Neal’s part of family business lands him with Thunder hockey team

Michael Neal wasn’t forced into hockey, but he didn’t exactly have a choice, either.

Growing up in Canada with two parents and four siblings who were infatuated with the game limited Neal’s childhood recreational opportunities.

One brother, James, turned his healthy obsession into a career in the NHL, where he plays for the Nashville Predators in his ninth season. Michael Neal’s plight has him with the Thunder as he tries to realize the promise that got him drafted by the NHL’s Dallas Stars in 2007.

“We all played our whole lives,” Neal said. “That kept us busy after school, we’d get dropped off at the rink all four (brothers). Now that we’re all at least 19, 20 years old, it’s kind of crazy now to look back. You’ve got to give credit to my parents, Peter and Deborah Neal. They raised us right.

“It was hockey, hockey, hockey. A little lacrosse in the summer, but the majority was hockey, and it’s worked out so well.”

Neal, 26, is the second-oldest sibling, behind James and ahead of Nick, Peter and Rebecca. All the brothers have played professionally except for Nick, who was a juniors player in Ontario.

When Neal was drafted by the Stars, James was already in the organization, about a year from making his NHL debut. They trained together and had the same goals, but Michael’s was hindered by an injury that forced him to miss the 2007-08 season.

The goals never changed, though, and if Neal didn’t become more driven by watching his brother become an NHL All-Star, then his perspective was sharpened by seeing James work to achieve a dream.

“It’s dedication, a lot of dedication,” Neal said. “That’s your job. When I had my NHL contract, I’d go to the gym every day with my brother. It was nice to have my brother there to show me the ropes in my first NHL camp.… It’s unbelievable how prepared he is. He’s definitely helped me out a lot, and I still learn from him all the time.”

The same competitiveness Neal used to best his siblings in their friendly family rivalry has transferred to his career. Playing in the ECHL, two big steps from the NHL, isn’t an ideal scenario but Neal has worked to refine his game.

With Cincinnati and Kalamazoo last season, Neal set career highs with 39 points and 49 penalty minutes in 60 games. The penalty total is relatively modest, but Neal plays physically, using his 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame to his advantage.

“I’ve been told in the past that I’m a very good penalty killer,” Neal said. “There’s that aspect to my game, which is definitely an upside. I’m a left-handed shot while playing the right side. I love the right side – you can work on your one-timer a little bit as you’re coming into the offensive zone. Special teams is where I want to thrive, for sure.”

One of Neal’s jobs with the Thunder is to stand in front of the opposition’s net. Few goalies can see around him, and the traffic he creates causes distractions and diversions that can create space for Wichita shooters or lead to deflected goals for himself.

Neal scored on such a play in Wichita’s opener against Quad City, its first of two straight season-opening wins.

“You want to screen the goalie but you don’t want to get tied up too much,” Neal said. “A lot of the players these days just stand there. You always want to be moving. That point shot comes in, you can’t be standing there, feet planted and just wait and slowly turn.

“You’ve got to be screening, you’ve got to be turning. I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my dad. He taught me a lot along the way about handle to certain situations, and that’s definitely one I’ve learned from him.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 5:55 PM with the headline "Neal’s part of family business lands him with Thunder hockey team."