Shaun Van Allen, a veteran of 12 years in the NHL, has been working as an assistant coach with the Carleton Ravens men’s hockey team for the past four seasons.
However, for the end of this season at least, Van Allen said he was recognized for a different reason at the University Cup in Saskatoon.
He played two years with the Saskatoon Blades in the Western Hockey League (WHL) before getting drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1987 and getting his pro career started.
Van Allen said he has a special connection with Saskatoon because of his fond memories of major junior.
“The city is outstanding. The people are great, and the people that were in the Blades organization when I was a young guy trying to break in mean so much to me,” he said.
Van Allen grew up in the small town of Climax, Sask., and said coming back for nationals meant a lot.
“It just works out even better for me because this is my home province, so it was awfully nice to be back,” he said.
Ravens coach Marty Johnston, who has worked with Van Allen for each of the past four years, said it was great to see his colleague return home thanks to the team’s success. But, he said the situation was rarely discussed during the playoffs.
“It was great for him to be back where he played junior, but it wasn’t something we talked about as a group,” Johnston said.
Van Allen said although it’s great on a personal level to be back in Saskatoon, he wants to focus on the team and its historic achievement to make it to nationals for the first time.
“To me, the main thing is just the guys,” he said. “They deserved to be here, we competed hard, and we just fell short.”
Despite Carleton’s disappointing showing at the tournament after losing both of its round-robin games, Van Allen said he’s proud of how his team fared in its University Cup debut.
And when it comes to looking back on his entire experience of returning to Saskatoon, he said coming back reminds him why he owes all of his present success to his past experience city and the Blades organization.
“They made me the person I am and the player that I am,” he said. “Without them I wouldn’t have had any success.”
