The Business of Hockey by Shane Sellar

I woke up to an empty house on a cold February Saturday in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. My billet parents were away in Chicago visiting one of their kids for the week. I rolled out of bed at six in the morning, barely able to stay awake, because we had a game the previous night. I had about an hour to myself, which I used to pack my room and to cram everything into my car. Reality was beginning to set in. The game I had played the night before had been my last in the Sioux Falls Stampede franchise.

I grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, a small town that is about forty-five minutes away from Hershey. I grew up in a town where every other kid who attended my school played football, baseball, or soccer, and then there was me, the kid who played ice hockey. From the very first time I stepped out onto the ice-at the age of two, I fell in love with the game.

Growing up, my dream was about the same as every other hockey-playing kid; that is, to make it to the NHL. I loved everything about the game: the seven o’clock games, getting up at the crack of dawn to travel to a game three hours away, to the scents and sounds of the arena (especially being the first one there in the morning), to the blaring-horn signalling a goal-scored.

As time progressed, I continued to make each team and to push myself to the next level. My parents never had to tell me to work-out or go to practice, I just had the drive and determination to become better. Nobody had to force me to play hockey and I was never forced to keep playing, but I loved the game so much that I was going to do whatever I had to do, to keep playing. The best part about it all was that my parents were there supporting me every step of the way.

My journey began when I was thirteen years old. My summer coach at the time Fredrik Nygren was going back home to coach in Sweden where he was from and he approached my family and I with the opportunity for me to go back with him to play hockey for the year and live with another player on the team. At first my parents hesitated as they didn’t want to send me halfway across the world to live with another family they had never met just for hockey; the idea was crazy to them. But after a few talks and some convincing on my part, they realized this was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me as a player and they said yes. I moved to Sweden in October of my eighth grade year and I lived with the Odell family. They welcomed me into their home like I was another son to them. This was the first time I had lived away from home and little did anyone realize, this would be the first of many.

Fast forward a few years and I made the decision to leave home again and attend Canterbury School in New Milford, Connecticut. During my freshman year at Canterbury I was the youngest kid on the team, but thanks to Coach McCarthy and Coach Reinhardt, I was given the opportunity to step in right away and make an impact. Playing against kids that were 19 and 20 years old when I was only 15 was scary at first, but thanks to the veteran guys like Jeff Celniker, Greg Liautaud, Anthony Langevin, Christian Short, Connor Collier and Luke Habich, I was able to find my way. I was able to grow as not only a player, but also as a person learning from these older guys. In my senior year, I was the captain of the team along with Dan Weir and Jimmy Morrisey. This was my chance to give back to the younger players and do everything I could to help them learn by the time I graduated.

In my senior spring, I got called up by the Sioux Falls Stampede in the United States Hockey League (USHL). I was once again moving away from home and it was time to go live with another family that I had never met before. My billets, Ruthi and Jerry Menkin, were very welcoming and brought me in like I was their son. It was very awkward at first, and I was shy because I didn’t know what to expect, but by the time I left, I felt like I was at home. They were my second parents and my relationship with them was second to none. I got to practice with the team and I was fortunate enough to even play in a few games. I felt like I made a good first impression with the team and I was ready to be on the team full time the following year.

The following year I made Sioux Falls out of camp and come the beginning of September, I was back in Sioux Falls. When my billet family found out that I had made the team,  they decided that they would host me full time for the year. It was a very easy transition to leave home this time, because I was moving to a family that I was already familiar with and I felt at home with. On the ice, I struggled to find my game as a player and I struggled to find my role. The fourth game of the season I got scratched for the first time in my life. I wasn’t used to it and I was so confused. I began to be in the stands more often, watching my team play every night. The chances I did get to play, I was either on the fourth line or I was the thirteenth forward. The situation was not ideal for me. After several talks with the coach, I asked for a trade.

I came home from practice and when I walked in the front door my billet mom, Ruthi, asked how my day was. I just looked at her and said can I talk to you and Jerry about something. All of us were sitting in the basement and before I could even say anything I broke down and began to cry. I was able to collect myself and I told Ruthi and Jerry that I was getting traded in the next few days. The time after that was a blur as I can only remember all of us were just crying and upset and it was the worst moment ever. What made the situation even worse was that my billets were leaving for Chicago on Friday and I was leaving Saturday. I had to say goodbye to my billets before I even left. The days after are very hard to describe. I spent every second of my time away from the rink with Ruthi and Jerry. I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to them at the time because they were my “parents”. They did everything and anything for me. My relationship with them wasn’t a hockey player just living at their house; they made me feel like their son.

Friday morning came too fast and I can clearly remember standing in the driveway at 8 in the morning watching my “parents” leave and all I could think about was when I was going to get to see them next. I didn’t want it to end this way, but the unfortunate part of the situation is that I was a junior hockey player and I was part of a business. This wasn’t AAA hockey anymore where everyone played and you couldn’t get traded. I played my last game in a Sioux Falls Stampede jersey that night against the Lincoln Stars. I didn’t even tell all of my teammates about the trade. As I began to clean out my locker after the game, I was trying to hold back the tears because I realized my time in Sioux Falls was actually over. I said my goodbyes to everyone and then I went home to pack.

Saturday morning came very quickly and when my alarm went off at six in the morning, I got up and reality hit hard. My billets were gone and now it was my turn to leave. All I knew was that I was going to Janesville, Wisconsin to play for the Janesville Jets in the North American Hockey League (NAHL). I can remember just standing outside looking at what was my home for the past year and now I just had to pick up and move in the span of three days. As an eighteen year old hockey player, I was scared and nervous. I didn’t know what to expect, especially after being in a place I called home.

I pulled out of my driveway in Sioux Falls and immediately, all these negative thoughts began to race through my head. I began to question all the time and effort I had put into the game I loved. With every question of doubt, I always had the same answer. You can’t give up now. You can’t quit.

I didn’t know anything about Janesville. I didn’t know anyone on the team. I had spoken to the coach briefly on the phone the night before, but that was it. I didn’t know where I would be living or who I would be living with.

It was a long seven hour drive to Janesville. It wasn’t until I was about two hours away that the assistant coach, Cody Campbell, finally reached out with info on my housing family. It was a weird situation for me and I had no idea what to expect. I called my new billet parents, Keith and Connie Kersting, and I told them I was going to be staying at their house and that I would be there in an hour. They informed me that they also had another player that lived with them, LA Grissom, so I would have a roommate.

When I arrived, I immediately felt at home. Connie and Keith were so welcoming and they brought me in as another son right away. LA helped me move in right when I got there and he told me that I was going to be playing that night if I wanted to. In the business of hockey I was thinking that maybe I wasn’t going to get to play since I was new to the team and I just got to town. But right away, Coach Dibble gave me the opportunity to play.

As a hockey player, when you are at the rink, it gives you a chance to just forget about everything else that is going on in your life and just focus on hockey. Playing that night in Janesville was one of my best games of the year. I wasn’t worried about anything, but making a first impression. I was only focused on doing whatever I could to help the team win that night. I had three points that night, a goal and two assists. That was as many points as I had in Sioux Falls for the whole year.

We had a great run in Janesville, but ultimately we lost in the first round of playoffs. That bus ride home after our season ended was the longest six hours of my life. My life of a junior hockey player was over.

It wasn’t the ideal year at all. I never expected to get traded. I never expected to have moved homes in the span of three days but, that’s the business of hockey. Getting traded was actually a blessing in disguise. It gave me the opportunity to play and not sit in the stands. It gave me the opportunity to contribute to the team. It gave me a fresh start.

The business of hockey is unlike no other. It’s a battle every single time you step on the ice. You can’t take anything for granted. You have to be willing to sacrifice some things in life in order to reach your goals. If you aren’t willing to, someone else will be, because someone is always getting passed and someone is always passing someone.

Edited by: Angelos Tsalafos (editor & publisher)