By John MacNeil /

Never a healthy scratch in his rookie WHL season, Mark McNeill learned aplenty as a 16-year-old forward with the Prince Albert Raiders.

And, like any good student, McNeill continued to pick up lessons even after the final game of his team’s season.

“If I could take anything away from it, just seeing the 20s in the (dressing) room and how emotional they are, don’t take anything for granted, because it just flies by,” McNeill said March 13 after Prince Albert’s season-ending 8-3 win over the Saskatoon Blades.

The Raiders failed to make the playoffs for a third straight season, so there was plenty of education for the likes of McNeill, the fifth-overall pick in the 2008 WHL bantam draft.

“I learned a lot,” said the team’s rookie of the year. “I think the biggest change was living away from home. Just adapting to that and adapting to the type of game style. That was a big step for me, for sure.”

McNeill, a big and skilled forward from Edmonton, wears No. 9.

Made famous by the likes of Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard, that number is also synonymous for Prince Albert fans with Raiders graduate and longtime NHL star
Mike Modano.

Unlike most 16-year-olds in the WHL, McNeill didn’t sit out. He played in 68 games, and missed the other four while skating with Team Pacific in the world under-17 championship.

He defied the odds last fall in coming back from an off-season injury — a severed Achilles tendon — that sidelined him for four months.

“The coaches really believed in me and they gave me a chance, so I thank them for that,” said McNeill, who turned 17 in February.

“I think I started off slow, with my injury. My leg strength just wasn’t there, but I just worked at it every day. I think, now, I’m back at where I need to be. Over this summer here, I need to get even stronger.”
In the Raiders’ final game, McNeill scored his ninth goal and 24th point of the season when he converted a powerplay pass from roommate Ryan Harrison.

After six months as a Carlton Comprehensive High School student, McNeill transferred back to Vimy Ridge Academy, an Edmonton school where hockey training is part of
the curriculum.

“I’ll be working out and skating at school,” he said. “And I’ll be starting at Norm Lacombe’s gym out in Leduc.”

McNeill believes the Raiders are headed in the right direction, despite a late-season collapse.

“I don’t think much has to change,” he said. “I think we’re making the right steps. All the guys are going to come back next season even hungrier and we’re going to make a big
step forward.

“Hopefully, if I come to (training) camp ready, I’ll get a chance to maybe play on the top two lines. But it starts in the summer, right now, so I’ve got to start training.”

McNeill’s commitment last summer, while recovering from a major injury, earned him an opening-night assignment. He kept his place in the lineup, but there were growing pains.

“In our minds, (his injury) slowed him down for three months,” said Raiders coach and general manager Bruno Campese. “He really did not get going until probably December.

“Kudos to Mark to be able to do what he did. I think that speaks about his character and his commitment to be a player. Now that he’s starting to feel more comfortable, there’s a guy that could explode. He could be one of those guys that goes from 25 points to 80 points.”

McNeill, eligible for the 2011 NHL Draft, is on Hockey Canada’s radar as a prospect for the Ivan Hlinka Memorial World Under-18 tournament this August.