Hunter’s handles – A profile of Colorado College hockey player Hunter McKown and his stick work

Colorado College forward Hunter McKown can handle a stick, "The first time I really started to get into stickhandling was way back. It was at the Garry Hebert hockey camp. He showed me how to stick handle a golf ball, and I was just obsessed with doing that," says Colorado College forward, Hunter McKown.

He's already won a gold medal with the national development team. His goal is the play in NHL. He's only a freshman but he's already on the league's radar, "It's really taking over my whole life at this point. It's what I love to do," says McKown. If there's a shootout and the game is on the line, you're in trouble, "In a shootout situation, you get to have a little bit more fun. There's more freedom to do what you want, and enjoy the game as it is," says McKown. He started playing hockey when he was two years old and he's constantly working on his handles, oddly enough, he isn't as sharp in practice, he gets the kinks out before game day, "Whatever the first practice of the week is, we do a shoot out at the end of practice. Two weeks in a row, going into the bubble, I just could not score in the shootout in practice. For some reason, the coaches believed in me enough to put me in the shootout," says McKown.