MANITOBA MAJOR JUNIOR HOCKEY LEAGUE
Connor Shaw:
The Power of
Hockey
Just before he completed Grade 11, Connor Shaw lost his mom, Ingrid, after she fought a courageous battle against breast cancer. Thanks to his closest friends and his hockey teammates, the Transcona Railer Express goaltender was able to fight through the darkest times. These days, everything he does – from university to hockey – he does for his mom.
Connor Shaw has had a tough run for the past five years, but somehow, thanks to his heart and passion, no doubt, he keeps smiling. Not long ago, before the start of one of the Saturday games at the 2017 Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League’ s Showcase, Shaw was all smiles as he prepared for a game against the league-leading Pembina Valley Twisters. That shouldn’ t seem far-fetched. After all, Shaw, 20, is one of the best goaltenders in the MMJHL. He’ s a successful hockey player who is also in his first year at the University of Manitoba and has a very bright future
ahead. But four years ago, Shaw could not have imagined he’ d be in the place he’ s in today. Because four years ago, he lost his mom, and for a 16-year-old with a close-knit family, losing one’ s mom can be absolutely devastating.“ I lost my mom to breast cancer in June of 2012,” he said, that big smile still on his face.“ I was 16 at the time, just about to finish Grade 11. It was the toughest year of my life. My Dad is still my biggest supporter and he often makes the drive from Dauphin to watch me play. We have each other.“ But, also, at the time, I had a great group
of friends who were able to support me. They helped me realize that there is going to be a tomorrow.” There have been plenty of“ tomorrows.” However, even on the hockey rink, not all of them were easy to handle. Fact is, no matter how good a goaltender Shaw is, his coaches haven’ t always noticed. Shaw started playing the game when he was seven-years-old on a lake in Dryden, Ontario. The family moved to Thompson when he was nine and decided become a goaltender“ because our team didn’ t have one.” He never never looked back. Connor lived in Thompson until he was 12 then moved to Dauphin where he ended up playing three years of Bantam because there weren’ t enough goalies. He then played two years of high school hockey and finished his Midget career as a member of the Triple AAA Parkland Rangers. After his time with the Rangers, the MJHL’ s Dauphin Kings signed him and he played two years with the Kings. However, last summer, after Marlin Murray was relieved of his duties as head coach and general manager, the Kings elected to go in another direction and gave him his release. Shaw tried out with the Swan Valley Stampeders as a walk-on but making that team wasn’ t in the cards. It was time to make a decision and that decision was easy. He could either move to Ontario and play for the Espanola Express of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League or move to Winnipeg, register for university and see if there was a team in the MMJHL looking for a netminder. However, Shaw learned that teams in the NOJHL pay to play. And the fee was a rather steep $ 3000.00. Connor’ s desire to go to university clearly outweighed his desire to play in Ontario so he made the move to Transcona.