A silver lining Neepawa’s Hnidy bringing Stanley Cup home today

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This article was published 18/08/2011 (5352 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IN a week that has seen the local hockey community deal with tragedy, Shane Hnidy will bring a little sunshine to our province of puck.

 

Hnidy will bring the Stanley Cup to Neepawa today to share with family and friends in a celebration of hockey. Much of the Manitoba hockey community was touched by the sudden death of Winnipeg Jets winger Rick Rypien on Monday and a day of smiles and hugs will be a welcome respite.

Hnidy and Rypien share some similarities in that they climbed to the NHL the hard way, using their fists as well as their skills to open the door. Rypien’s story ended in despair and far too soon. Hnidy, however, was able to milk everything he could from his abilities and an 11-year NHL career has now been capped by a share of the Stanley Cup.

Hnidy joined the Boston Bruins late last season and was part of the club’s championship run, but the journey didn’t get off the ground until after a shinny skate in The Pas last January.

“It wasn’t until that game that I realized the fire was still there,” said Hnidy, 35. “My brother Shawn is seven years older than me so we never got to play hockey together. This was a first and that’s one of the good things that came from my injury. I got home and got on the scale and realized it was time to get serious if I was going to try and come back. I got in the gym and started skating on a regular basis and then we started talking to the Bruins. After that, well, we kind of went on a miraculous run.”

The 2010-11 hockey season had the most dramatic of lows followed by unexpected highs for Hnidy. The crowning moment took place on a spring night in Vancouver when he and the Bruins captured the Cup, but today in Neepawa will be another moment to remember.

Hnidy will roll into town with the Stanley Cup seat-belted into his vehicle and parade down Mountain Avenue pulling into the Yellowhead Centre for a social.

“This means so much to me. There are so many people who have been behind me and I want to thank them and give them all a chance to get with the Cup,” said Hnidy. “This is probably the last time I’ll ever see the Cup unless I go and see it at the Hockey Hall of Fame sometime. So I want to share it and let my friends and family and all of Neepawa get their chance.”

Hnidy’s career has been a series of one long shot after another. He broke in as a pro in the East Coast Hockey League with the Baton Rouge Kingfish.

“Pierre McGuire was my coach. He was the first guy to ever tell me I could make it all the way,” said Hnidy, who has clawed his way into 550 NHL games. “That confidence is so important. I never thought for a moment that I would one day win the Stanley Cup. Now it’s happened. I’m not sure if I’m done or not. I’d like to play again.

“But if I don’t, well, this will make it a lot easier.

“Winning the Stanley Cup, lots of guys have to leave the game never having done it. I have now.”

Back in September of 2010, after he tore his rotator cuff in two spots, Hnidy was unsure if he would ever play again, let alone take part in a Stanley Cup run.

“I never planned for this. I didn’t know if I was going to have to retire. It wasn’t easy. It’s a tough injury and I know of guys that have missed a full season. It was hard work and then the opportunity with the Bruins came along,” said Hnidy. “They were looking for depth and insurance for the playoffs and I was comfortable with that role.”

Hnidy saw action in just three regular-season games with the Bruins and then three in the playoffs.

“It was play when needed and I was comfortable with that,” said Hnidy. “I was the first in when we had injuries but it was amazing how few we had and that had a lot to do with us being able to win the Cup.”

Hnidy is not eligible to have his name engraved on the Cup as players must see action in at least 41 regular-season games or one in the final with the winning team. In 1994 a stipulation was added to allow a team to petition the NHL commissioner for permission to have players’ names put on the Cup if extenuating circumstances prevented them from being available to play.

“The Bruins have petitioned on my behalf,” said Hnidy. “That doesn’t really matter. It would be great but I’m getting a ring and they can never take that away from me.”

There’s lots of reason to be glum this week and Hnidy’s moment in the sun doesn’t diminish the loss of Rypien. But it does give us a chance to smile and appreciate one man’s success.

Congrats, Shane. Good on you.

 

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca

Hometown

hootenanny

 

Neepawa’s Shane Hnidy is bringing the Stanley Cup to his hometown today.

A social that will include the Stanley Cup will take place at the Yellowhead Centre from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Tickets are $15 each and are available at the Yellowhead Centre, Harris Pharmacy and the Neepawa Chamber Office. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.