Shannon Moores had no idea how much he enjoyed hockey until it hit him he wouldn’t be going to the rink on a regular basis.
Moores graduated from the major midget hockey ranks last year after two seasons with the Western Kings. He won a championship crown with the Kings in his rookie season and last year he wrapped up his minor hockey days third in Kings scoring with 37 points on 15 goals and 22 assists in 22 games.
After high school, he figured there wasn’t going much in the way of competitive hockey available to him. But then the game popped in his head once again when he was drafted by the expansion St. Stephen County Aces of the Maritime Junior Hockey League earlier this year.
He took a serious look at what he wanted to do and eventually decided to put hockey to the wayside in favour of education. He is pleased with his decision to immerse himself into the first year of a three-year engineering technology program at the College of the North Atlantic in Corner Brook.
But, something was missing.
“I didn’t realize how hard it was going to be not playing hockey,” Moores said.
So, the 18-year-old Flower’s Cove native wants to see if he can crack the roster of the Corner Brook Royals.
Senior hockey is the only game available to him while he studies, so he wants to take his strong work ethic to another level.
Being able to play for the Royals would mean a lot to him. He went out for a couple of open skates the team held earlier this year, and this weekend he will be back on the ice hoping to impress coach Darren Langdon.
Moores kept himself in good shape over the summer months just in case he opted to play with the Aces. He also knows there are some dandy hockey players and a lot of bigger men filling out the rosters, so he put a few pounds on to help him deal with that aspect of the game.
He just plans on having fun and doing things that made him effective at both ends of the rink at the major midget level. He is a mucker and grinder, but he has soft hands and can play any role if he makes the team.
Just being able to play the game and be one of a few local players would bring a smile to his face. But, he knows it will be a tough test and the Royals are poised to build a contender.
“I think it would be good to have a few local players on the team but, no doubt, they’re going to take whoever it takes to win,” he said.
He just wants a chance. Then it’s up to him to make the most of it.
Moores and other local hopefuls can hit the ice for a Corner Brook Royals open skate tonight 7:30 p.m. at the Pepsi Centre.
The Royals expect to have the majority of their carded players in training camp, which includes two slots on Saturday — an open practice at 2:30 p.m. and the Blue vs White game 7:30 p.m.
