Head coach Adam Keefe has admitted he would like to see Mack Stewart in a Belfast Giants jersey more often after the 20-year-old turned in a Man of the Match performance at the SSE Arena to help them seal their place in the Challenge Cup Semi-Finals.
Despite playing on both Friday and Saturday for parent club the Milton Keynes Lightning in the NIHL, Stewart was drafted in to help a significantly short-benched Giants line-up for Sunday’s Cup clash with the Dundee Stars and excelled in the 1-0 win.
The former Great Britain Under-20s international registered 14:32 of ice time in the victory, putting two shots on goal and blocking one in his own end, as well as sticking up for team-mate Scott Conway by going after Stars forward Kameron Kielly, who hit the centreman off the puck in the first period.
Although his contract means Stewart is primarily a Lightning player, he has already made four appearances for the Giants in the 2024/25 season and, by the sounds of things, that won’t be the last of them either.
When asked how close Stewart is to earning a full-time spot on the Giants roster, Keefe responded: “He’s very close. If we could have him right now, we would.
Mack Stewart in action for the Belfast Giants during their victory over the Dundee Stars
“Last year, he had a good showing, but this year, he’s come in right from the start and been able to play big minutes for us. Every time we’ve called on him and been able to get him here, he’s done a good job for us, eaten some valuable minutes.
“Only having three lines, he was going to get some minutes regardless, and I think he did a great job. He’s reliable. That helped big time.
“He’s very close, and that’s great to see.”
Of course, such comments invite the question as to why the Giants don’t just sign him to a full-time deal now.
However, with new restrictions on how many players can be signed in a season, as well as the matter of buying him out of his Lightning contract, it’s not that simple.
“It’s easy for us to say we want him all the time but, at the same time, MK are battling for their own League title, and I wouldn’t appreciate somebody taking our best players,” added Keefe.
“Those discussions are always ongoing. We can try and get him in here whenever we can.
“It’s a good one for us, he’s done a great job for us at a much-needed time, and we’re glad we forward-thought that out. He played a big part in that win.”
Although there was only one goal in it, the scoreline doesn’t tell the tale of a game in which the Giants dominated the Stars from start to finish, as evidenced by a 41-22 shot count, and but for the excellent Jarrett Fiske in the Stars net, then it could have been a blowout.
Instead, Ciaran Long’s third goal of the 2024/25 season 4:28 into the third period and a second consecutive shut-out from netminder Tom McCollum led the Giants to their fifth straight win and seven points clear at the top of Group B in the Cup, ensuring they can’t be caught.
Belfast Giants head coach Adam Keefe admits he was pleased with his side’s victory over the Dundee Stars
“I thought we were great. We didn’t get rewarded for (our dominance), and I think that can be frustrating, but we kept going,” praised Keefe.
“Dundee battled hard to keep us to the outside for some of the chances. We did get some real quality looks inside, but their goalie was very good.
“Frustration can build from that, but it’s important we don’t succumb to that frustration and lose focus, whether it’s 1-0 or 10-0 – doesn’t really matter. We just want the two points.
“I was happy the guys stuck with playing the right way to get the right result. We played great after the goal to limit them.
“Defensively, we were good, and any time we had a breakdown, Tom was solid.
“I thought Longer was great all night, he was one of our better players, and it was great to see him get rewarded for that.
“We were concerned against a faster Dundee that we would have some trouble, but we managed their speed well.
“It was as complete a performance as I’ve seen from us, especially short-benched.”