Jared McCann

Jared McCann (born May 31, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward currently playing for the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League (NHL).

McCann was born on May 31, 1996, in Stratford, Ontario, to construction company owners Erin and Matt McCann.

He grew up with two older siblings, Justin and Jaimie, and an older half-brother named Jordan.

Justin was adopted from Guatemala out of fears that pregnancy would exacerbate the symptoms of Erin's multiple sclerosis.

The cold temperatures in Stratford meant that McCann spent his childhood playing ice hockey outside on frozen ponds.

His favorite National Hockey League (NHL) team growing up was the Los Angeles Kings, because he "liked the colours and the name of the team".

He played minor ice hockey with the London Jr. Knights of the Alliance Hockey league before joining the London Nationals of the Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League at the end of the 2011–12 season.

The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) selected McCann fourth overall in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection.

In 64 games with his junior ice hockey team during the 2012–13 season, McCann scored 21 goals and recorded 23 assists.

Following the 2012–13 season, McCann was named to Team Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 team and he competed at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament to win the gold medal with Team Canada.

He and Sergey Tolchinsky were named co-recipients of the Greyhounds' 2013 Rookie of the Year Award, and McCann was also named to the OHL's Second All-Rookie Team.

In Game 1 of that year's OHL playoffs, McCann was checked by Cameron Brace of the Owen Sound Attack.

He was assisted off the ice and taken to the hospital in an ambulance, with worries about a neck injury or possible concussion.

He was ultimately diagnosed with a concussion and severe case of whiplash, which kept him out of the lineup indefinitely, and Brace was given a five-game suspension for the play.

The Greyhounds lost their series against the Attack in six games, with McCann unable to rejoin the team before their elimination.

McCann was also selected as a member of Team Ontario for the 2013 World U-17 Hockey Challenge.

McCann was selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the first round (24th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, McCann has previously played for the Canucks, Florida Panthers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

McCann was a top 2014 NHL Entry Draft prospect.

After his selection by the Canucks (24th overall), he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract on July 24, 2014.

Following an impressive training camp, McCann was named to the Canucks' roster for the start of the 2015–16 season on October 5, 2015.

He made his NHL debut on October 7, 2015, against the Calgary Flames.

The following game, on October 10, he scored his first NHL goal against Jonas Hiller of the Calgary Flames in a 3–2 OT loss.

He scored the first goal of the night.

Alternate captain Daniel Sedin called it "a world-class shot."

On November 1, 2015, the Canucks announced that McCann and fellow rookie Jake Virtanen would remain in the NHL beyond their nine-game tryout period.

His first career assist came on a Jannik Hansen goal, on November 4, 2015, in a 3–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On May 25, 2016, the Canucks traded McCann with a second and a fourth round pick in 2016 NHL Entry Draft to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Erik Gudbranson and a 2016 fifth-round pick.

At the time of the transaction, Canucks general manager Jim Benning thought his team needed a physical defenceman, while the Panthers felt that McCann was a better fit for its possession-based style of hockey than Gudbranson.

McCann started the 2017–18 season with the Panthers with two goals and five points in his first seven games, playing in a bottom-six role.

On October 25, 2017, McCann was placed on Injury Reserve due to a lower body injury he received in a game against the Washington Capitals, on October 21, in which he recorded his fifth point for the 2017–18 season.

McCann returned to action on November 4, in a 5–4 loss to the New York Rangers.

Ironically McCann and Gudbranson later became teammates with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019.

On February 1, 2019, McCann was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with Nick Bjugstad in exchange for Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan, a second- and fourth-round pick in 2019 and Minnesota's fourth-round pick in 2019.

The Penguins' hope was for McCann to be a third-line center upgrade over Brassard.

On September 18, 2020, McCann signed a two-year, $5.88 million contract to remain with the Penguins.

On July 17, 2021, McCann was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a seventh round pick and Filip Hållander, a former Penguins draft pick that had previously been traded to the Maple Leafs.

McCann was expected by both Pittsburgh and Toronto to be an expansion draft casualty to the arriving Seattle Kraken; the Penguins used him to re-acquire Hållander and allow another player to be selected from their roster, while the Maple Leafs (who did not have enough space for a protection slot under expansion draft rules) acquired McCann for the purpose of enticing the Kraken to select him over forward Alexander Kerfoot and defenceman Justin Holl

On July 21, 2021, McCann was selected from the Maple Leafs at the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft by the Seattle Kraken.

Upon joining the team, he deferred to Calle Järnkrok and changed his jersey number to 16.

During the preseason, McCann played on the Kraken's top line in the centre position between Jaden Schwartz and Jordan Eberle.