Do you believe in the power of positive thinking ? Can self confidence or an inner drive get you to places where others think you have no chance of reaching ?
Two examples pop to mind if we apply this concept to hockey in Owen Sound; Sean Avery and Andrew Shaw.
Say what you want about Sean Avery, but he believed in himself to the maximum, usually in the face of derision from his teammates, and while the end appears to be near for Sean in the NHL, he’s still gone where many, certainly including me, thought he’d never get to.
In a similar, but less boisterous fashion, Andrew Shaw in short order not only made it to the National Hockey League but made the stats sheet duking it out with Zac Rinaldo then later scoring in his NHL debut for the Chicago Blackhawks.
Just 16 months ago, Shaw was almost an after-thought in a dizzy sequence of deals between the Attack and his first OHL team, the Niagara IceDogs.
While driven and competitive, Shaw is far from ” big ” by contemporary NHL standards, yet there he was last week on the big stage, on the road, in front of a busload of people from his hometown fulfilling a dream
Yes, Avery and Shaw have talent and drive and toughness, but still, I think self belief got them to the best league in hockey in place of many more talented players they encountered at the Junior level.
I’m Fred Wallace