Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Long road leads Prince to draft

Down the 90 in Rochester, D&C writer Kevin Oklobzija filed a piece on Spencerport native Shane Prince, the speedy Ottawa 67's wing who is likely to be a high pick in this weekend's draft. 

Shane Prince close to realizing NHL dream

Before anything else you have to love this anecdote told by Prince's father:

When his father, Dan, worked B-shift hours from 3 to 11 p.m., Shane would often wait up.
Late-night ice awaited at Scottsville Ice Arena.

"He'd have his bag packed and be waiting at the door when I got home so we could go skate," Dan remembers. "There'd be times I'd get home and his bag would be there and he'd be in bed, so I'd try to sneak into bed.


"But he'd hear me and come flying out of his room, 'Aren't we going to the rink?'"


Those late night skates have paid off as Prince is set to go quickly in day 2 if he doesn't get snatched late in the first round.

"He's going to go somewhere in the first 40 to 45 guys," said Kevin Devine, director of amateur scouting for the Buffalo Sabres.


The story goes on to offer insight as to what puts Prince in that esteemed pack of players.

He's strong for his size, as he proved during the NHL scouting combine earlier this month when the top 100 prospects convened in Toronto.

In the bench press, only five players were able to lift the 150 pounds more times than Prince in the allotted time. He did 11 reps. The best was 13. He was 10th in pushups, and in the top 10 in upper-body push strength, upper-body pull strength and hand-eye coordination.

"He's not the tallest guy but he's got a solid frame," Devine said. "He doesn't have any fear going into the corners first."

He's always been fearless and always been able to dipsy-doodle with the puck, even as a kid.

"His puck skills, his hands and puck-handling, were as good as anyone and better than nearly everyone," Montagna said. "He could do things with the puck that 99.9 percent of the others couldn't do."

That hasn't changed. If you want proof, just look at his 63 assists this season. Only three other OHL players set up more goals.

"I've always liked to have the puck on my stick," said Prince, who graduated from Spencerport High School in 2010. "I enjoy setting up plays."