Kraken's Jared McCann Plans To Pay It Forward

40-Goal Scorer Wishes Veterans Had Reached Out When He Was A Rookie

A pro prospect or rookie with the Seattle Kraken - or any pro team in any sport - has just two choices for interacting with teammates. And both have the potential to go wrong.

Option one is to display the confidence which got you selected to the big club in the first place. Speak up, get yourself noticed - and be reviled as a showboat who doesn't know his place.

Option two, which conforms to the unwritten rules and is chosen by most young pros, it to stay quiet. Don't lift your head above the proverbial weeds, let your play do your talking, walk two steps behind the veterans, speak only when spoken to.

Follow this path, and run the risk of being considered aloof, too good to mix in with the guys or their family members.

This is not a hypothetical. It happened to Kraken winger Jared McCann. Entering his 9th NHL season, and with a 40-goal season to back up his story, McCann would like to make life better for future youngsters who play on his teams.

If you have seven minutes, the video below is well worth your time. It speaks not only to the hurdles McCann overcame, but the mental struggles facing nearly all young pro athletes.

"Mitts Off with Luke Gazdic" - Jared McCann