Max McCormick
Team Player, Firebirds Team Captain

By: Franҫoise Rhodes

The first puck is about to drop, the “Bird Barn” AKA Acrisure Arena is sold out, the crowd goes wild, and professional ice hockey makes its debut in the desert.

The date was October 16, 2022, with the Firebirds beating the Calgary Wranglers 6–5. “We had no idea what to expect says team captain Max McCormick. “Ice hockey in the desert, will anyone come to watch, will we sell any tickets,” were all of the concerns McCormick and his teammates shared when coming to the desert to start training at the new facility.

McCormick’s thoughts now, “It has been the most amazing experience for everyone on the team, the support we get from the fans is unbelievable, we love the Coachella Valley, we are proud to be on the Firebirds team and can’t wait to bring home that championship trophy,” shares McCormick.

As the Coachella Valley Firebirds’ current and only captain with this newly formed team, McCormick’s first spin on the ice came at the age of four when his parents took him to a nearby rink in the Green Bay area. “It wasn’t until I was five when my parents put a stick in my hand, and then I was off to the races,” recalls McCormick. Having an uncle that was a semi-professional hockey player for the Green Bay Bobcats, the sport was something the family grew into as a unit as McCormick was growing up, the more interest he had, the more ice hockey the family members began to play.

With a passion for the sport developing as he matured, McCormick excelled playing junior hockey for the Notre Dame Academy before moving to the Sioux City Musketeers of the United States Hockey League. Selected by the Ottawa Senators in the sixth round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, McCormick then committed to a collegiate career attending Ohio State University for three years. In 2014 McCormick turned professional with the Binghamton Senators of the American Hockey League, then in 2015 made his NHL debut on October 25, with Ottawa in a 4-1 defeat to the Arizona Coyotes.

McCormick’s dream of a steady career in professional hockey became a reality due to McCormick’s hard work ethic and dedication to the sport that eventually earned him the position of team captain for the Firebirds. With his wife Alexis, daughter Mia and Mikko, their pet golden doodle in tow, McCormick and his family now spend half the year in the Coachella Valley and half the year at their home in Green Bay. “We love it,” says McCormick, “the more we get to know our way around the desert, the more it feels like home.”

Practice is a daily routine for all of the players during the season, team meetings, gym, onto the ice and back to the gym. As team captain, for McCormick it’s about a good work ethic, good team mates and a strong competitiveness. “A team has to hate to lose and love to win and do the right things on and off the ice to have it translate into success,” explains McCormick. “It’s about how we prepare and practice and the strong team camaraderie that we have, it’s a very special bond.” And prepare the Firebirds have done and continue to do as this new team has won their division titles and has made their way to the Calder Cup finals in their first two seasons, quite an incredible feat.

However there must be a little time for fun, McCormick loves the outdoors, archery, bow hunting and golf! Playing to a 10, McCormick says he definitely has work to do. When in the Coachella Valley he’s always trying new courses in the desert and enjoys the Classic Club and several others. Playing maybe three or four times a month during the season, once the off season arrives it’s back to Green Bay where McCormick tries to play one or two times a week. When asked what his favorite club in his bag is, “My wedges.”

On a lighter side, it’s a known fact that fans are obsessed with hockey players teeth, a badge of honor of sorts on how many teeth have been knocked out during a career, with a laugh McCormick admits, “ I had my teeth knocked out playing roller hockey when I was eight or nine years old, I had my two front teeth knocked out on the ice about two years ago, those are fake, the rest are mine.”

Asked about the amount of gear worn during play? McCormick explains that the all of the gear is essential to safety. “With the speed and physicality of the sport we really need it all,” McCormick replies after giving the question some thought. “As far as mile-per-hour, I’m not sure but I think we are up in about the 20 MPH range at any time, and then we are always making sudden stops.”

With our interview time drawing to a close as McCormick needs to get back to the team practice, for him the sport is all about, “The comradery, the team bond, the laughs, the chirps, team dinners, and road trips, it’s all really is a lot of fun.”

And when asked to describe his life in one sentence, McCormick pauses for several seconds and says, “It’s like a crazy hockey lifestyle with a strong family support system.”