Andrew MacDonald Looking To Rebuild Confidence

Andrew MacDonald was on the ice at the PPL Center today in his first practice with the Phantoms.

The news of the day came with the arrival of defenseman Andrew MacDonald, who was waived by the Flyers on Monday and upon clearing waivers Tuesday afternoon made his first practice with the Phantoms at the PPL Center today. He was on the Phantoms' top pairing at practice today alongside Shayne Gostisbehere.

MacDonald's arrival to the Phantoms came as a bit of a surprise when it was revealed he was being placed on waivers Monday afternoon, but his addition to the AHL roster changes the dynamic of the defense. Here's what the top six looked like today:

Shayne Gostisbehere - Andrew MacDonald

Sam Morin - Mark Alt

Davis Drewiske - Robert Hagg

After the jump, I caught up with MacDonald on a varying degree of topics about his re-assignment. Read the transcribed interview.



Andrew MacDonald on being waived by Flyers and sent to the AHL:

Obviously the situation is what it is. Come down here, work hard and make the most of it.

MacDonald on how he found out he was being waived:

[Hextall] called me in on Monday before practice and gave me the news that they were going to put me on waivers and just kind of waited it out until Tuesday at noon he called me to let me know that I cleared and he wanted me to come down here for practice this morning.

MacDonald on how he took the news:

It's tough. I can't say I was exactly expecting that. It is what it is at this point. You just have to deal with it and do what you're asked. Come down here, work hard and work on your game and see how it all plays out.

MacDonald on being paired with Shayne Gostisbehere:

Obviously Ghost is a great young player. He had a really good camp. I think people are pretty excited about him. He's got a great skill set and he skates so well. It'll be fun. I played a little bit with him last year when he was up and practiced with him a fair bit. It's good to get out here right away. I hadn't skated since Saturday and it wasn't much of a big skate, so it's been a few days so it's nice to get back on the ice.

MacDonald on familiarity with Phantoms head coach Scott Gordon:

I had coach Gordon in New York for parts of the year - I was kind of between Bridgeport and Long Island when he was there, but had a few camps with him and had some success with him so hopefully we can re-kindle some of that.

MacDonald on the specific aspects he's looking to work on in Lehigh Valley:

I think I lost a bit of confidence last year there. It was a tough year through injuries and it was a bit of a struggle. At times I kind of put too much pressure on myself trying to live up to things instead of just trying to play my own game. I think anytime you're in a situation like this you try to reflect and work on anything you can and work hard at your game. Regardless of what level you're at, they're always trying to get better and work on it. Really just trying to round out everything.