Hockey is widely considered a fraternal sport, one where bonds in the locker room run deep. When it comes to the USHL’s Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, that notion goes a step further with two forwards who call Massachusetts home.
TJ Walsh (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Marc McLaughlin (Billerica, Mass.), both entering their second year in America’s top junior league, are best of friends, linemates and classmates all bundled into one. They share a special relationship, one which often landed them on the same line in 2016-17 with head coach Mark Carlson’s RoughRiders.
"We were both young players in the league but we adjusted pretty well and we pushed each other to work hard and get better," Walsh said. "Hopefully we’ll do that again this year."
Walsh, 17, wasn’t exaggerating either, as he’d flank McLaughlin, 18, as a right or left wing, with the former’s big frame shining at center. They’ll encounter a hiccup in 2017-18, though, as Walsh had surgery on his right shoulder earlier this summer and will be out until Christmas.
But for the duo, Walsh’s impending recovery is like a blink of the eye for what’s been a lifelong friendship. As young as 5 and 6, they played for the Minuteman Flames and would hang out outside of the rink.
They played together until their teenage years, then briefly went their separate ways and would reunite on summer tournament teams. That tease, however, became reality in 2015-16 when Walsh left behind a star-studded stint at Shattuck-St. Mary’s in Minnesota to join up with McLaughlin at Cushing Academy.
At the prep school in Ashburnham, Mass., they became roommates and showed well, posting nearly a combined 70 points.
"We like to think we have some good chemistry," Walsh said. "We’ve been playing together for so long that you get used to it. Marc’s a great player so it makes it easier for me."
Now linked up with Cedar Rapids, they live with the same billet family, offering a place for their friendship to truly blossom. They’d go to class together, head to the rink together and then crash at home at night.
To stay busy, they’d play golf; McLaughlin introduced Walsh to all eight Harry Potter movies, and they binge watched Netflix shows such as "Friends" and "One Tree Hill." Then, as teenagers are wont to do, they’d play video games, with NBA 2K17 their go-to.
"I started off never playing before and now I give him a pretty good game," McLaughlin said. "But I’m more of an NHL guy and that’s when it’s usually back and forth. He’s more of the video game guy, but if we get in a game of ping pong, he’s done."
McLaughlin added that it’s simply their competitive nature shining through, with Walsh chipping in that it’s why their friends joke that they share a "bromance." Such ribbings might continue, too, as the bond these forwards share will continue when college hockey rolls around.
They’re both committed to Boston College for the 2018-19 season, with Walsh the first to announce. He joked that he’d like to think he had "some influence" on McLaughlin’s decision, especially because he vouched for his friend to the Eagles’ coaching staff.
They, of course, each earned their BC commitment on their own merit, but can’t help but wonder what could be in store when Conte Forum becomes their home rink.
"We’re excited to be together and who knows, maybe we’ll be roommates again," Walsh said. "When you spend so much time together, you get used to it. I get to miss him a little during the summer."
McLaughlin echoed Walsh in hoping to be roommates — not just teammates — again.
"BC will be an awesome experience," McLaughlin said. "That’ll be seven years straight of playing together. It’s just been awesome having him around and to look for guidance and how he holds himself. It’s been a great ride and I can’t wait for it to continue as we get to BC."
Bromance aside — to use Walsh’s word — the relationship these two Boston-area kids share is one that isn’t lost on Carlson. From their Cushing days, it was obvious to him early on that they were particularly close and that’s translated to the ice, where he said McLaughlin has taken "great strides over the last year" and Walsh has a "really bright future."
However, what stood out the most to Carlson wasn’t their respective talents or the countless laughs. Instead, it was their character.
"Outside of being friends, the first thing that comes to mind with Marc and TJ is they both had the courage to leave home and leave prep school and come out to the USHL," Carlson said. "They’re both driven to better themselves as people and hockey players."
The reason for that? McLaughlin said the answer is quite simple.
"We’re always doing stuff together," he said. "Doesn’t matter what time of year it is."
Always a pair, never too far apart.
