A sports coordinator and mentor at Kings College, McLaren felt she had to give back to the school for the support and time off they had given her since she started working there in 2015, hence the break.
Time out from the sport was also important, considering by her reckoning she had missed only two international assignments since her debut nine years ago.
''I did intend to come back earlier but it didn't quite pan out so I ended up having a full year off and it's been really good,'' she said.
''Now I'm a lot stronger and in better shape. I've worked pretty hard over the break to get my body right and I am enjoying hockey, which is nice.''
McLaren, at full pace bringing the ball through the midfield, is among hockey's more electrifying sights. Add in her goalscoring punch with the penalty corner drag flick and she is a significant attacking presence for the fourth-ranked Black Sticks.
She admitted it took time to get past the hurt of missing a medal, for the second consecutive Olympics.
In London in 2012, New Zealand lost a semifinal penalty shootout after being deadlocked 2-2 with the world's best, the Netherlands, then missed a bronze with a poor display in the third-fourth match against Britain.
Two years ago it was the same story, losing the semifinal to eventual gold medallists Britain 3-0 then going down to Germany 2-1, a game they should never have lost.
''London hurt, but no one expected us to make the semifinals,'' she recalled.
''To me Rio hurts more because we should have won. Even with two minutes to go I still had my hand on the medal. (You thought) keep going through the process, it's going to happen. When it didn't it was quite surreal. (You thought) not again, surely not.
''You try and move on but it's definitely a sore spot and will be for the rest of my life.''
McLaren, a talented runner, dabbled in athletics last summer, but hockey is her first sporting love. She had athletic goals and ''that got me off the couch last year. My husband (former athlete Scott McLaren) is a trainer and he got me in pretty good shape.
''If I didn't (do that) I wouldn't be where I am now. It was the hardest training of my life.''
McLaren is excited by the talent coming through into the Black Sticks. She wants to help them develop and hopes her experiences can provide an extra incentive.
She is adamant the targets of 100 goals and surpassing Gaddum's record caps – she's 27 behind – aren't why she is back in the game.
''Kayla should have played many more tests than anyone. But she always said it's the quality not the quantity.''
For now she is nervous going into the first of five internationals against world No 3 Argentina in Buenos Aires on Monday.
She knows she is fit, but that's not international hockey match fit.
''You can't replicate that. The only way is to play games.
''I've played enough to know the speed of international hockey, I know what going to be like.''
The Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in April is on the horizon. There's another Olympic campaign further off, in Tokyo in 2020. But let's not go there.
''There's no point getting ahead of myself. I'm just keeping things simple and as long as I'm improving each time I on go turf I'll be happy.''
