Team Canada Para hockey captain weighs future after leading team to silver

Canadian Para hockey stars, Tyler McGregor and Corbin Watson, recap their experience in Italy with CTV Windsor’s Sanjay Maru.

After leading Canada to another Paralympic podium, Tyler McGregor is facing a different kind of decision — balancing his future in hockey with a new chapter in his personal life.

The Windsor-Essex native returned home following the 2026 Winter Paralympics with a silver medal, his fourth appearance at the Games and third straight silver finish.

“I’m just excited to be home, spend some time with my fiancée, and our dog, and just enjoy being around family and friends,” McGregor said.

McGregor says what stood out most about these Games was the scale of attention surrounding Para sport, both overseas and back home.

“There was a lot more media attention, a lot more excitement and build up,” he said.

“We set attendance records. The coverage back home reached levels that have never been seen before.”

He says that increased visibility is helping people connect not just with the sport, but with the athletes behind it.

“When you really get to know the athletes and their stories of courage and resilience, it resonates with people,” McGregor said.

McGregor credits the team’s preparation and chemistry for his offensive success at the tournament, after spending more than 130 days together building toward the Games.

“We just felt ready,” he said. “We were in sync.”

That preparation translated into one of the top performances at the tournament, with McGregor recording 14 points in five games.

Even with that success, he says the result still leaves room for more.

“There’s a feeling of unfinished business,” he said.

“The expectation and the goal for a Canadian hockey team is to win gold medals, and we believe we’re on the path to getting there.”

But McGregor, 32, says he’s entering a different phase of life, with a wedding ahead and plans to start a family.

He says that shift has changed how he views the sport and his identity beyond it.

“I’m at a different place in my life where hockey and the results on the ice don’t dictate my worth off of it,” he said.

That perspective, he says, has brought a greater sense of confidence and balance.

Whether McGregor will suit up for another Paralympic Games remains an open question.

“The athlete in me says I’ll be there four years from now,” he said.

He says that decision will require conversations with family, given the sacrifices involved in pursuing another run.

“There’s a lot of people in my life that make a lot of sacrifices for me to go off and chase this dream,” he said.

Still, the competitive drive hasn’t gone away.

“I will do whatever I can to find a way to make that work and to be there in four years,” McGregor said.

For now, McGregor is taking time to reset at home — but says the goal moving forward remains unchanged.

“It wasn’t our moment,” he said, referring to the Para hockey final which saw the U.S. defeat Canada.

“But we’ll find a way.”