How Mac Swanson Developed into an Elite Hockey Player – Grand Forks Herald

GRAND FORKS – Mac Swanson was born in Nuremberg, Germany.

His father, Brian, a two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist at Colorado College, played for the Nuremberg Ice Tigers in Germany's top league in the 2000s.

Mac attended preschool in the German public school system.

He did not learn as much German as his older sisters Addison and Sydney, who learned fluently. But he learned one sentence because he heard it so often from the teachers.

“Slowly.”

It means “to slow down.”

Yes, Mac has always been a little different than his peers.

At his third birthday party in the Nuremberg ice rink, he skated around the ice rink without help.

At the age of 4, he went to games – and watched them in full length. While other children became restless and ran around the arena, Mac didn't move.

“He sat there the whole game,” Brian said. “He could talk about the game. He knew who scored the goals. He analyzed it. It was crazy. I thought, 'What the hell is going on here?'”

This is how it started for the Mac.

Since then, he has become an underdog in hockey.

Despite his lack of size (he is 5'10″) and breakaway speed, he continues to dominate as he rises due to his exceptional vision and understanding of the game.

As a 16-year-old, he was included in the Fargo Force squad of the United States Hockey League a year earlier than originally planned. As a 17-year-old, he was USA Hockey's Forward of the Year, Player of the Year, Clark Cup Playoff MVP and Junior Player of the Year.

“His brain is on a different level than a lot of players his age,” said Jackson Keane, a former UND player who coached Swanson last season. “He continues to wear you down with little, really nice hockey games. As the game progresses, it wears you down mentally. He won't burn you with his skating, but he will make a 30-foot saucer pass down the court. “Tape that makes you think, 'How did that even happen?'”

As an 18-year-old, Swanson is already stepping into a prominent role at No. 5 UND.

“He does everything very well,” UND coach Brad Berry said. “For a young man coming in here, he doesn’t look like a young man. He is calm under pressure and always knows the next move. He plays extremely hard, finishes every check and has a high level of skill. Anything you give him, he takes.”

Swanson grew up playing the game.

When he was five years old, the family moved back to Alaska. Brian finished his playing career with the Alaska Aces of the ECHL.

Mac hung out in the Sullivan Arena locker room and played knee hockey with the Aces players.

“That’s when I really started to fall in love with hockey,” Swanson said. “I wouldn’t miss a home game. I would always watch the away games on TV.”

Originally he didn't want to be a striker like his father. He wanted to play goalkeeper.

Whenever he had the opportunity to put goalkeeper guards on, he did. His favorite player was Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings. But before he got too deep into goalkeeping life, Brian made it.

“My father had to scrap that idea,” Swanson said. “It probably worked out better.”

Swanson spent hours with his older sisters at the rink in the family's backyard.

Both sisters went on to play college hockey. Addison played forward at Division III Plymouth State from 2019-2023. She is now a fourth grade teacher in New Hampshire. Sydney is a senior defensive back at Nazareth University, a top Division III program in Rochester, NY

His younger brother Henry is 8 years old and is just starting to play ice hockey.

Swanson also played baseball and football. His mother, Lynn, played Division I soccer at Creighton.

“When hockey season was over, I would take the bags and put them on the shelf,” Brian said. “There was no more ice hockey until the season started again. They played football in the summer. I think it was a really good break. You still play sports, but it's a mental break from a sport from season to season. We tried.” To emphasize that. Yes, they may be rusty, but they will be hungry to come back.

“For me, you don’t have to be at the rink 100 hours a week, but when you’re there, it should be a good time.”

Although Mac was a talented striker in soccer, he eventually limited himself to hockey.

Cary Eades got a call from a friend at USA Hockey a few years ago who told him that Brian Swanson had a son who was a pretty good hockey player.

Eades, the general manager and president of the Fargo Force, traveled to Los Angeles to watch Mac compete in an early-season tournament.

“They didn’t have squad numbers,” Eades said. “But I was watching warmups and I said, 'That's Brian Swanson's kid.' He was a spitting image.”

Eades later selected Swanson in the first round of the 2022 USHL Phase I Draft.

Swanson was scheduled to play the 2022-23 season in Compuware's youth program at Michigan. He wasn't even planning on trying out the Force. The Swanson family planned a trip to Hawaii during the Fargo main camp.

But Eades thought it would be a good idea for Swanson to attend tryouts, so the Swansons changed their trip and Mac attended the camp.

Fargo began its camp by dividing older and younger players into different groups. Since Mac would not be playing in Fargo that year, he was sent to the younger players.

“He was way too advanced for that, so I moved him to the main group,” Eades said. “In the main group, he was the best player on the ice in the first few games. I called Brian and said, 'Hey, you know how we talked about the slow road? We'll let you think about it.' drive onto the highway.

Mac made the team.

Brian still hesitated. He didn't want Mac to go there if he wasn't ready or didn't want to play. Fargo's hockey team – Eades, Matt Cullen, Nick Oliver, Chad Demers – assured him they had a plan for Mac.

Brian discussed it with Mac in Hawaii. Mac wanted to go to Fargo.

“They played him,” Brian said. “They developed it further. They taught him how to play at the next level. They gave him every opportunity. I couldn’t say anything better about the organization and the people there because they stayed true to their word and made him the player he is today.”

In his first month at Fargo, Swanson played at the front with Cole Knuble and Bret Link.

He quickly became an elite setup man.

“He’s one of the best passers I’ve ever seen in this game,” Eades said. “And this is my 41st year. I've had the pleasure of working with some greats. It's like a quarterback. He sees the first option, the second option. Some really, really good players see a third option. Sometimes he sees them.” Fourth: He has eyes in the back of his head and already knows where he is going. That's not necessary.

When Swanson started working in Fargo, college recruiting was already underway.

Swanson knew he didn't want to play on the East Coast and immediately ruled out those schools.

He attended Colorado College, Denver, Minnesota, St. Cloud State and UND.

“I also got to come to The Ralph for a few games,” Swanson said. “I signed up here immediately after one game. It was pretty cool to see a game and I knew I wanted to play here.”

The family also had some connections to Grand Forks.

Brian played for a year with Grand Forks native and former UND captain Andy Schneider in Iserlohn, Germany. Grand Forks native Jacques Lamoureux briefly lived with the Swansons in Anchorage when he was first stationed there with the Air Force. Jacques crashed into Mac's room and even took him skating.

Mac is now getting used to the AND – and no one tells him to slow down anymore.

He plays winger on a key line with Carter Wilkie and Dylan James. He occupies a key position on the right flank of a power play unit.

“Obviously his passing and offensive skills stand out,” teammate Owen McLaughlin said. “But I noticed how hard he plays and how strong he is in puck battles. I think it sometimes goes a little unnoticed because he’s a smaller guy.”

Swanson said he's enjoying it so far.

“It’s pretty cool to play a game at The Ralph,” Swanson said. “There’s nothing like it in college hockey.”

Brian plans to travel to Grand Forks next weekend for Parents Weekend. UND hosts Boston University in a matchup between teams ranked in the top five.

“Honestly, I’m proud and happy that he’s happy,” Brian said. “You just want your kids to be happy with what they're doing and where they're doing it. He is living his dream. That’s all my wife and I could ask for.”