From the outside, it would be easy to look at Jack McClellan's path to Saint Mary's and assume it was a straight line: hometown kid, standout senior season, junior offers followed by a college commitment. In reality, getting to this point meant overcoming injuries, leaving home for the first time, and discovering that the hardest lessons in hockey are not always learned on the ice.
McClellan's hockey career started in his hometown of South St. Paul, where he first picked up a stick at five years old and spent most of his youth playing alongside the same core group of teammates. The love for the game came naturally.
"I loved the game when I was young, so I really got into it, and I just wanted to keep going," he said.
That passion was tested during high school, when injuries left him questioning whether he wanted to continue playing. Everything changed during his senior season.
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"I just made a huge jump, and then I started getting some interest from some junior teams, and that's kind of when I realized I wanted to pursue hockey further, and hopefully play in college." That realization opened a door that would take him much farther from home than he ever expected.
Junior hockey first brought McClellan to Des Moines, where the jump in competition immediately challenged him and helped him rediscover his confidence. "It was a lot more skilled than high school," he said. "It really got my confidence up, it grew my game in different ways that I was kind of looking for, and I became a lot more of a confident player."
A short stint in Rochester followed before he eventually landed in Oklahoma, where the game demanded even more. "It was a completely different ball game," he said. "Especially being down south, the physicality, it's unbelievable. These guys are just huge growing men." The competition was different, but the hockey itself was not the biggest adjustment.
For the first time in his career, McClellan found himself 12 hours from home. Having lived with his family throughout high school, he was suddenly adjusting to a new city, a new built-in family and an entirely new way of life.
"That was probably the toughest thing for me, being away," he admitted.
The experience also forced him to evolve as a player. The offensive-minded defenseman he had been in high school quickly became the steady, stay-at-home defenseman his junior team needed. Looking back, he believes that transition made him a better player, but more importantly, it helped him understand what mattered most when it came time to choose where to play college hockey.
That search eventually led McClellan back to Minnesota.
McClellan said the relationship he had built with head coach Ryan Egan over the years immediately stood out. The opportunity to join a program coming off a successful season, a large returning core, and the convenience of an on-campus rink only strengthened his decision. After spending years away from home, though, one reason outweighed all the others. "My family and my little sister [Mallory] can come watch all my games, which will be huge for them and me," he said.
Returning home was not just about playing college hockey. It was about sharing that experience with the people who had supported him from the very beginning.
His younger sister has become one of the biggest reasons he continues chasing the game. Whether she was watching online from home or following every step of his junior hockey career, McClellan says she never stopped supporting him.
"She doesn't miss any games. She'll watch the games at home. She just loves supporting me, and that's really kind of motivated me to be the person I am, and keep playing for her," he said.
Her encouragement has given every sacrifice, every road trip and every season away from home a deeper meaning, and it continues to shape the person Saint Mary's is welcoming this fall.
That influence reaches well beyond the rink.
McClellan plans to study criminal justice with hopes of one day working for a federal government agency, a career built around helping others and making a positive impact. His involvement in the Down syndrome community alongside his sister has only strengthened that desire. "I want to be a big role model for my sister," he said.
"I'd like to keep being active in that and keep showing support for that, and just kind of want to be someone that people can look up to." Those same values are also what he hopes to bring into the Cardinals locker room.
As a freshman, McClellan hopes to establish himself as someone his teammates can trust both on and off the ice. "I want to be a guy that guys can talk to. I like to view myself as a pretty big leader, so I'd like to start building those roles early," he said. His game reflects that mentality. "I like keeping the fans standing up, getting the fans involved. I love that, and just kind of the fight that I play with," he said. "A lot of fans in Oklahoma loved how I played, so I think that's what they should be most excited for."
The energetic, dependable defenseman Saint Mary's fans will see on the ice is the same person he hopes his teammates come to rely on away from it.
When his time as a Cardinal eventually comes to an end, McClellan hopes his impact will not be measured by statistics alone. He wants to leave behind a reputation as someone teammates could rely on, someone who brought energy to the rink every day and someone who treated people the right way.
For a player whose journey has taken him far from home before ultimately leading him back to Minnesota, that legacy would mean more than any goal, assist or win ever could.
