Major acquired many penalty minutes over his career due to his playing style, which involved battling in front of the net for loose pucks, scoring garbage goals, and blocking the goaltenders view.
He advanced to the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League for the 1987–88 season and put up 33 points in 57 games to go along with a whopping 272 penalty minutes (PIM).
Now as an NHL prospect, Major gained confidence and began the 1988–89 season again with the Centennials before being traded 11 games into the Kingston Raiders.
He led the team in penalties during the 1991–92 season with 302 and would add another 29 PIMs in the Lumberjacks' playoff run which saw them lose four games to none in the finals to the Kansas City Blades.
After his last season with the Lumberjacks, that included relocation to Cleveland, Major was let go by the parent club Pittsburgh and quickly signed as a free agent by the Boston Bruins on July 22, 1993.
Major again caught the attention of an NHL team, when the Detroit Red Wings signed him as a free agent on June 26, 1995.
He began play for the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL in the 1995–96 season and scored 29 points while racking up 234 PIMs for second on the team.
Major received his first shot in the big leagues during the 1996–97 NHL season when he was brought up from Adirondack for two games starting on November 2, 1996.
In his first game, halfway through the second period, Major fought veteran instigator Tie Domi of the Toronto Maple Leafs.