MacKenzie Weegar (born January 7, 1994) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). Weegar was drafted by the Florida Panthers with the 206th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.
Playing career
Amateur
Weegar played major junior hockey with the Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. After his selection to the Panthers, Weegar was signed following his second season with the Mooseheads in 2013–14 to a three-year, entry-level deal on May 29, 2014.
Professional
Florida Panthers organization
Following the signing, Weegar participated in the 2014 Prospect Tournament alongside fellow Panthers rookies Logan Shaw and Vincent Trocheck. After participating in the Panthers' five preseason games, Weegar was re-assigned to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage, to start the 2014–15 season. Although he missed a few early games due to an upper-body injury, Weegar earned his first AHL point with an assist on October 24, 2014. He would later score his first professional goal during a 3–0 win over the Iowa Wild on December 12. Within his first 19 games with the club, Weegar accumulated one goal and four assists. In late January, Weegar was re-assigned to the Panthers ECHL affiliate, the Cincinnati Cyclones. In his first five games with the Cyclones, he tallied one goal and three assists for four points. Weegar added one more assist in his next six games and was recalled to the AHL on February 5. He was returned to the ECHL a few games later but quickly returned to the AHL. Upon rejoining the Rampage, he played alongside Shayne Taker and Josh McFadden. Weegar finished the 2014–15 season with two goals and eight assists for 10 points through 31 AHL games.
During the 2015 offseason, the Panthers signed a multi-year player development deal with the Portland Pirates to make them their new AHL affiliate. Weegar again participated in the Panthers' rookie tournament before being assigned to the Portland Pirates for the 2015–16 season. He scored his first career goal with the Pirates on October 30 in a loss to the Rochester Americans. Although the Pirates qualified for the 2016 Calder Cup playoffs, Weegar remainder a healthy scratch as they were eliminated by the Hershey Bears.
Entering the final year of his entry-level contract, Weegar returned to the Panthers' new AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds, for the 2016–17 season. Despite missing 10 games during the season, Weegar proved to be one of the Thunderbirds' best players and most prolific goal scorer. He scored his first goal and assist of the season on October 16 to help lead the Thunderbirds to their first regular season win in franchise history. On October 26, Weegar scored the game-winning goal in overtime to add to his team-leading four points to lead the Thunderbirds to their first home victory. By January 10, Weegar had accumulated eight goals and six assists for 14 points. As a result of his accomplishments, he became the first Springfield Thunderbird to participate in the AHL All-Star Game. Following the All-Star Game, Weegar continued to produce points and led all team defensemen with 12 goals and 29 points through 51 games. On April 3, 2017, Weegar received his first call up to the NHL level as a replacement for Aaron Ekblad. He subsequently made his NHL debut with the Panthers that night in a 4–1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He recorded one shot on goals, two hits, and served a minor penalty while playing 16:45 of ice time. After playing in three games with Florida, and recording four penalty minutes and three shots on goal, Weegar was returned to the Springfield Thunderbirds. He finished the season leading all team defensemen with 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 and points through 60 games. Ahead of the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft, the Panthers left Weegar available to be chosen by the Vegas Golden Knights. After he remained unpicked, they signed him to a one-year, two-way contract on August 3.