He posted McDavid-like numbers before the pandemic hit. Now, Shane Wright has to prove he still has the potential to be a franchise player. ✍️: GareJoyceNHL
He posted numbers like McDavid as a CHL rookie before the pandemic stole a year of his development. Now, Shane Wright has to prove he’s still got the potential to be a franchise player at the next level.ust days before the opening games of the Ontario Hockey League campaign, the CHL announced its preseason rankings.
The player most likely to be selected first overall next June is one of the few who isn’t a case of limited viewing. NHL teams have already had an eyeful of Shane Wright. Though a 2004 birthday, Wright had a chance to play two seasons ago when he was granted exceptional-player status for the 2019–20 season, and even though the season was abruptly pre-empted by Covid, he tore it up. His 66 points in 58 games with the Frontenacs earned him the CHL Rookie of the Year award.
“From an early age, he was definitely wired differently than others when it came to competitiveness.” When Shane turned 12, he reached a tipping point: Like so many of the elite players he’s compared to, he ran out of the necessary challenges close to home. He needed to play in a better organization with better surrounding talent than was available in Burlington, Ont. The Wrights might not have been hockey people before then, but they made a decision like those of families deeply invested in kids’ careers.
Shane and the Flyers both shone. He averaged better than two points a game, scored 66 goals in 72 outings, and the team lost once all season en route to a provincial title. It looked like approval of his application would be a slam dunk. It wasn’t quite that — maybe because the most recent exceptional status players, Sean Day and Joe Veleno, had little impact as under-agers and probably would have benefitted from waiting to enter the junior ranks with players in their birth year.
As much as any of those previously granted exceptional-player status, Wright validated Hockey Canada’s faith in his ability to step into some heady competition. Though the Frontenacs’ roster skewed young — Wright was one of 13 players in the lineup who were 17 or younger — they still had a shot at the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference going into the last week of the season.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Patience pays off with Oilers' Nugent-Hopkins thriving in multifaceted role - Sportsnet.caPerhaps Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was never the 'No. 1' type at all, but instead a top-level, versatile No. 3 that good teams have in support of their superstars as he has become a late-blooming skill player whose assets require many viewings to be fully appreciated.
Read more »
Where Are We Going? | Podcasts - Sportsnet.ca
Read more »
Fabio scores in 91st minute, Red Bulls beat Montreal in MLS matinee - Sportsnet.caFabio scored a game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time as the New York Red Bulls beat Montreal 1-0 on Saturday.
Read more »