Ask Tim McGauley about the difference between junior hockey and professional hockey, and he’ll tell you that the players are bigger, faster and stronger.

But the former Brandon Wheat Kings forward, who has spent four seasons in the ECHL and American Hockey League, will tell you there’s also another factor that ultimately makes all the difference.

“They’re older men and this is their job,” said McGauley, who is 24. “In junior, you still have some guys who maybe aren’t completely, fully invested into the game. You can take advantage of them on the ice, but in pro, this is their livelihood. Lots of guys have families so they have to provide for them and this is their job. Everyone plays a lot harder and it’s a bit more physical.

“It’s just more narrowed down.”

On Jan. 10, 2011, the Wheat Kings sent superstar Brayden Schenn to the Saskatoon Blades for McGauley, Ayrton Nikkel and four draft picks. By the time he graduated a champion from Brandon’s 2015-16 team, McGauley had posted 309 points in 326 regular season and playoff games in four-plus seasons as a Wheat King.

McGauley had an outstanding season in Brandon in the 2014-15 campaign, leading the Wheat Kings in goals, assists and points, finishing third in league scoring and being named the Eastern Conference player of the year.

He returned for his overage season, and despite dislocating his shoulder in Brandon’s home opener on Sept. 25, 2015 and missing two months of action, he signed a three-year entry level contract with the Washington Capitals on Oct. 5, 2015.

He had the shoulder surgically repaired prior to the 2016-17 season, and played 39 games with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays.

“It has very good mobility,” said McGauley, who is with his family in Nelson, B.C. “My brother had the same surgery five years ago and my arm has a lot more mobility than his because of the updated technology.

“It’s pretty strong. I’m happy with my results for sure.”

The transition to the pro game had its challenges off the ice as well. One big one is the fact that he is now on his own, and doesn’t have his mother or a billet to look after him.

“It was definitely different,” McGauley said. “Coming home as a player in Brandon, my billet Glenda Zelmer — she’s a fantastic billet — would cook me a meal all the time. When you’re grown up and go away for road trips of whatever, you have to cook all those meals. There’s no billet mom to cook something for you when you’re feeling down. It’s up to you … It’s a bit of a change but there are some advantages to it as well, having your own place and a bit more freedom. 

“Pro is a lot more mature lifestyle for sure.”

In the 2017-18 season, he returned to the Stingrays before finally getting a taste of the AHL at the end of the season when he spent 14 games with the Hershey Bears.

“I had a pretty good year prior to that,” McGauley said. “I did really well. I didn’t get much of a shot in Hershey, to be honest. I had 14 games. I played a decent amount and they had really good coaches but it just didn’t work out. I’m a late bloomer and they called me up in the second half of the last year of my contract. It was a too-little, too-late scenario I guess.”

He still raves about how he was treated by the Washington organization, although he eventually left when he signed a two-way deal with the Colorado Avalanche farm club, the AHL’s Colorado Eagles.

In his first season with the organization in 2018-19, he had eight points in 23 games with the Eagles and 28 points in 39 games with their ECHL affiliate, the Utah Grizzlies.

In his fourth pro season, it all came together.

In 49 games with the Grizzlies in 2019-20, McGauley scored 20 goals and added 42 assists. He had a goal in 10 games with the Eagles.

He also enjoyed the opportunity to play with his former Brandon teammate Ty Lewis, who battled injuries with the Wheat Kings lineup in the 2014-15 season and was eventually sent back to the under-18 AAA Wheat Kings.

They were teammates for the entire 2015-16 season in McGauley’s overage year when Lewis was 17, and they won a championship together.

“I remember when I first saw Lewy at Colorado Avalanche prospects camp,” McGauley said. “It was kind of like old times. He was a good kid and a hell of a player too. I played with him this year on the same line and we really put in some work and damage this year. We both had really good years.”

A big part of that success is coming from between his ears. McGauley said experience is an invaluable tool when you’re trying to prove to yourself that you belong.

“When in junior and a 20-year-old, you have that confidence of being a 20-year-old,” McGauley said. “I was 16 when I first came into the league and a little bit nervous, and when I was 17 I was kind of nervous. When you’re 20 you have the confidence of playing for four years and know what to expect. You’re so comfortable in that position. 

“Going to pro, you’re back to the rookie part again.”

McGauley noted his renewed confidence and accumulated experience were reflected in his numbers this year.

“Confidence is huge, it’s one of the biggest things in hockey,” McGauley said.

“Especially as a player in my position, I’m older and have four years in the league so I have a lot of comfortability in the league. I feel good, but sometimes you feel good in the (ECHL) but then you called up to the AHL and it’s a different perspective again.

“Those are better players and it’s a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights wow. You have to realize having that same confidence is hard to maintain.”

McGauley noted at the pro level everyone has the skill. It’s the mental game that makes or breaks players.

“If you can maintain your confidence and be calm under pressure — a lot of it is mental at the end of the day — that makes a difference,” McGauley said. 

He’s targeted that as an area he must improve.

McGauley’s hockey future is currently uncertain. He’s shopping for a one-way contract in the AHL, though with the pandemic, things are quiet.

But he’s certain he’ll find something.

“After four years in the Coast, I really want to take a chance in the American league and prove I can play at that level,” McGauley said. “I believe I had a good enough season last year that I can make that jump.

“If I can’t get one, I’ll probably have to go off to Europe and play out there and see what happens. There are a lot of moves to be made and a lot of things up in the air but we’ll see.”