[6] He chose the NHL over the WHA, and though he impressed team officials in his first training camp, the Islanders assigned McKendry to their Central Hockey League (CHL) affiliate, the Fort Worth Texans.
He made his NHL debut in 1977–78, appearing in four games with the Islanders,[2] but spent the majority of the season in Fort Worth where the Texans won the Adams Cup as league champions.
He scored the first two goals of his NHL career on April 12, 1980, against the Los Angeles Kings as part of a 6–0 victory that allowed the Islanders to win their preliminary round series.
[9] The Calgary Flames acquired McKendry prior to the 1980–81 season, trading a third round selection in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft on October 9, 1980.
[2] He was playing with the Flames' CHL affiliate, the Birmingham Bulls, when the team folded mid-season in February 1981 due to financial difficulty.