When preseason camp begins for the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins this fall, management will be keeping an eye on a bruising defenseman hoping to earn a role with the club.<\/p>\n
Maleek McGowan, a 21-year-old undrafted blue-liner, signed an AHL deal with the Penguins in mid-April, turning professional following parts of four seasons with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League.<\/p>\n
A 6-foot, left-handed shot, McGowan\u2019s physicality caught the eye of Penguins assistant general manager\/director of minor league operations Amanda Kessel.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaleek is somebody that we\u2019ve kind of identified the last couple of years and that we\u2019ve been keeping an eye on,\u201d Kessel said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs far as the player, he\u2019s somebody that has all the physical tools. He\u2019s somebody that\u2019s mean. He wants to hurt guys and we like that about him.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGowan initially arrived in Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton in mid-April on an amateur tryout agreement (ATO), allowing him to get a glimpse of the \u201cgrown-ups and men,\u201d as Kessel put it, that\u2019ll comprise his new competition pool.<\/p>\n
When things get underway and he\u2019s fighting for a roster spot, McGowan knows he\u2019ll have to battle for every opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo matter where you go, you\u2019ve got to earn your stripes,\u201d McGowan said. \u201cThat\u2019s essentially what I\u2019ve got to do here. I just want to go (and) prove myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Statistically, McGowan enjoyed his finest OHL campaign in 2025-26.<\/p>\n
Over 62 games with the Frontenacs, he doubled his goal scoring from the season prior, finishing with 14, while also logging a career-high 22 assists and 36 points.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d say it was probably my best year in the OHL,\u201d McGowan said of his most recent campaign. \u201cJust gaining trust over the years in my coaches, my teammates, even the fans \u2014 the fans cheering us on, coaches having faith in me, everyone just believing in me, that\u2019s what led me to become the player I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n
All told, in 208 career OHL games, McGowan registered 86 points (24 goals, 62 assists).<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, having started in the OHL as a teenager before spending years in the league and departing as an adult, McGowan felt like he underwent significant changes while with the Frontenacs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI developed not only on the ice, but I feel like off the ice,\u201d McGowan said. \u201cI went from being 17 to 21 so not only did I improve on the ice and become a better player, but I felt I became a man in a way.\u201d<\/p>\n
McGowan had an interesting journey path to becoming a hockey player.<\/p>\n
His parents, originally from Jamaica, immigrated to Canada, and after bonding with the son of one of his mother\u2019s work friends in Toronto, McGowan first put on hockey pads.<\/p>\n
Internationally, McGowan has honored his roots by playing for Team Jamaica at the Challenger Series, a tournament created in 2024 for nations \u201cphysically located in, or with a strong heritage population in, the Americas.<\/p>\n
Along with Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Lebanon were the inaugural participants, which returned in 2025 with the expansion of a fourth men\u2019s team, Greece.<\/p>\n
Now, all his hockey experiences, including four-plus years in the OHL, have led him to his first professional opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust be my best, on and off the ice,\u201d McGowan said. \u201cOff the ice, I\u2019ve got to be a pro, whether that\u2019s how I eat, how I sleep, how I present myself, how I dress \u2014 everything like that. And then on the ice, just give my all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When preseason camp begins for the Wilkes-Barre\/Scranton Penguins this fall, management will be keeping an eye on a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":242111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":["post-242110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=242110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/242111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=242110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=242110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=242110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}