Fresh off a first place finish at the Para Ice Hockey World Championships, Forest's Tyler McGregor now has his sights set on paralympic gold.
McGregor and Team Canada captured the gold medal in South Korea last week. He scored a tournament-high 12 goals, including a pair in the final game against the USA.
He says it felt great to contribute, especially after the Americans beat them in the round robin.
"As a kid, you always dream of being a big part of a big game," says McGregor. "Fortunately for myself, I was able to do that. This is just one stepping stone on the way to the ultimate goal of winning the Paralympics next year. I'm taking a couple of weeks to enjoy it, and then get right back to work."
The 2018 Paralympic games are also being held in South Korea next March, and McGregor says the worlds will help them be more familiar with the country.
"Just being able to be in Pyong Chang, and acclimatize ourselves to the venues we'll be playing in next year, that was one of the most valuable experiences of going over there this year," says McGregor. "Everything was incredible, it's such a nice country and such a nice set up there."
McGregor says the team will look to bounce back from what he calls a disappointing bronze medal finish at the 2014 Paralympics in Sochi, Russia.
"That's when I really started to appreciate how difficult it was to win, and how hard you have to work to prepare to win gold " says McGregor. "We were able to share that with the new guys that have joined our program in the past couple of years. We have a lot of depth in our program right now, and we've almost become an 11 and a half month per year team."
McGregor and Team Canada will be busy this summer preparing for the Paralympics.
He says they'll be training lots, and facing the USA in exhibition contests.