The Sheet with Jeff Marek - On the Sheet: Shane Wright

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

Shane Wright joins Jeff Marek to discuss transitioning at each level along the way, his days with the Don Mills Flyers, working with Dr. Alicia Naser, and much more...Shout out to our sponsors!👍�� Fan Duel: https://www.fanduel.com/👍🏼 Tim Hortons: https://www.timhortons.ca/rollupReach out to [e-mail] to connect with our Sales Team and discuss opportunities to partner with us!If you liked this, check out:🚨 OTT - Coming in Hot Sens | https://www.youtube.com/c/thewallyandmethotshow🚨 TOR - LeafsNation | https://www.youtube.com/@theleafsnation401🚨 EDM - OilersNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Oilersnationdotcom🚨 VAN - CanucksArmy | https://www.youtube.com/@Canucks_Army🚨 CGY - FlamesNation | https://www.youtube.com/@Flames_Nation🚨 Daily Faceoff Fantasy & Betting | www.youtube.com/@DFOFantasyandBetting____________________________________________________________________________________________Connect with us on ⬇️Link Tree: https://linktr.ee/daily_faceoff💻 Website: https://www.dailyfaceoff.com🐦 Follow on twitter: https://x.com/DailyFaceoff💻 Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dailyfaceoffDaily Faceoff Merch:https://nationgear.ca/collections/daily-faceoff Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Switch to Fizz. All right, Shane Wright from the Seattle Kraken is gonna kick off today's program. He joins me now on the sheet. Shane Wright of the Seattle Kraken, how are you today? Thanks so much for stopping by. I'm great guys, how are you doing? I'm doing great.

Hey listen, before I get to anything about, when I talk about Seattle, how are you doing? I'm doing great. Hey, listen, before I get to anything about, I'm going to talk about Seattle, the heater you're on. I want to talk to you about Alicia Nassar as well and your own personal story. How much of the Four Nations did you watch? I watched all of it. I mean, obviously the game is really exciting and I mean, best on best term in international play. It's always fun

to watch. So yeah, I really enjoyed watching them for sure. It was, it was outstanding. Is part of, is part of you saying to yourself like, yeah, you know what? One day, one day, one day that's going to be me. I mean, yeah, that's the goal for sure. Obviously to represent your country on the highest stage at that level and term it like that is, is, you know, always a goal of mine for sure, obviously to represent your country on the highest stage at that level. Um, and tournament like that, um, is, uh, is, you know, always a goal of mine for sure. And, um, yeah, definitely something that, uh, I dream of, of coming true for sure. You know, I'll always curious of players point of view and players thoughts on it. You know, I, I came out of that tournament, you know, a couple of players like Jacob

Slavin was outstanding. I thought Dylan Larkin was phenomenal. I thought Thomas Harley jumps in, in the pinch a couple of times and he looked fantastic. You know, Shane, from, from a player's point of view, who like, who really popped for you? I mean, listen, I know like McDavid is McDavid, McKinnon is McKinnon. You play against these guys, you know them in and out, but like from some of the not headline names, who are some of the guys that really pop for Shane Wright?

Yeah. I mean, guys, like you mentioned, I think. I mean, he's a headline name, but a guy I always like watching is Matthews. I think just overall his game and the way he plays, he really stood out for me. And then, I mean, yes, Lavin for sure had an unreal tournament. You know, Jake Gensel was a dangerous player as well. I mean, you go up and down those lineups. They're, they're the best players in the world, no matter where he looks. So it's hard to pinpoint a couple of guys, but, um, yeah, I mean, everyone, everyone looked really good. Yeah. It was, it was a lot of fun and the NHL gets back to it.

Um, a big win against Florida, a tough one against the Tampa Bay Lightning. But on a personal note, you just continue to, to, to smooth the sale. You know, um, the tweet this morning, you know, your points per 60, way back to the scratch in November, I think you're 15th in the NHL. Like very quietly, Shane Wright has been one of the more consistent and better players in the NHL.

To what do you attribute this to Shane? I think just growth, growing in confidence and growing my game, I think. You know, at the start of a career, it's always gonna take a little time getting used to the life of an NHL player and the day-to-day grind of it. But I think for me, just go out and play and go learning every day and really just enjoying it,

really soaking in, be grateful for the position I'm in. And yeah, just go out every day and just enjoy it. Have fun. Enjoy the life of an NHL player and yeah, just go out and be myself and just play my game. Okay. I'm going to try to drill down this a little bit more. So Jessica Campbell, your assistant coach. So Alison Lukin just did an interview with her. It's up at the Seattle Krakens website. And one paragraph where you're a mensch, I just want to read back to you in case you haven't read it yet.

She says, I think about someone like Shane Wright. He's definitely a guy that loves to get on the ice early, stay on after and do lots of extra reps. And I think that's helped him. I think it's helped his belief in himself. And I've seen that parallel come through Coachella and here in Seattle. So finding the balance of when you can push the player to do more, but then also manage their energy, right?

It's definitely a learning and a balance and just communicating with the player day to day, that's crucial. Do you have a comment on what coach Jess said there about you? Yeah, I mean, I think I just like, you know, getting extra reps at practice You have a comment on what coach Jess said there about you. Yeah. I mean, I think I just like, you know, getting extra reps at practice before or after, I think. It's, yeah, I think it's just something where it's like really, you know, a good time just to work on your game.

You know, there's always little things you can be better at. There's always little things that you want to be improving on, whether it's just like simple things, you know, shooting drills or, uh, picking up rims or, or whatever it might be. I think just, um, you know, putting those extra reps for after practice is always important. Um, you know, obviously we, you know, don't have as many, you know, practice times, don't, you know, practice as much as the team with, you know, how many

games we play, so I think just being able to take advantage of the ice time you have, um, and, and staying on And again, those reps is really important. What would you, like, I think our listeners slash viewers would be curious, Shane, like, what would you be working on now? Like, I'm always curious, like, what an NHLer is trying to to polish in his game. Yeah, it's a lot of shooting drills. Just shooting from different positions, getting shots off quick, different errors on the ice. And then, yeah, I kind of mentioned it, but like rim pickups, you know, picking up pucks off the wall

and making up a quick play or cutting back and making a quick play is, you know, a position I find myself a lot in games. You know, you're picking up a lot of pucks off walls, a lot of wall plays, you know, in the NHL. So really, really honing in on those and really, you know, making sure you're executing those well and you can make the plays quick, I think is really, really honing in on those and really, you know, making sure you're executing those well and you can make the place quick. I think is really, really important.

You know, I was talking to one, I'm going to go in the way back machine with you here today. So this afternoon I was talking to one of your coaches from the old Don Mills Flyers, right? Of the GTHL. And I said like, what, what, what? Because I used to watch you there. I got to watch this as you were 14 years old.

So I said like, what, like, what was different about Shane Wright? First of all, you were younger than everybody on your team, but still, and he said, here's the thing about Shane. He said, all the guys at practice, they'd all bar down, bar down, bar down. Shane would be working on that shot that's just like low glove, like above the pad,

like that impossible, the impossible save for the goaltender to make. He's like, all the kids want to do like the fancy bar down shots, but Shane was doing like the shot that was going to work in a game. He said like, that's the death way, that's the difference. Like you look at this kid, then you say, this is a kid that's practicing to be a professional

already. Like at what point in your career, Shane, did you say, you know what, I got a real shot at this. I better start practicing like a pro. I mean, it's tough to like pick out a certain point. I think just overall with the way I practice, I wanna try to emulate reps I would find or areas I would find myself in a game and positions I find myself consistently in games.

I really wanna work on those areas in practice and kind of find a certain theme where I find myself on the ice and pick out a few things each day to work on and get better at and simulate as best you can the kind of game like scenario that you might find yourself in. So I mentioned the Domino's fires there a second ago and one of your teammates with, and that was like one of the best minor hockey teams

ever, the country scene. Phenomenal. And I'll always remember that final against the Red Sox. So I mentioned the Don Mills Flyers there a second ago and one of your teammates with, and that was like one of the best minor hockey teams ever, the country scene. Phenomenal. And I'll always remember that final against the Red Wings and Adam Fantelli. I think we all will who saw that one. But Brennan Othman, your teammate from Don Mills Flyers, got called up today by the New York Rangers. I always find it interesting that, that, did you know that? Yeah, Othman got called up today. So you're- I didn't know that. No.

Yeah, he just got, yeah, he just got, well, if you saw what happened to the Rangers over the weekend, it might not come to any surprise, but anyway, so he, he got, he got called up. Um, uh, he got called up, uh, by the Rangers today and he's been lighting it up in the American league. And I always find it interesting that you have the same birthday, January 50 or an 04, he's an 03, um, but like, would you still keep in touch with Brennan and Othman?

I mean, you grew up in minor hockey together, but that doesn't mean that all guys still stay in touch. But what you guys went through with Roy Pachonovsky and then all the wins and the tournament victories and all of that, I would imagine that there's like maybe a tighter bond with that team? Yeah, yeah, no, Brennan and I keep in touch quite a bit. I still talk to him a good amount.

Ask him how he's doing and you'll see how everything's going with him, so. Yeah, I still talk to him a good amount. Um, ask him how he's doing and, and you'll see how everything's going with him. So, um, yeah, I mean, he's still one of my best friends still like to, you know, to keep in touch with him quite a bit, you know, hanging out with the summer and stuff too. And, um, yeah, it's great to see him back up with the, with the Rangers.

Uh, okay. To your, to your game. So I mentioned like, where's all of this coming from and I had Dr. Alisha in Aceron about a month ago. And first of all, she's way too smart for me. Like I'm treading water out in the deep end and she's talking and I'm just like,

I'm trying like not to embarrass myself whenever I talk to her. I've got to know her over the past year and she's a delight and like super smart. Without getting too specific and personal unless you want to, like what are the things that Dr. Nasser has helped you with, with your game? Because, you know, a lot of the athletes she works

with will talk about, you know, this is me pre Nasser and then post Nasser. Are you the same kind of way? Like what has she helped you with? Yeah, I think for me, just like, you know, managing my emotions, you know, within a game and after a game and stuff, um, you know, big thing is just like, you know, if you make a mistake,

you have a bad shift, you make a bad play or turn it over or whatever. For me anyways, I used to be pretty hard on myself and get pretty upset with myself if I made a bad play or whatever it might be. So she's really helped me kind of control my emotions a little better and just move on from that bad mistake or move on from a bad player, whatever it might be.

That's a main thing and just, you know, coming up with strategies to help manage my emotions. I manage the, you know, the stress and the pressures and all that. And I mean, she's been unbelievable help for me. Love working with her. She's, like you said, a lot smarter than I am as well. She knows a lot about a lot of things and she gives a lot of great advice for me. I've really enjoyed working with her. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free.

Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. ACAS powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend. If the New Year's resolution you made to read more books is not quite panning out, don't sweat it. I've got you covered. I'm Matea Roche and my new podcast Bookends is all about discovering great books and getting to know the writers behind them.

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how often would you communicate? And I'd say like, I can't answer any of this, but like from your point of view, like how often would how often would you talk to Alicia? Dr. Nath, right? Yeah. No, she's open whenever we want to talk, whenever I want to send a text or call her. We have bigger Zoom calls every two weeks usually, but I text her pretty much every day

and call every couple of days. So she's just here for us players. She's here for whatever we need, whenever we need it, just supporting us in any way she can and she's always available to talk whenever we need. Mom's trip. Mom got to see you score. How cool was that? That was awesome.

That was awesome. That was awesome. Just having my mom there, having her experience kind of a little bit of a glimpse into my life and what I know what life is like here in the NHL. I mean, she loved it. She bonded really well with all the other moms on the team. She said it was one of the most fun trips of her life. So yeah, it was really, really fun having her here. It was a lot of fun. It was great. There's a special place in heaven for moms,

specifically goalie moms, but there's a real special place in heaven for moms in general, hockey moms. Do you have a sense of how much your parents sacrificed for you? I feel like I have a sense, but at the same time, it's like you don't really fully grasp just how much they sacrificed, how much they really did for you when you're younger.

All the stuff they gave up to drive me everywhere and paying for all the skates and all the hockey and whatever it might be, I think just putting me in the best position to live out my dream and do the things that I want to do. Just so thankful for and it's something that I know a lot of guys my age or a lot of NHL players, all their parents kind of the same thing, but it's really special and my parents did it for me. You know, hockey moms feel it more than anybody. You know, dads can still be a little bit, you know, gruff and still, you know, tough love and all that, but like, you've seen it before, right? We all have, if you have kids or not,

you just, you know, like the hockey moms, like they experience everything with their nerves right on top of the skin. Like every bad shift, every dash you get on a shift, like all of it, like they, they, they feel it. Um, when you started with Seattle, there was, cause we all were wondering like, you know what, like just leave them, leave them on the ice, give them minimum 10 minutes, 15 minutes, like just leave Shane Wright and there were the scratches and down to the miners and then to the world juniors and to the Ontario hockey league and the trade to Windsor and all of it.

It seemed like, you know, if you ask Shane right where he lives, he can legitimately say, I don't know. I don't know where my address is. And I don't know where I live. Um, first of all, how did you get through that mentally and how much would you, you know, lean on your parents, lean on your friends or like, who did you lean on through all that? Cause that, like you went NHL, AHL, World Juniors, back to Seattle, into the OHL,

and then the trade from Kingston to Windsor. How'd you get through that? Yeah, I mean, obviously it was a pretty crazy year, up and down year for sure. A lot of different places, a lot of different teammates, a lot of different experiences. And I think just tried to accept and make the most of where I was and really just kind of focus in. Whatever team I was on or whatever position I was in or whatever role I had, just be the best version of that. And just learn as much as I could and just learn as much as I could

and just grow as much as I could as well. And I just enjoy it, soak it all in. That was kind of the biggest thing I was telling myself, just really enjoy it. It's obviously a bit of roller coaster of where I'm playing in emotions and all that, but it was still a lot of fun as well. Shane, I just got a couple of minutes left with you.

I got a couple of questions. I can't help, but wondering, like when you were scratched this year and you sat, um, and watched the games and, and sat with Ron Francis, your general manager for a few periods, like as much as he can, like what were those conversations? Like, I mean, here's one of the, the, the, the the best centers of his generation and people have compared your game to his too. Like what is that conversation like Shane? Yeah, I mean, he's obviously a wealth of knowledge. You know, he's you know, like you said, one of the best players of all time and yeah, just be able to talk to a guy like that, bounce ideas off him, see what you know, what he thinks about certain plays

and you know, what went through his head when he was playing and what he kind of thought about while he was playing his games. And yeah, just talk to him about my game and what I can do better, what I can do to have the most success was great for me and it was really, really valuable talking to him there. What's Dan Boswell like for you? I mean, you know him as an American Hockey League coach and now you have him as a NHL coach. Your thoughts on Dan Balsma, former Stanley Cup champ we should mention too.

Yeah, yeah, no, I mean, I love playing for Dan, obviously my second year here with Laster and Coachella as well. And yeah, I think he just knows how to really motivate his guys, really knows how to communicate and get to his guys, he really knows how to communicate and get to his guys. He knows what to do and what to say to get the most out of his players and get the most

out of each and every guy on the team. I really enjoy playing for him. I'm going to close on this one. The hardest thing about being an NHL or right now is what I Mean There's not many bad days here. I think especially as a young guy. I mean There's not too much to complain about not too much that I can be upset about so Maybe you'll guys have you know to that, but I think to me, just live another

bit of reading here. Oh, I get it. Listen, dude, you're getting more money than you've ever dreamed about at this point. You have even bigger paydays on the horizon. So it's like, this is fantastic. But maybe it's more like on the ice. I can't help thinking to myself, here's Chain Wright Center and I look at the centers in the Western Western Conference and it's a frickin murderers row like of all these guys like

Like one night is Nathan McKinnon next night is Connor McDavid next night. It's on sickle But sorry, it's just like on and on my shay flea and on and on and on like from them from an on ice Point of view like what's what's been the most difficult thing to grasp? Yeah, I think just managing all these different teams we're playing against, it's a lot of teams and it's a lot of games in a short amount of time. So I think adjusting to how each team plays

and different players you're going against, obviously every single night you're going against the best players in the world and you're having to adjust how you play. Yeah, but I mean, it's fun. It's a fun challenge for sure. But it's fun seeing how I stack up against them and competing against them and battling against them. Especially as a centerman for me, taking draws against some of the best centermen in the world is always a great thing. and battling against them, especially as a centerman for me, taking draws against some

of the best centermen in the world is always a challenge for sure for the young guy. But yeah, no, I mean, it's good. It's good seeing myself up against those guys on a daily basis. That's awesome. I don't know that anyone would describe playing against Nathan McKinnon as fun, but good on you. That's why you're an elite athlete. It's a good challenge. Listen, Shane, thanks so much for joining me here today. Really appreciate it. Continued success like you're on a great roll. 12 points in the last 10 games, 5-7. 5 goals, 7 assists. Keep it up. Thanks for joining me again. I really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks, Jeff. My pleasure. You try to give me a little medicine I'm like, no, man, that's fine

I'm not against those methods, but no It's me, myself, and how this gon' be fixin' my mind I do want the back end I turned on the music I do want the back end I turned on the music Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches,

and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at ZenSurance.com. Be protected. be Zen. Hey hockey fans, Tylee Remczuk here, and you're gonna wanna mark your calendars because you do not wanna miss the most exciting day of the NHL season. The daily face-off trade deadline special

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