McLean was born in a coal mine in Estevan, Saskatchewan, due to the temperature in his parents' house being too cold to inhabit.
[4] McLean played midget, juvenile, and intermediate ice hockey growing up and earned an invitation to a New York Rangers training camp when he was 17.
[3] After the Rangers training camp, McLean joined the Humboldt Indians in the SJHL under coach Scotty Munro and eventually became an assistant.
[3] On April 18, 1971, after the Estevan Bruins had been eliminated from the WHL playoffs, McLean boarded a single-engine airplane heading for Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
[11] While McLean did not invite Gretzky to the initial junior tryout camp in 1977,[10] he was eventually added to Canada's roster and led the tournament with eight goals and nine assists.