Connor Mackey (born September 12, 1996) is an American professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

for the

Hartford Wolf Pack The Hartford Wolf Pack are a professional ice hockey team based in Hartford, Connecticut. A member of the American Hockey League (AHL), they play their home games at the PeoplesBank Arena. The team was established in 1926 as the Providence Reds. ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) while under contract to the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). Mackey became highly coveted as an undrafted free agent after playing three years of

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

for

Minnesota State University Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU, MSU, or Minnesota State) is a public university in Mankato, Minnesota, United States. It is Minnesota's second-largest university and has over 145,000 living alumni worldwide. Founded in 1868, it is t ...

, ultimately signing with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

in March 2020. He is the son of former NHL player

David Mackey David Mackey (born July 24, 1966) is a Canadian former professional National Hockey League player. He played parts of six seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks, Minnesota North Stars, and St. Louis Blues. He had 8 goals, 12 assists, and 20 points in ...

, who played for the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

, and

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. Th ...

Playing career

Amateur

After playing two years of hockey at Barrington High School near his hometown of

Tower Lakes, Illinois Tower Lakes is a village in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,226. Geography Tower Lakes is located at . According to the 2010 census, Tower Lakes has a total area of , of which (or 87.92%) is lan ...

between 2012 and 2014, serving as team captain in his final year, Mackey spent the 2014–15 hockey season as a member of the triple-A level U18 Team Illinois in the High-Performance Hockey League (HPHL). Mackey began playing for the

Green Bay Gamblers The Green Bay Gamblers are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). They play in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center. History Professional hockey in Green Bay The first p ...

of the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...

(USHL) in 2015–16. He was named an

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

in 2016–17 and emerged as an offensive engine on a Gamblers squad that also featured future NHL first-round pick

Casey Mittelstadt Casey Mittelstadt (born November 22, 1998) is an American professional ice hockey center for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, eighth overall, by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2017 NHL entry d ...

. Mackey led the team with 47 points in 60 games and was named USHL Defenseman of the Year and to the USHL First All-Star Team. He was recruited to join the

Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey The Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey team is an NCAA Division I college ice hockey program that represents Minnesota State University, Mankato. The Minnesota State Mavericks, Mavericks compete in the Central Collegiate Hockey Associatio ...

team to begin the 2017–18 season. Prior to the start of his college career, Mackey was invited to and attended the

' 2017 summer prospect development camp as an undrafted free agent. Beginning that fall, Mackey enjoyed a successful debut season with the Mavericks which saw him earn a spot on the 2017–18

Western Collegiate Hockey Association The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates in the Midwestern United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a women's-only conference. From 1951 to 1999, it operated as a me ...

(WCHA) All-Rookie Team. In the summer of 2018, Mackey again attended an NHL prospect convention: this time, he was invited to the Buffalo Sabres' annual development camp. He followed it up with a 2018–19 season during which he was named a WCHA All-Academic and to the All-WCHA Third All-Star Team. In 2019–20, Mackey, unaffiliated with any professional club after going undrafted, emerged as a top prospect and attracted interest from 28 of the NHL's 31 teams. He led Mavericks defensemen with 24 points in 36 games en route to being named to the All-WCHA First All-Star Team and the

American Hockey Coaches Association The American Hockey Coaches Association was formed in 1947 in Boston. The founding members coached college ice hockey but membership has grown to include coaches at every level of the sport from youth hockey to professional ice hockey, althou ...

's All-America West Second Team. Mackey's performance in 2019–20 led TSN's Frank Seravalli to name him the top-ranked college free-agent on the market.

Professional

On March 20, 2020, Mackey signed a one-year, entry-level contract with the

to take effect at the start of the

2020–21 NHL season The 2020–21 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 104th season of operation (103rd season of play) of the National Hockey League (NHL). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North America, COVID-19 pandemic, the regular season was reduced to 56 gam ...

. Despite his contract not taking effect until the following season, Mackey joined the Flames for practices in the Edmonton bubble as part of the return-to-play program in the

2020 Stanley Cup playoffs The 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs was the playoff tournament of the National Hockey League (NHL) for the 2019–20 season. The playoffs began on August 1, 2020, and concluded on September 28, 2020, with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning their second ...

. Mackey made his NHL debut on February 13, 2021. During the 2022–23 season, Mackey remained on the Flames roster, primarily serving as a depth defenseman and healthy scratch. After 10 appearances with the Flames, Mackey was dealt at the NHL trade deadline along with Brett Ritchie to the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

in exchange for

Nick Ritchie Nicholas Ritchie (born December 5, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward for HC Slovan Bratislava in the Slovak Extraliga. Ritchie was selected by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round, tenth overall, of the 2014 NHL entry draft. R ...

and Troy Stecher on March 3, 2023. Following his brief tenure with the Coyotes, Mackey was signed as a free agent in the off-season to a one-year, two-way contract by the

on July 1, 2023. On March 1, 2024, he signed a two-year contract extension with the Rangers.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mackey, Connor 1996 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey defensemen Arizona Coyotes players Calgary Flames players Green Bay Gamblers players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Cook County, Illinois Ice hockey players from Illinois Minnesota State Mavericks men's ice hockey players Minnesota State University, Mankato alumni New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Barrington, Illinois Stockton Heat players Undrafted National Hockey League players 21st-century American sportsmen