Steve McCarthy (born February 3, 1981) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 ...

defenceman 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 ...

. McCarthy played in 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 ...

with 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 ...

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

and the

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL sea ...

. He is currently an assistant coach for the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern C ...

since the 2021-2022 NHL season.

Playing career

McCarthy was drafted by the

with the twenty-third pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut in the

1999–2000 NHL season The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for ...

and he recorded an assist on his first shift. After playing 134 games with the Blackhawks, he was traded to the

on August 22, 2005 in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. He was then traded to the

by the Canucks for a conditional fourth-round pick. on March 9, 2006 In the 2008-09 season, McCarthy left the NHL and signed a one-year contract with

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n team

Salavat Yulaev Ufa Hockey Club Salavat Yulaev (; ), commonly referred as Salavat Yulaev Ufa, is a professional ice hockey club based in Ufa, Russia. It is a member of the Chernyshev Division in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). Established in 1957, Salavat Yu ...

of the newly formed

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

. McCarthy struggled to adapt to the European transition and went scoreless in just 18 games with Ufa. On July 10, 2009, McCarthy returned to the North America when he was signed by the

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

on a one-year contract. However, on September 24, before ever playing a game with the Ducks prior to the 2009-10 season McCarthy was traded back to Atlanta, for future considerations. On October 1, 2010, McCarthy, went back to Europe, signing with

TPS TPS or Tps may refer to: In arts and entertainment *Télévision Par Satellite, a French satellite television company *Third-person shooter, a game genre * Torsonic Polarity Syndrome, in ''South Park'' animation * Trailer Park Sex, a band from ...

, whose squad had been decimated by in defence. He played 32 games in his only season for the team. McCarthy signed a one-year deal with the

ZSC Lions The Zürcher Schlittschuh Club Lions are a professional ice hockey team located in Zürich, Switzerland, playing in the National League (NL). Their home arena is the 12,000-seat Swiss Life Arena. The team was founded in 1930 and played at the ...

of the Swiss

National League A The National League (NL) is a professional ice hockey league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss league system. Prior to the 2017–18 season, the league was known as National League A. During the 2018–19 season, the league h ...

on October 16, 2011, to play under former NHL coach Bob Hartley. On April 17, 2012 - with just 2.5 seconds left in regulation time - he scored the game-winning goal in game 7 of the Swiss playoff finals for ZSC Lions. Helping the Lions to claim the title, McCarthy followed Bob Hartley, as the newly appointed head coach of 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 ...

, back to North America and signed with Flames AHL affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat after a successful try-out on October 7, 2012. McCarthy though was released by the Flames on January 18, 2013 and five days later on January 23, rejoined ZSC Lions for the remainder of the campaign. In the 2014-15 season, McCarthy as a free agent belatedly signed a professional tryout contract with the AHL's

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Arizona Co ...

on November 11, 2014. He played three games before being released. On February 23, 2015, he was again signed in the AHL in agreeing to a try-out contract with the

Iowa Wild The Iowa Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Des Moines, Iowa. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Wild play their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The ...

As an unsigned free agent over the summer, McCarthy continued his playing career by signing a one-year contract with the

Kalamazoo Wings The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate ...

of the ECHL on October 3, 2015. In 30 games with the Wings, McCarthy contributed with 9 points before returning to the American League in signing a professional try-out contract with the

Lake Erie Monsters A lake is often a naturally occurring, relatively large and fixed body of water on or near the Earth's surface. It is localized in a depression (geology), basin or interconnected basins surrounded by dry land. Lakes lie completely on land an ...

on January 8, 2016. McCarthy featured in 17 games with the Monsters, and remained on the roster as a healthy scratch as the Monsters won their first

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...

. On July 19, 2016, McCarthy signalled the end of his playing career after 16 professional seasons, in accepting an assistant coach role to remain with the Lake Erie Monsters.

International play

McCarthy was captain of

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

at the 2000 World Juniors Championships in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. He led the team to a bronze medal finish, as Canada defeated the United States in a shootout.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mccarthy, Steve 1981 births Abbotsford Heat players Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Canadian ice hockey defencemen Chicago Blackhawks draft picks Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Wolves players Edmonton Ice players Iowa Wild players Kalamazoo Wings (ECHL) players Kootenay Ice players Lake Erie Monsters players Living people NHL first-round draft picks Norfolk Admirals players Salavat Yulaev Ufa players Ice hockey people from Trail, British Columbia Springfield Falcons players Vancouver Canucks players ZSC Lions players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland 21st-century Canadian sportsmen