Canadian Para hockey captain McGregor grows from heartbreaking end to 2018 Games

It was a loss that broke Tyler McGregor's heart, one that weighed on him for many terrible months after Canada let the gold medal in Para ice hockey slip away in the final seconds of a championship tilt against Team USA at the 2018 Paralympics in Pyeongchang.

At the time, all he could do was watch it happen. McGregor, one of Canada's top forwards, sat in the left corner of the Canadian zone after charging back at full speed to help defend a USA breakaway in a game Canada led 1-0 with less than a minute left in regulation.

The breakaway followed a shot from Canadian defenceman Rob Armstrong that rang off the post of an empty net and likely would have ensured victory. Team USA charged back and buried the tying goal with 37.8 seconds left, then won 2-1 in overtime.

To have come so close, and to lose in such dramatic fashion, left several Canadian players dejected and in tears. It wreaked havoc with McGregor's mental health, and it was enough to make him question nearly everything about his life as an elite athlete.

"It was a very empty feeling for myself and for our entire team," said McGregor, 27, officially named captain of Team Canada on Thursday, and vying for gold again at the 2022 Paralympics in Beijing.

The next season, it was difficult to get up and train, or go to the rink, he said. McGregor battled self-doubt as a hockey player, and in his personal life. But as grief from that loss dissipated, he turned a corner and saw that winning another medal in Beijing was not only possible but likely.

"One benefit in leaving the last Games was that I really became a more well-rounded human and athlete. I would say that's kind of been a contributing factor to the success of the past couple of years."

On a personal level,