In a very unexpected turn of events, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has announced that undrafted free agent goaltender and recent Hobey Baker winner Dryden McKay has accepted a six-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation. McKay tested positive for Ostarine, a non-specified substance in the class of anabolic agents that is prohibited.
Normally, it could have resulted in a ban of up to four years, but as the press release indicates, McKay was found to have ingested it from a supplement that did not list Ostarine on the label. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke with McKay’s representative Paul Greene, who explained:
The only reason we got the reduction is because we figured out where it came from, and his degree of fault was very low. He’d been very careful about looking at the label.
Friedman goes on to explain that though there was immediate NHL interest in the free agent goaltender as soon as his college season ended, word had started to spread that “something was up.” He reports that McKay will be able to resume practicing with a team on August 25 and play on October 11. There is still interest, though notes McKay will have to start in the AHL and “work his way up.”
The 24-year-old goaltender had an incredible college career at Minnesota State-Mankato, culminating in a national championship appearance this season. Through 140 NCAA appearances, he posted a 113-20-4 record and a .932 save percentage, earning a shutout in 26 different games. In a lengthy statement released on Twitter addressing his situation, McKay indicated that he is looking forward to starting his professional career in the fall. He does not currently have a contract for the 2022-23 season.
GIVE IT TO BRINK
@DarkSide830 – Beat me to it! :)
Calm down it’s not like he was cheating or juicing. His supplement did not have it listed on the ingredients. Gosh people are so quick to cancel people, cut the kid a break
@Wowwwwww – We weren’t on the cancel train…just a bit of sarcasm… We both (@DarkSide830 & I) still believe the award should’ve been Brink’s.
Seems to me that McKay may have a legal case to be made against the manufacturer of that product.
Agreed. Who knows how many other athletes are taking the same thing, unknowingly putting that into their bodies. Could have serious career implications.
Yeah, this seems like such a non-issue. Pretty crummy to have come up just at the end of a pretty incredible final year.
It wasn’t on the label, he had no way of knowing it was in there. Don’t think there should be a suspension at all. And I don’t like Mankato. Go Bulldogs!