Telling him to 'Go score 50' might have been a more realistic request.
And, let's not forget, Mason McDonald is a puck-stopper.
"When we sent him down to Charlottetown (of the QMJHL) after training camp this year, we told him, 'The last thing you're thinking about is Hockey Canada and world juniors. Just go play,' " revealed Calgary Flames goaltending coach Jordan Sigalet.
Um ... yeah ... good luck with that.
"It was pretty difficult," McDonald admitted. "Over the last couple of months, it had definitely been on my mind, but you just try to minimize as much thinking as possible and just play, and I think I did a pretty good job of that.