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 .