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Times-Advocate, 1988-02-24, Page 17Dave Shaw, the Rangers and one Big By Mark Bisset it's around noon on a bitterly cold Satirday about 45 minutes outside of Manhattan in a suburb called Harrison. The sun is shining on the New York Rangers practice arena, located inside an amusement park which looks out over the Atlantic Ocean. The amusements are covered in snow. Small crowds mill about in front of the arena, quietly waiting for the players to emerge and sign auto- graphs. They have come to a rare 'open practice" which the Rangers. hold twice a year for the benefit of the fans. Dave Shaw knows they're out there. Just recovering from the flu and anxious to get away in good time to meet his visiting brother downtown Tater that afternoon, the New York defenceman goes to great lengths to by-pass the fans. Taking the back way out, we cir- cle around the crowds stepping across kiddie car tracks and, past closed ticket booths. But the arca is fenced in completely. The only way out is a gate which opens directly into the crowds. With an "oh well" expression on his face, he starts through the fans with me in tow. The alarm goes up immediately. "There's somebody!" "It's Dave Shaw." People crowd around us. Shaw smiles and goes to work signing his name. Someone shoves a pencil and pad in my face with a "who are you?" "1'm nobody," I say. "But you came out with Dave Shaw. You know him don't you?" The pad and pencil are still there. 1 reassert my identity. "1'm nobody, really." Other players come out of the building in a more conventional way. They arc instantly surrounded by small throngs of people, but the crowds around Shaw don't dissipate noticeably.. • It's hard to believe. that he has been with the Rangers less than one season. Corning to Ncw York from Que- bec Nordique with winger John Ogrodnick, Shaw has turned .his ONE HAPPY CUSTOMER -- New York Rangers defenceman Dave Shaw gives one young fan a thrill as he gives away an official Rangers hockey stick during an "open practice" Saturday. At,pne point during the Rangers drills, a group of fans began chanting "Shawsie, Shawsie". Flexible attitude a key element for Trish Shaw whcn they return to Ontario and she can continue her studies in person. A Canadian citizen, she is unable toigct a job in the United States un - tit the government grants ii working permit. When she is granted the per- mit, she may pursue a job as a teacher's aid in New York. Flexibility important Trish maintains that one of the most necessary characteristics of the wile of a hockey player is flexibili- ty -- she must always be ready for a change. "Hockey's a life of adjusting. You just get used to it," she says In 1984, the year they were mar- ried and the year Dave began his full time career in the NHL with Quebec Nordique, the Shaws ran into one of the biggest tests of their hockey life. Called up from Kitchcncr Rangers in his third year with the Junior A club, Shaw spent two weeks in Quebec before being sent to the franchise farm team in Fredricton. Told that they would be staying in New Brunswick for the remainder of the season, the Shaws made the ap- propriate living arrangements. Two weeks passed and Davc was called back to Quebec. Returning to Quebec City, they lived in a hotel for one month until the Nordique told them to go ahead and get a permanent place to live. The roller coaster continued two weeks later, just before Christmas when the Shaws found themselves packing again for a stint in Fredric - ton. They spent the rest of the sea- son with the, farm team, ending a year that saw them settle into three separate homes. It's not all glamour and g!ory in the NHL. And that's a factor Trish wishes fans would take into consid- eration when she hears them abus- ing her husband and his teammates on an off night. "1 think people tend to forget that when they're sitting up in the stands and criticizing," she says. "They can't quite understand dhat there's going to be bad games and the players just can't play up to 110 percent all the time. That's the worst part -- people just don't,under- stand that part of the game." Asked if she is fazed when a fan three seats down starts heckling Dave, she points out that hecklers aren't to be taken seriously. • "it bothers me a little tit but you have to look at it from the source," she says. "They can be very cruel." Fights on the ice are a different Please torn to page 2A Now and again on Hockcy Night in Canada, a cameraman will locate the beautiful young wife of a hock- ey player, focus on her long enough for the announcers to make some superficial commcnt about hcr looks or the nervous twitch she has developed over the course of the game, and then flip back to the ac- tion on the ice. And that's about it. Rarely docs the wife of an NHL professional get the kind of atten- tion that her husband is used to. But if Trish Shaw -is an indication of the kind of women that maintain suc- cessful marriages with hockey players, they all deserve equal time with their husbands. Though hockey is obviously a big part of life for the Shaws, Trish. is very careful not to lose sight of the rest of the world. "I think that a wife has to have hcr own interests and live a life out- . side of hockey," Trish says, ex- plaining that it is important to get involved in different things with dif- ferent people. "It puts things in per- spective." i think a lot of people lose their identity because their husband is so well known and people identify you with him. I don't want to be identi- fied as Dave Shaw's wife. I want to be known as who I am." A native of Stratford, Ontario, Trish is as athletic as her husband. An. active triathlete, she trains con- stantly for the grueling races which include swimming, cycling and run- ning. During the wintc. ;he works on one event each day. That pace is stepped up during the summer when Trish devotes three to four hours a day to preparation for a race: During the summer, the couple find their athletic interests compati- ble.. , "I really enjoy taking the time out in the summer to do that sort of thing (swimming'and-cycling) be- cause they're important to me and 1 like it when Dave can share them with me. f really enjoy swimming together. Dave doesn't like to jog but we're pretty compatible with biking." Though the hockey lifestyle has • interfered with her education, Trish continues to work on a psychology degree at the University of Western Ontario, one of six universities she has attended since she married Lave. Because she would have to pay a high out-of-state tuition: to attend an Atnerican university, Trish contents herself with correspondence courses from Western until the summer first season with the Rangers into his most successful year in the NHL. And he has endeared himself to a small group of die-hard fans. Prior to this season, the 23 -year- old defenceman had seven goals and 38 assists to his credit in 165 games. He is now threatening to double that with six goals and 23 assists this season alone. But the year didn't look as rosey from Shaw's vantage point at Quebec's training camp. "I was depressed at training camp because I could see that my future in Quebec wasn't going anywhere," Shaw remembers. "They signed a Swedish player who played on the Swedish National team. He played on right defence like I did and they already had two other good defence - men there. I knew I was going to be weeded out so I was just as happy for a change." Unsettled, Shaw turned in a poor performance at training camp and then approached Ncw York with trepidation, unsure that he could even crack the line-up. Aftcr five regular season games with Ncw York, a sepan'ed shoul- der put Shaw out of action for sev- eral weeks, throwing a shadow on the year. "I had five points in five games and I thought I was off to my best season ever," Shaw says of that first month. It soon becameapparent that even the injury was working in his favour. "When I was hurt, our record was Sports 2-7-1. When I came back we started playing around .500 hockey. I don't know if they missed me or not, but a lot of people thought they did." Shaw is finding it easy to adjust to big city life. Living just 10 min- utes away from the Rangers' prac- tice rink, he and his wife Trish are removed from the whirr of Manhat- tan. While Trish admits that she misses Canada 'and the life they were building -in Quebec, her -hus- band links happiness in his new surroundings directly to happiness on the ice. "1 think I like it because hockey's going so well," he says. "If I was having a bad, year I probably wouldn't like New York as much." Madison Square Gardens is no place to have a bad year. The fans .. there arc known in the league as the most unruly. They like a winning team. Rangers are currently struggling for a playoff position with New Jer- sey Devi!s and Pittsburgh Penguins in one of the tightest divisions in the NHL. The New York fans, fickle at best, are putting the pres- sure on. "In r,:ost arenas you don't notice the fans but there are four or five arenas where you really notice them. New York is one of them," Shaw says grimly. 'It's so much more enjoyat,:e when you're winning. That's what it's all about. When you win every- one's happy. Practices are a little easier, management's happy -- everything's a little more stable in every way. "When a team's not going well it's tough because the fans are bad and the practices arc hard and man- agement's frustrated and they want to makc changes." . Apple Hockey life different While there is a hard-core follow ing of fans for the New York Rang- ers, hockey doesn't receive the sante • attention in Manhattan that it c1005 - in most Canadian cities. Competing with baseball, basketball and hail - ball, hockey scems.neglectcd by.Ca- nadian standards. The Rangers, when not playing; are ousted from Madison Square. Gardens by daily events. .Please turn to pate 2A Imes Serving South Huron, North Middlesex dvocate & North lambkin Saxe 1873 Times -Advocate, February 24, 1988 Page 1A TOP OF THE HEAP --,Dave Shaw has come a long way since his minor hockey days in Exeter. The defenceman is currently playing through his most successful season in the NHL. He has amassed six goals and 23 as- sists with the New York Rangers this season, despite a shoulder injury which kept him out of the Zine -up for several weeks in the fall. At one point, Rangers head coach Michele Bergeron made Shaw a temporary assistant captain. SHAW'S PERSONAL STATS ,(prior to 87=88 season) Regular Season Season Club Lea GP G A TP PIM 1981-82 Kitchener OHL 68 6 25 31 94 1982-83 Quebec NHL 2 0 0 0 0- Kitchener OHL 57 18.56 74 78 1983-84 Quebec ' NHL 3 0 0 0 0 a Kitchener OHL 58 14 34 48 73 1984-85 Quebec NHL 44 0 0 -0 11 Fredericton AHL 48 7 6 13 73 1985-86 Quebec NHL 73 7 19 26 78 j986-87 Quebec NHL '75 0 19 19 69 NHL Totals 165 7 38 .45 158 a 0111. First All-Star Team (1984). Playoffs GP G A TP PIM 15 2 2 4 51 12 2 10 12 18 16 4 9 13 12 2 0 0 0 7 CALLING NEW YORK 'HOME' -- Dave and Trish Shaw sit in the stands of Madison Square Gardens after Rangers game against Washing- ton Capitals Thursday night. The couple is making the necessary adjust- ments that have to come after a move from Quebec to the busiest city ii. North America. Living in a suburb called Harrison, the Shaws are enjoyinrr the varied lifestyle. Bergeron looking for leadership Michel Bergeron. The name conjures up the vision of a screaming, wild-eyed coach balancing precariously on that nar- row line of rationality which runs the Length of the bench just behind the players in the NHL. - In his office, located deep in the dressing room of the Ncw York Rangers. the.tag becomes that of the archetypal hockey man with a thick french accent and a manner that is amiable -- as long as you stay within the time he has allot- ted for you. Bergeron came to Ncw York last spring in an unprecedented trade which saw Rangers give up a first round draft pick to Quebec Nor- dique in exchange for the coach. Bergeron was a key element in New York general manager Phil Esposito's quest for a Stanley Cup winner. The Bcrgcron deal was one of 17 transactions made in the first 11 months of the Espo reign. And the bartering didn't end there. The organization, searching for still more talent in the fall of 1987, struck another deal with the Nordique, this time picking up winger John Ogrodnick and a "throw-in". At the urging of 3ergeron, the "throw-in" materialized into Dave Shaw. "I pushed hard for that trade be- cause I feel Davc (Shaw) is a good player," says Bergeron. "He's a good two-way player. He can be a good defensive defenceman but he can shoot the puck, he can move the puck well -- he's an A-1 de- fenceman for a 23 -year-old." Because of Shaw's quiet style at the bluelinc, he has been over- looked as a substantial talent by many, but Bergeron liked what he saw. "We finished first in our division two years ago and we finished fourth overall and Dave was play- ing with Robert Picard and proba- bly they didn't remember that in Quebec but 1 remembered -- this pair of defence was my best," the New 'York coach explained. Often on Shaw's back duting his Milt in Quebec, Bcrgcron seemed unlikely to request his presence in New York, but the conflict be- tween etween the two has specific roots. Bergeron expects Shaw to take charge and show more leadership on the ice. He blames the defence - man's failure to do so on a lack of conldcncc. - "Dave is a low key guy. Ile's a low key player, you know, he's always behind everybody," Bcrgc- ron contends. "But the problem with Dave -- and we're going to work on it because he's one of our best defenceman there -- is he doesn't have the confidence in himself. He doesn't know hov' good he is. You know -- he's a quiet guy." Michel Bergeron Bergeron awarded Shaw with a temporary assistant captaincy in the fall in hopes of boosting the defenccman's •self-image but he has tried to get results with differ- ent methods in the past. "I was tough on him in Que- bec," Bcrgcron reflects. "One game after two periods, i told him: 'there's no room on the bench for you. Stay in the (dress- ing) room'. He didn't realize it was for him. 1 did that all the time because i wanted him taking some leadership." In New York, Shaw is part of a youthful defensive .squad which promises years of success. "We're all young on defence ex - 'apt for (Ron) Grcschtter. (James) Patrick is 23 -= Shaw, (Michel) ''Petite (all 23) ---sa I think we're going to be solid on defence," Bergeron says. "They're' all big and strong and 1 think we're going to do alright." And Shaw? "He's in the league for the next two, three years -- 10 years or+fo I hope he'll be with the Rangers!" Bergeron laughs.'