancée and some of my best friends. I really like it here.”