AHL Honors for McCormick

On a Coachella Valley team that currently has the best record in the American Hockey League and is 9-0-0-1 in the last 10 games, there are any number of players that can be called out for the head-turning success of the first-year expansion team.
The most recent example is team captain Max McCormick. The NHL-tested left winger was named AHL Player of the Week Monday on the strength of his four goals and four assists in three wins this past week. McCormick scored a goal and added two assists in a 5-2 home Martin Luther King Day home win last Monday, then notched a hat trick in a 5-4 overtime road victory over the Ontario (CA) Reign Saturday.
"Max is a key player for our team and we are thrilled to see his success. He comes to the rink every day with the effort and attitude that makes him a special player," said Firebirds Head Coach Dan Bylsma.

McCormick scored the game-winning goal in OT and earlier recorded an assist for a four-point night. He kept the clutch scoring going on Sunday back at Acrisure Arena, assisting on the game-winning goal in a comeback 4-2 home win over San Diego. The Firebirds are now 27-6-3-1 with a .784 winning percentage.
McCormick has already set career season-highs in goals, assists, and total points as a professional in just 37 games. His 18 goals and 24 assists for 42 points is the ninth-highest amount in the AHL and leads the Firebirds. Andrew Poturalski (10 G, 31 A) and Jesper Froden (22 G, 18 A) round out the Firebirds' top three scorers.
The 30-year-old played in 10 Kraken games last season and has 93 NHL appearances (eight goals, five assists) with Ottawa, Carolina, and Seattle. He has played for six different AHL teams (including Kraken inaugural-season affiliate Charlotte) with 100 goals and 129 assists in 419 games played). McCormick was drafted by Ottawa in the sixth round of the 2011 NHL Draft and signed as a free agent with Seattle in late September 2021.