Wiikwemkoong teen makes junior hockey debut with Espanola Express
By Sam Laskaris
ESPANOLA – Though he is just 15-years-old, Carson Shawana of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory has already had a taste of junior hockey and is expected to suit up for more games at the Junior A level in the coming weeks.
Shawana, a defenceman, has been spending the 2019-20 season with the Sudbury Wolves’ Minor Midget AAA squad.
This past Friday, he was called up by the Espanola Express and made his Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) debut.
Despite taking a loss to the visiting Rayside-Balfour Canadians in the match, held at the Espanola Regional Recreation Complex, Shawana remained optimistic.
“It was still fun,” Shawana said of his first junior contest. “It was close there most of the game. They got away with it in the third.”
The Canadians held a 5-2 advantage heading into the final 20 minutes and added two more goals to seal the victory in the final frame.
Shawana signed on as an affiliate player for the Express a couple of weeks ago. He is eligible to play a maximum 10 regular season contests with the Espanola squad.
“We have 12 games in February,” said Express head coach Dave Clancy. “So I’m sure we’ll get him into some games.”
Before making his NOJHL debut, Shawana had practiced once with the Express earlier this month.
Clancy was impressed with Shawana’s efforts in his first NOJHL game. The young blueliner had a regular shift in the opening two periods. Clancy said Shawana was given some additional ice time beyond a regular shift in the third when the match was out of reach.
“He played very well,” Clancy said of Shawana, who is 6-foot-1 inches and 190 pounds.
“He’s a big body out there and he handled himself well.”
Shawana’s priority for the remainder of this season will be with his Wolves’ Minor Midget squad. But if there are no conflicts, he has an open invitation to attend Express practices.
Since Espanola also has a hectic month coming up in February, Clancy believes Shawana will be playing another game for the Express soon.
“We’d like to get him out as much as we can,” Clancy said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Espanola is one of 12 squads in the NOJHL this season. The Express competes in the six-team West Division.
Besides Rayside-Balfour, the division also includes the Blind River Beavers, the Ontario-based Soo Thunderbirds, Michigan’s Soo Eagles and the Elliot Lake Wildcats.
Meanwhile, the league’s six-squad East Division features the Powassan Voodoos, Timmins Rock, Hearst Lumberjacks, Cochrane Crunch, French River Rapids and Kirkland Lake Gold Miners.
Since he is in his Minor Midget season, Shawana is eligible to be selected in the 2020 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selections.
Shawana’s play in the coming months will determine if he impresses the brass of an OHL franchise enough to get drafted.
“He should be drafted,” Clancy said. “He’s got the size.”
And Shawana, who doesn’t turn 16 until Apr. 19, is still growing.
If an OHL club does not draft him, Shawana will still be looking to move up the hockey ladder next season. He would welcome the opportunity to become a regular in the NOJHL.
“We’d definitely have a look at him,” Clancy said, adding the Express in all likelihood would invite Shawana to a spring tryout camp.
Though he is an affiliate player with the Espanola squad now, Shawana would be allowed to try out for any NOJHL franchise.