INTRODUCING SHANE McCOLGAN
The Saskatoon Blades made arguably the biggest splash of any WHL team at the Bantam Draft last week, pulling the trigger on two significant deals.
One of the players brought in through trade was forward Shane McColgan of the Kelowna Rockets. McColgan was acquired along with fellow forward Jessey Astles, for Ryan Olsen and draft picks.
We had a chance to connect with Shane over the phone this week as he spends time at his home in California.
“I’m very excited to be part of an organization like Saskatoon,” said McColgan. “I had heard rumblings that something might be up in regards to getting traded there and when the news finally broke, I was definitely excited to hear it.”
McColgan is coming off of an 18 goal, 64 point season with the Rockets. He can play both wing and centre and he says his style of game should fit in well with the Blades. “I think I can be a solid two way forward, play on the first or second line. I also think I’m a pretty versatile guy and I’m also not afraid to fight or stick up for a teammate.” He had 5 fights last season in the WHL and has 10 in his junior career.
Playoff experience is another area in which McColgan brings a boost to the Blades. He’s played in 30 career postseason games, registering 25 points. He was a 5th round draft pick of the New York Rangers in 2011 after having a great postseason run, registering 8 goals and 19 points in only 10 playoff games last spring.
“I’m happy to bring my playoff experience into the dressing room in Saskatoon,” he said.”Come playoff time, it’s a whole new season, a fresh start. It doesn’t matter what you do in the regular season, playoff time is the time that counts. I’ll be happy to share my playoff knowledge with my teammates and that should help us come next season.”
McColgan is also prepared to extend that postseason into the 2013 MasterCard Memorial Cup run, an event he’s very thrilled to be a part of. “When I first heard about going to Saskatoon, the Memorial Cup was the first thing I thought of. Considering this could be my last year of junior coming up, I really want to win that title and I think the best chance to do that will be playing with the Saskatoon Blades.”
When it comes to moving to Saskatoon, McColgan isn’t too sure what to expect, even though he has some roots in the city. With that being said, come hockey season he knows what the most important thing is. “Well I don’t really know much about Saskatoon, especially what there is to do in the winter. I do know it gets pretty cold there. My mom lived there for a few years and my grandma is actually from there so I do have some background with the city. As far as things I like to do, I like to golf, just hang out with the guys as much as possible. During the season though, I like to stick to strictly hockey and that’s about it.”
The Saskatoon Blades would like to welcome #9 Shane McColgan to the organization.
