Michael McNiven (born July 9, 1997) is a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

currently playing with the

Greenville Swamp Rabbits The Greenville Swamp Rabbits are a professional ice hockey team located in Greenville, South Carolina. They play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference and play their home games at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in downtown Gre ...

in the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. He has previously played with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL).

Early life

McNiven was born on July 9, 1997, in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. His parents were unable to take care of him, and he was raised by his paternal grandparents, Jim and Christine McNiven. Although he had limited contact with his mother, McNiven's relationship with his father improved throughout his adolescence. He spent the 2012–13

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from cla ...

season as a

for the Halton Hurricanes of the

South-Central Triple A Hockey League The South Central Triple A Hockey League is a minor level ice hockey league based out of Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has ...

, where he posted an 11–9 record and 1.48

goals against average Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on s ...

(GAA).

Playing career

Junior

McNiven joined the

Georgetown Raiders The Georgetown Raiders are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Georgetown, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. The team began play in the Central Ontario Jr. B league and was known as the "Georgetown Gemini" u ...

of the

Ontario Junior Hockey League The Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) is a Junior A ice hockey league in Ontario, Canada. It is under the supervision of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The league was listed as the 7th best ...

(OJHL) for the 2013–14 season; at 16 years old, he was younger than many other players in the league, who were around the age of 20. McNiven finished the season with a 21–10 record and a .915

save percentage Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic. In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...

; despite not being expected to make the OJHL playoffs, the Raiders defeated both the Milton Menace and the

Buffalo Jr. Sabres The Buffalo Jr. Sabres are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Buffalo, New York. They are a part of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League. Its current head coach and general manager is Nick Tuzzolino, who played in the organization during its Buffalo ...

before falling to the

Toronto Lakeshore Patriots The Toronto Patriots are a junior "A" ice hockey team from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are a part of Ontario Junior Hockey League. History Quinte (1996–1998) In 1996, the Quinte Hawks of Deseronto, Ontario were granted expansion into the ...

in the West conference finals. The

Owen Sound Attack The Owen Sound Attack are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League based in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada. Based in Owen Sound since 1989, and operating under the current name since 2000, the Attack play their home games at the J.D. M ...

of the

Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overag ...

(OHL) selected McNiven in the fourth round of the 2013 OHL Priority Selection, and he signed with the team that year. On February 16, 2017, McNiven stopped all 16 shots he faced for his 10th career

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

, passing

Jordan Binnington Jordan Binnington (born July 11, 1993) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League (NHL). Binnington was raised in Richmond Hill and Toronto. He was drafted by the Blues in the third ...

for the most in Attack history. That May, he was awarded both the

Jim Rutherford Trophy The Jim Rutherford Trophy is given to the best goaltender in the Ontario Hockey League, as voted by coaches and general managers. The winner is also nominated for the CHL Goaltender of the Year award. From 1988 until 2019, the award was named the ...

for the best goaltender in the OHL, as well as the

CHL Goaltender of the Year The CHL Goaltender of the Year Award is given out annually to the top goaltender in the Canadian Hockey League. It is chosen from the winners of the league awards; the OHL Goaltender of the Year, the Del Wilson Trophy ( WHL), and the Jacques Pl ...

award. He finished the season with a 41–9–4 record, 2.30 GAA, .915 save percentage, and six shutouts in 54 games.

Professional

After going undrafted in the

2015 NHL Entry Draft The 2015 NHL Entry Draft was the 53rd NHL Entry Draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffa ...

, the

of the

(NHL) signed McNiven to a three-year,

entry-level contract A two-way contract is a professional sports contract that stipulates that an athlete's salary is dependent upon the league in which the athlete is assigned to play. This is opposed to a one-way contract that would pay the same salary regardless of ...

on September 24, 2015. He made his NHL debut on January 24, 2022, relieving

Cayden Primeau Cayden Primeau (born August 11, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender. He is currently playing for the Laval Rocket in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a prospect to the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). ...

in the third period of an 8–2 loss to the

Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and play their home games at the Xcel Ener ...

. Primeau left the game after allowing five goals on 32 shots, while McNiven allowed an additional three on seven shots. On March 2, 2022, McNiven was traded to the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in exchange for future considerations. Before he made an appearance within the Flames organization, McNiven was again traded by the Flames to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

in exchange for future considerations on March 21, 2022. As a free agent from the Senators at the conclusion of his contract, McNiven went un-signed over the summer. Approaching the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

season without an NHL or AHL offer, McNiven was signed to a contract with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL on October 10, 2022.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNiven, Michael 1997 births Living people Adirondack Thunder players Belleville Senators players Brampton Beast players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Greenville Swamp Rabbits players Jacksonville Icemen players Laval Rocket players Montreal Canadiens players Norfolk Admirals (ECHL) players Owen Sound Attack players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Undrafted National Hockey League players