Phenom is in elite company
Burlington’s Wright following footsteps of Crosby, McDavid
Wayne Gretzky. Sidney Crosby. Connor McDavid. Jason Spezza. Eric Lindros.
Canada has a long and illustrious tradition of finding extremely talented 16year-old hockey players and having them compete and thrive in a tournament meant for 19-year-olds.
Shane Wright could be next on that list.
The Burlington native, a forward with the Kingston Frontenacs, is the youngest of the 47 players invited to Canada’s world junior camp that starts Monday in Red Deer, Alta.
“It’s a dream of mine to play in that tournament, and it’s a dream come true to be named to that roster. Just can’t wait to get started,” said Wright. “Even though I’m the youngest player there, I know I’m there for a reason. I know I’m there because I have the opportunity and ability to make that team. That’s my mindset going into the camp.”
Wright is listed at five-foot-11 and 182 pounds and, at 16, is sure to get bigger. He led the Frontenacs in scoring with 39 goals and 27 assists in 58 games — despite starting the OHL season at age 15 in a league where most players are 18 to 20.
“His best attributes are his shot, his ability to skate,” says Luca Caputi, the ex-Leaf who is an assistant coach with the Frontenacs. “And he has a physical presence — not so much from the contact aspect yet, but he’s a physically gifted human being. He didn’t look like a 15-year-old on the ice last year.
“The intriguing part is how mature he is as a human being,” added Caputi. “That’s where he separates himself from his peers. He was brought up the right way: calm, composed, real professional. Real mature for a 15-year-old, especially moving away from home for
the first time. He works on his game.
“His schooling is just as important as his hockey. He was able to focus on both aspects and do well at both. That’s a testament to how mature he is. That’s half the battle. For young players, it doesn’t always come that easy to understand what’s at stake every day. He seems to have that already ingrained in him.”
Team Canada coach André Tourigny, also head coach of the Ottawa 67’s, witnessed Wright’s growth from the opposing bench.
“He’s a hell of a player — that’s why it’s important to have him,” said Tourigny. “We played a lot of games against him. When he played in training camp in Kingston, I thought he was a really good player. Then we saw him early in the season and he got much better. Then I saw him at Christmas and it was, ‘Oh my god, he’s really good.’ Then I saw him at the end of the season and I said, ‘This guy is a superstar.’
“The point is, every time I saw him, he got better. Every game, he got better.”
Wright — who models his game after New York Islanders star Mathew Barzal — played most of his minor hockey for the Burlington Eagles before moving to the Don Mills Flyers as a 14-year-old, facing older players. He scored 66 goals in 72 games in 2018-19.
As a result, Wright became one of a small number of hopefuls ever to be granted exceptional player status by the Canadian Hockey League, allowing him to be drafted and start playing major junior last year at 15, a year younger than the norm.
“It was a little intimidating at the start,” said Wright, born Jan. 5, 2004. “It took me a few games to get used to the pace of play, but after a few games I knew I belonged there, that I could compete against those guys and be a good player in that league. I really didn’t feel out of place.”
Only McDavid, John Tavares, Aaron Ekblad, Sean Day and Joe Veleno had received that status before, while Connor Bedard of the WHL earned it this year. (Prior to Tavares, drafted first overall by the Oshawa Generals in 2005, prospects under 16 could play for their local junior team, then enter the league draft at 16. That was Spezza’s experience.)
McDavid, Tavares and Ekblad ended up going first overall in the NHL draft, while Day was chosen in the third round in 2016 by the New York Rangers and has yet to make his NHL debut. Veleno, the only one from the Quebec league, was taken 30th by the Detroit Red Wings in 2018 and played in the minors last year.
“The 2022 draft is a long way off, but Shane Wright is clearly the front-runner to go first overall,” says Mark Seidel, chief scout for North American Central Scouting. “His year in Kingston last year as an underage was breathtaking. He has all of the physical tools that you want in a star player, but his maturity is incredible. Both Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby had that kind of maturity, focus and drive that Wright exhibits.”
Of that group with special status, only McDavid played for Canada at the world juniors at 16 — and he was underutilized in the 2014 tournament in Malmo, with goal and three assists in seven games on the way to a fourth-place finish.
The Canadians will whittle down their options over the three-week camp in Red Deer before moving to Edmonton, where the tournament is scheduled to begin on Christmas Day with Canada’s first game set for Dec. 26. Only a handful of hopefuls have even played a game since mid-March because of coronavirus restrictions.
“It sucks. It’s tough not being able to play,” said Wright, “(but) because the season hasn’t started for everyone it’s pretty much a level playing field.”
Wright has a maturity about him at an early age, on and off the ice, that mimic the likes of Tavares, Ekblad and McDavid.
“I’ve always been someone who wants to get better at everything I do. From a young age, I’ve had a passion for hockey and a love for the game,” said Wright. “I love getting better, I love playing, I love working on my game, I love being on the ice. Shooting pucks in the driveway, stickhandling in my basement, all that kind of stuff. No matter what it is, I’m always trying to make myself better.”
Wright says he’s a good student and loves math in particular, thanks to his math-teaching mother Tanya. He says he understands the sacrifices she and dad Simon made so that he and his sister, Maddie, can play sports. Maddie plays soccer at the University of Waterloo.
“Just seeing how hard they work and everything they do, and how much they sacrifice, it inspires me and pushes me to never take any shifts off, or any games off,” said Wright. “I’m always trying to be the best I can be.”