Mason Shaw picked up his first goal of the season in last night's 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
ST. PAUL - It's been a long road for Mason Shaw who had suffered his fourth ACL injury at the end of last season but now, just a year later, he's got his first goal of the season.
"Yeah, I think I thought about it quite a bit in the last week. I mean, for it to be, what 366 today? That one felt good and I’m in a lot better spirits this time than I was a year ago today," Shaw said. "Just really happy. Obviously getting a win makes everything feel better and something I look back on really proud of what it took to get to this point."
Shaw, 25, played in 59 games last year for the Wild where he recorded seven goals and 17 points. He had to get another surgery on his knee after tearing his ACL for a fourth time on April 1st.
Last night on April 2nd, Shaw got his first goal of the season in his 13th game of the year.
"I’ve had a lot of time to think about how much the game of hockey means to me and, you know, especially this locker room here when you’re not a part of it for a long time," Shaw said on if he's more appreciative after his fourth ACL injury. "I feel like I try to do a good job enjoying these moments and recognizing how much work you’ve put in and every individual in this room has put in to get to this point in their career.
"It doesn’t dawn on me, the road to get here, but at the same time I realized there’s no time to hang your hat on what you’ve done to get to this point because this league moves fast and bodies come in every year. So just try to take care of my role and my job on the ice every night and I guess that’s really the goal of everyone on this team."
"Especially Shawzy. It’s been such a long road for him mentally and physically," Brock Faber said on Shaw. I’m sure not many people thought he was going to play another NHL game, much less score in an NHL game. So, nothing but happy for him. That’s really cool to be able to share that with him. Obviously, all the guys are extremely happy for him."
Wild head coach John Hynes added: "Shawzy is a heart-and-soul type of player. What he brings, he’s a very competitive player. He brings energy to the team, responsible, great teammate. Everybody loves him, the teammates, the staff and getting the opportunity to coach him now and get to know him and see him every day that’s exactly what he is. He’s just a guy that loves the game, tremendous competitor. He’s done it the hard way and you can see everything he does from a hockey perspective is reflective of that and then getting to know him as a person, he’s a fantastic person, loves the game, has a lot of perseverance. It’s been a pleasure to work with him so far.
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