The devil made me do it. That sentence comically could have been uttered by a Dundee fan as he was led out of the arena. His initial transgression was throwing a bottle (of Coke, apparently) at a player on Cardiff. He followed that up with a brief, unsuccessful attempt to meet that player in the tunnel as he proceeded to the locker room. It all made for a scene from the yesteryears of hockey. As such incidents do, it stoked the fires of debate over who and what belongs in hockey.
Dave Peters (Quincy, Mass.) certainly believed Brandon McNally belonged in a hockey rink. Watching McNally excel at Belmont Hill, the Dartmouth College assistant coach wanted to bring his tenacity to Hanover, N.H. McNally was reluctant at first. McNally told Peters, “I want to go to Harvard. I want to play in the Beanpot.”
It is never easy to pry a Massachusetts hockey player from that dream. So Peters keyed in on the point of greatest appeal: an immediate jump. Almost every other school interested in McNally wanted him to play a year of juniors or postgrad. Dartmouth was willing to bring him right in.
McNally rewarded their faith. As a freshman he challenged for the team goal’s crown, his 10 tallies just two shy of Eric Robinson. His sophomore year was off to a more auspicious start. Unfortunately, injury struck.
“It was my mom’s birthday,” Brandon recalled. “We were playing at Brown. I had the puck with like 10 seconds left. I shot it from the red line (at an empty net). It hit the post, I skated after it. I dove headfirst, and I tapped it in. (Garnet) Hathaway, he didn’t mean to, he kind of jumped on my back, and rode me into the boards.”
The dislocated shoulder, coupled with nerve damage, ended McNally’s season. How he obtained the injury says a lot. His dedication to rehabilitation said even more.
He would bounce back his junior year to produce a collegiate high in points (21). McNally is willing to admit he was not the stud on some talented Dartmouth teams. It was his drive that consistently put him among Dartmouth’s leading scorers.
“I’m usually not, I don’t know how to say this, the top guy or the one that everyone’s kind of watching. I kind of just find my way to make it.” After four years of making an impact, he turned his sights to the next level.
“Coaches notice how hard you work,” McNally noted. “Even after college, I wasn’t sure if I was a good enough skater to play in the American League … just found a way. That’s kind of my whole life and career.”
His first taste of the AHL came when his playing days at Dartmouth finished. Having participated in some development camps previously with the franchise, the Montreal Canadiens were intrigued by McNally, and they gave him a chance to show what he could do with their AHL affiliate in Hamilton. With three points in an 11-game sample, McNally showed some potential.
He rode that into training camp. McNally felt happy with his performance. He got to play in front of the rabid Canadiens fans in the red/white game and was sharing the ice with many current and future NHLers. His rookie season was showing promise. Then, injury struck again. While not as crushing as at Dartmouth, it slowed his momentum.
“I missed first two weeks of the season. Put me behind the eight-ball pretty quickly, especially in the American League.”
He returned to find time on the fourth line. He eventually shared the ice and bench with John Scott. This came during Scott’s roller-coaster, All-Star season. McNally got a firsthand view of the peaks and valleys of playing enforcer. Yet, he also got to witness the adoration, the respect that accompanied Scott as he handled one of the more abnormal seasons for a professional hockey player. McNally didn’t cite it as the impetus for his style change, but, undoubtedly, it did not go unnoticed by the prospect trying to grind out a minor league career.
Shortly into the 2016-17 season, McNally found himself in Cincinnati playing full time in the ECHL. More importantly, he grew comfortable in the game he wanted to establish.
“In Cincinnati, I was one of the top guys. In Cincinnati, I played tough. I think I kind of figured out what kind of style of play and what game I needed to play a little bit too late. If I played like that with Saint John’s (AHL) maybe I could have stuck around a little bit longer. My two years in Cincinnati were some of the best times of my life. I loved it there.” Brandon racked up over 350 PIMs in his two years with the Cyclones, but he coupled that with 72 points. He had become a factor on all parts of the scoring sheet.
As much as he enjoyed his time there, realities of professional hockey struck, and he decided he would use his talents to see a bit of the world. First, he got in touch with his Italian roots. He journeyed to the Alps Hockey League, first playing with Vipiteno. In the northern Italian enclave, McNally continued his multifaceted ways, as he led the team in scoring and penalty minutes. He would play another season, but that would be less stable, and eventually thwarted by COVID. He narrowly escaped Italy before the worst struck.
Last season, he gave Denmark a shot, but the Scandinavian country did not suit his style. It all led him to a place he probably belongs: Cardiff. The capital of Wales might not be a hockey hotbed, but it loves sport, and it loves physicality.
“Hockey here, they kind of treat it like the football — soccer,” McNally observed. “Rugby is kind of more popular than soccer. They have about 50-60,000 fans. We kind of have more rugby-style fans here as opposed to maybe in North America. Cardiff Devils are top six, top five in the UK for the most passionate fans.”
So, on that wild December night, when Cardiff visited another rugged city — Dundee, Scotland — it shouldn’t come as a major surprize that things got a little rough. It all started innocently enough. There was some customary pushing and shoving. McNally came to aid his teammate. As he admits, he let it spiral from there.“I kind of just blacked out, honestly. Tempers are going, emotions are high.” Then, from a different height, a Coke bottle came flying. McNally acknowledged the amateur quarterback, who then came rushing down the steps.
Perhaps, what should be noted above all though is what happened next. Before the fan could reach McNally, an enthusiastic Devils fan grabbed him by the collar. Teammate Josh Batch had also sprinted in, quickly inserting himself between McNally and the wannabe attacker. As crazy as it might sound, especially to casual fans, it is those reactions that motivate McNally.
“It looks bad, and, obviously, I can’t be doing that stuff anymore,” McNally expressed with contrition. “To be honest, the fans pay our salaries. Last year, this league couldn’t play because they didn’t have fans. The way I play, besides doing that stupid stuff, it puts fans in seats. The guys that played here before, there’s some guys that did the same stuff. These fans love that.”
As a result, McNally has loved his time in Cardiff, and he wants to extend it. He also wants to make it worthwhile. The Devils will compete for the Challenge Cup, an in-season tournament of sorts. In third place as of this writing, they also have a chance at the coveted regular-season title. Should they fall short there, they certainly will have a shot at redemption in the playoffs. McNally hopes to contribute to any of that success in any way he can.
“It still feels like I haven’t reached my full potential. Even this year, my start was unbelievable, probably the best start of hockey I’ve ever had. Then, I broke my hand. I think this would have been the year I finally broke out. There’s only been about four games where I’ve played 100 percent. I’m just trying to help the team whatever way I can, just bring energy. Sometimes, maybe even score.”
