IBO Boxing Honesty and Integrity
I’m not going to pretend that I was familiar with Shane Prince’s two-way game or favorable Corsi stats. I’m not going to act like I knew that Shane Prince was a hockey player or even a real life person. I didn’t. If you did, good for you, you follow the rest of the NHL much more closely than I do. I’m sure someone out there probably has him in a 20 team dynasty keeper league.
This is basically how my Shane Prince experience started (let me know if this sounds familiar).
- Read @StapeNewsday tweet that Garth Snow traded a 3rd round pick for Shane Prince.
- Googled “Shane Prince” and “Shane Prince Senators”
- Read the 2015-16 Stats on Hockey-Reference, sighed.
- Tweeted musical artist Prince photos and GIFs for several minutes.
- Referred to Garth as “The GM formerly known as Snow” after not upgrading the team.
- Find out Shane Prince dressed as Chris Neal for Halloween, chuckled.
- Started to see opposing fan base upset about the trade, became optimistic.
However, since Monday at 3pm, I have read more obscure articles and scouting reports about Shane Prince than any other topic in sports or pop culture.
If you are a fan like me, you search long and far for the good and avoid the less good. The reality is there is probably less chance of Shane Prince becoming a viable and productive Top 6 forward than being a fringe NHL contributor. Yet, when Jack Capuano put him on the first line with Tavares last night, you couldn’t help but dream of catching lightning in a bottle. Jason Blake? Matt Moulson? Michael Grabner (his rookie season)? It has happened before.
So in the spirit of optimism, here are 5 great things said about Shane Prince I found on the internet:
1) If the team’s best shot at a Cup is any time in the next 5-6 years, Shane Prince would have been in his prime and could have been a contributor. In the end, I don’t get why you trade him for what at best is a wash, at worst is a huge loss.- SB Nation Silver Seven
2) Both an accomplished passer and scorer, Prince is an all-around talent in the offensive end with the speed to get back to his own zone and make a difference on the back check. His good hockey sense and nose for the net make him a dangerous presence on every shift. He has all of the tools to become an accomplished top-six winger in the NHL. – Hockey’s Future
3) Has excellent hockey sense and offensive instincts. Can play either wing or center. Is quite good at setting up line mates but also scores goals when he unleashes his very heavy shot – The Hockey News
4) Drafted in the second round of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft by the Senators, Prince has been one of the better possession players for the Atlantic Division club leading into his first few years in the NHL – and while his offensive numbers could go up (he currently boasts just three goals and 12 points in 42 regular season games for 2015-16), he provides enough upside that the deal looks good for the Islanders. – Today’s Slapshot
5) Prince led all Binghamton Senators in scoring, racking up 65 points in 72 games, including 28 goals. And while Matt Puempel was the guy that got the longer look in 2014/2015, Prince certainly outplayed him over the course of the season. In the last year and a bit, Prince has solidified himself as the team’s top forward prospect. Or at least the most NHL-ready of the bunch – SensChirp
Oh and did you know Shane and his father Dan operate a hockey boarding camp called “Prince Elite Hockey” with programs that focus on dynamic and innovative skill development? I did. They use apply eccentric skating and puck handling skills to a deliberate practice philosophy to effectively and efficiently produce highly skilled elite level hockey players.
Now let’s hope that my optimism doesn’t revert back to pessimism very soon as I don’t think I have anything else to Google.