McCarthy hoping familiarity with Sabres leads to future spot in Buffalo

BUFFALO --Gavin McCarthy is no stranger to the Buffalo Sabres.

The 18-year-old defenseman prospect, selected in the third round (No. 86) of the 2023 NHL Draft, grew up a Sabres fan in the Buffalo suburb of Clarence, New York, the same neighborhood general manager Kevyn Adams lives in. One of his friends is Adams' daughter, Paulina, a classmate since kindergarten.

Adams saw McCarthy plenty on the ice, too, as vice president and later general manager of LECOM HarborCenter, the Sabres' practice facility, and director of the complex's Academy of Hockey from 2013-19. McCarthy played minor hockey with the Buffalo Jr. Sabres at HarborCenter.

"One of the advantages of, in my situation, when you have information like that, is you see a kid with high character at 10 years old and you've got a pretty good foundation there," said Adams, who knows McCarthy's family well. "So definitely played a role in ultimately picking him in the draft."

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McCarthy (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) learned a lot during his time with the Jr. Sabres, where he was coached by former Buffalo players Patrick Kaleta, Brian Gionta (an assistant to Kaleta) and Tim Kennedy.

"Growing up, you're maturing, kind of learning both on and off the ice things, so I think they've helped me a ton with the professionalism side of hockey, how to go about things," McCarthy said. "I was very fortunate to be around NHL players pretty much my whole youth career and take as much as I can from them."

His abilities earned him a spot as a 15-year-old on the 16U team coached by Kennedy. He was the youngest player on the team by eight months, but didn't look out of place.

"Very talented, very calm with the puck, very poised," said Kennedy, now a Sabres development coach. "Playing with older kids, sometimes it can be unsettling and unnerving, but he never had that."

That composure always has been a part of McCarthy's game. A two-way, puck-moving defenseman, he knows the importance of poise at his position. He feels he has added strength and improved his defensive game and is looking to take each of those elements to the next level.

"I think I could still get a lot stronger and that'll help my defensive game a ton," he said. "That's one of my biggest focuses right now."

He'll do that starting this season at Boston University, where he'll get to play with his eldest brother, Case McCarthy, a 22-year-old New Jersey Devils defenseman prospect who will be captain this season.

"He's a great leader," Gavin McCarthy said of his brother. "I look up to him in terms of almost everything. … I think he's honestly my mentor in hockey and I take a ton from him."

The pair, along with middle brother Aiden McCarthy, a 20-year-old defenseman for Navan of the Central Canada Hockey League, had plenty of battles on and off the ice growing up but are thrilled for the opportunity to be teammates.

"Neither of us ever would have thought we were going to play together because of the age difference," Gavin McCarthy said of himself and Case. "I think it's going to be amazing. He's been here for a number of years. He kind of can show me the ropes and help me out through my first year and going on through college. He loves it here and he couldn't be happier to have me here. … I'm super excited, he's super excited, and yeah, we're definitely ready to get going."

Gavin McCarthy has a Sabres sticker on the bedroom door at his parents' house that's been there "for quite a while," and a Dominik Hasek mini-banner he received at the game the Sabres retired the Hall of Fame goalie's No. 39 in 2015, among a bunch of other memorabilia. He'd go to about five Sabres home games per season and regularly would watch games on television.

He still follows the team to this day, including watching defenseman Rasmus Dahlin "a ton," and is looking forward to one day joining him in Buffalo.

"Obviously that's the goal, to get to that level and play with some of those guys," McCarthy said. "I'm super pumped for that, super exciting."