A spotlight of my own

For once in my life I had felt I’d made a name for myself, I had stepped out of my families bright light. Everyone in Buffalo and Ontario knew my name, they also knew most of my story to thanks to paparazzi.

The bright light had shifted again during my off-season back to my brothers, at this time Junior had started spring practice with Florida and was already awarded the starting quarterback job as a true freshman, this only had happened twice in Florida football’s miraculous history.

Dominic was also back in the spotlight because our high school’s football season was starting soon and buffalo-news had already named them the section’s pre-season best. Also at this point TCU had started getting in contact with Dom and of course it had leaked to the general public.

I didn’t mind hiding under my brothers coat of popularity because I was honestly starting to get worn out. Living so close to the border of a country where hockey is a religion didn’t help ether, Their hockey journalists had found out where I went to Jr, High school and were, for a while after my GTHL season ended, waiting for me outside the school after our last period bell to get a quick interview of the newest hockey prodigy.

After awhile my popularity died down thanks to my old friend, whom I was sure had forgotten about me, was drafted in the 2004 OHL Draft by the London Knights. I always remembered Pat talking about how he wanted to play in the OHL but I never really understood what it was, Pat you could tell at a young age was obsessed with hockey.

Seeing Patrick enter the OHL at 16 wasn’t a surprise to me, he was good, and even if people thought he wasn’t as good as me I always saw something in him. Sure at a young age he was a party boy but he knew when to get serious and that was something some people never learn.

For the remainder of 04’s summer I spent working out and practicing my skills in the driveway or at summer CanAm tourneys in Toronto with pick-up teams. One of the teams I ended up playing with, Toronto Selects, had became my favorite thanks to one of my teammates.

I remember that tournament, the CanAm “Kings of the Ice,” like it was yesterday because of him, my first hockey crush.

If I recall correctly I walked into the locker-room that Friday night to the sound of boys yelling and music blasting. “SHAUNAAAAA!” I remember my GTHL teammate Kris yelling as I dropped my stuff down next to his, “Now we’re gonna win!” Kris was one of my favorites on my team, he was one of the older boys, him being a 1990 baby, always was beyond nice to me. It also helped that he was a captain and I knew I could talk to him about whatever, well not exactly whatever but you get the point.

“Yeah Kris I’m here!” I still know the feeling of how it was in the locker room that day with all the boys I didn’t know starring at me. “Kris I think its name-game time before coach comes in.”

“I couldn’t agree more, all right boys, your name, your age, your team, you know the drill.” Kris always knew how to take charge, I bet he got it from his dad, who coached that team during the summer.

We went around the room everyone saying what the game demanded but I can’t even re-call half the guys names now. I remember two boys quite vividly, Jeff Skinner and Tyler Seguin, not only because they were the only other 92ers but because they both had mega-watt smiles.

Looking back on my life its weird to think I played with so many NHLers but that’s besides the point.

Me and Tyler clicked automatically both on and off the ice, We talked in locker-room and on the bench about just random stuff that innocent 12 year olds talk about.

Me and Jeff on the other hand was the exact opposite type relationship. Tyler, Jeff and I were always on a line together but throughout the whole tourney it felt like Jeff never caught our drift, he’d be in the wrong spot and the wrong time every time. I knew it was because I was a girl, and I remember crying about on the Saturday night of that tourney.

“Baby girl, what’s wrong?” my dad had said, and even then I knew I had to tell him.

“Jeff doesn’t like me Daddy. I just want him to like me!”

“Baby girl, you’re here for fun, this is a summer tournament. Just ignore him.”

And that’s what I did. I bet it made Tyler feel awkward because they were line mates for the normal season on their GTHL team.

Of course our team advanced to the finals of that tournament, I mean how could we not with such a jacked line up. I couldn’t take the awkwardness anymore though and I knew it’d be best to clear the whole debacle up with Jeff before the championship game.

“Jeff can I talk to you?” I remember the scared shitless look he gave me when I asked him after our team warm-up.

“Yeah. What’s up?”

“What’s the issue Skin. Is it because I’m a girl? I deserve to be here, you know that.” I bet I came across as an uber bitch there.

“No No I don’t think that Shauna, At all, its just uh”

“Spit it out Jeff, I’m12, I can take your heat.”

“You’re cute.”

That was when my first hockey crush began, I was told every since I can remember I was a “gorgeous girl” I had and still have beautiful strawberry blonde curls that I don’t take for granted along with my mothers crystal blue eyes but I never realized until Jeff that I was even remotely pretty.

That tournament changed my career in more ways then one, meeting Jeff brought me to realize maybe boys hockey wouldn’t always be an option for me because of hormones but I knew I didn’t want to stop playing with the guys. Also that weekend I remember watching one of the games from the girls tourney going on and was far from impressed, but my father kept stressing the fact that these were far from the best girl players in the country.

At the end of that summer I had made the decision to move on from the GTHL to a little old boarding school in Faribault, Minnesota called Shattuck Saint Mary’s.

Me and my family first heard about Shattuck during the middle of the summer while at the New York Girls Hockey District Evaluations. District Evaluations were such a big deal to me when I was younger because it helped me measure myself against the best girl players in N.Y. and even in my first year doing them at the u12 level I dominated.

To every scout there it was obvious that I was heads above every other girl, at least that’s what my mother told me when I asked her what she thought of my play. I lead every category throughout the 4 game showcase and that had drawn Shattuck in.

When J.P. Parise came up to me at first I was scared, my mother had told me after my last game that someone special wanted to talk to me but this tall, lurking figure didn‘t look too friendly.

“Shauna and Mrs Jeno correct? Sit, please” I remember a grin arriving at his face as we nodded.
“Well Shauna I must say you’re quite the hockey player. I am J.P. Parise, by the way.”

“Why thank you Mr. Parise.” I said smiling.

“Great manners too, You and Tyler have raised a good one Mrs.Jeno, anyways Shauna I’ve been watching you this weekend because I’ve heard a great deal about you from multiple GTHL coaches and you still surprise me with your skill, speed and heart out there.”

At that moment I remember him taking out a burgundy-brown colored folder and sifting it to my mother.

“Shauna I’m very interested in having you be a part of my school, Shattuck St. Marys. For a 12 year old girl I see your skill and I believe you’d be an asset to one of our boys teams, now if your parents would like you could, if you wish to enroll and play at Shattuck, play on one of our elite girls teams but from my view point even at your young age you’d be pushed to excel best on a boys team.”

I still find it weird how I can remember exactly what he said, and my exact reaction but hey it was another milestone in my early career.

“Now Mr.Parise I understand that SSM is an excellent school for hockey, but I must know three things…”

Those 3 things never really mattered because by the end of summer 04 I was officially headed to Shattuck St. Mary’s. I had forced my parents to let me play with the boys team, little did they know it would be a AAA u18 team. For anyone that studies hockey you’d know the team I would later win a national championship with was yet again jacked with future NHL studs.

At some point toward the end of august I departed for Minnesota and Shattuck looking forward to leaving behind the shadow cast on me by my brothers. I remember stopping at the state border and taking a picture at with the “welcome to Minnesota” sign with my hockey stick in hand and getting beeped at, that was the first sign that things would be a hell of a lot different in Minnesota.