There's little to joke about with MacLeod's game. The 6-2, 200-pounder is the most physical of the foursome. He had five goals and 11 points in 51 regular-season games, and two goals, three points and a plus-4 rating at the Under-18s. He earned the No. 44 spot on Central Scouting's rankings.
"John plays a very physical style of game," Gregory said. "He is a very powerful hitter. When he does this he can dominate, especially in the defensive zone. It gives him lots of space to make a solid play with the puck."
The key for MacLeod is toeing the line between smart, physical play and being reckless. He had 70 penalty minutes in the regular season, but none in seven games at the U-18s.
"He likes playing [physical]," Cole said. "He's learned a lot about it; when to incorporate it and not taking penalties, having more of a controlled aggression. He's come a long way. For as physical as he played at the [Under-18s] he didn't take one penalty. But he certainly had the other teams aware of him on the ice. That's how you want to play and that's how you win championships with guys like that."
MacLeod understands how important it is for him to find that line and stay on the right side of it.
"It's about experience," he said. "I think when I first started doing it I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I was trying to take anybody who had the puck and kill them. As you get older and learn more about the game and how it can affect your [defense] partner, leaving him with a 2-on-1 if you step up on a guy. It's all about experience. You have to learn if you're going to do that, you have to make sure there's not going to be an odd-man rush behind you, so it's just experience."