Casper native signs full-season contract with hometown hockey club

Austin McPherson has signed a full-season contract with the Casper Cards. The 19-year-old forward played in eight games this year under an affiliate agreement that did not guarantee a permanent spot. He has now secured his place on the roster for the remainder of the season.

McPherson grew up in Cheyenne. He began skating at age two or three and was playing hockey by the time he was four or five. In the summers when he was about 12 years old, he traveled to Arizona with his father to pursue higher-level competition. His father, also a former hockey player, hoped his son might one day reach Division III at Elmira College in New York.

The 19-year-old returned to Wyoming in the fall. He joined the Cards for a tryout period. Head coach Slava Pleseev was unsure if McPherson would make the team when final cuts were made in September. Pleseev said he had not fully made up his mind just weeks before the season began.

Pleseev reached out to McPherson on Oct. 29 to confirm the player was the team's only local native. The coach told him he would be signing a full-season contract the following week. That decision convinced the player to stay. He said he missed being home a lot during his travels and wanted to live with his mother again to spend the time he had missed.

McPherson has not filled up the box score, but his value goes beyond goals and assists. The decision to keep him speaks to how much the organization has come to appreciate what he brings, particularly considering how uncertain his future looked during training camp.

In hockey, forward groups are divided into four lines of three players. The top two lines, known as the top six, tend to get the most ice time and are expected to make big plays and score goals. The third and fourth lines, the bottom six, see less ice and are usually expected to be more physical and defensive.

Pleseev recounted a conversation on Nov. 2 where he told McPherson, "We are with us full-time. I will be signing a full-season contract with him next week." McPherson said he has been learning to be more defensively responsible and has gained an appreciation for the less flashy side of the game. He said a huge adjustment is not forcing plays that do not need to be forced, but rather scanning the ice and making a safe play instead of going for broke on every shift.