by By Dan Ninham (Oneida)
“Hockey was a part of my life before I was even born with my father being very involved his whole life,” said Shane Roulette. “It wasn’t very long after I started walking that he had me in skates.”
Shane is Ojibwe and Cree, with status to Sandy Bay First Nation. He is from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and currently lives in Ashland Wisconsin. Shane played four seasons in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) and currently is a sophomore for NCAA DIII Northland College. His dad and mom, Preston and Tannyce, live in Winnipeg. Younger brother Conner lives in Seattle, WA.
“Being an indigenous college hockey player in the ‘states’, one thing I really focus on is pride,” said Shane. “Proud of who I am and where I come from, because there aren’t many Native American players in this league. So that could hold a lot of responsibility in the sense of being a role model for indigenous youth who are thinking of taking the same route.”
Although there may not be many native hockey players in his league, there are more native hockey players in the world than many people may realize. There are currently four on the Northland College team. Shane’s younger brother, Conner, plays for the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League.
“I have so much support from my family,” said Shane. “I think the ones with the most positive influence are both my parents and my Uncle Ryan Cook. They are always watching my games and giving me feedback on what I did well and what I can improve on.”
“Shane is the oldest of the grandkids in our family,” said Uncle Ryan Cook. “He’s always been the one to set the pace for the others and has always had to endure the younger cousins and brother hanging off of him begging him to tag along. Growing up, he always tolerated it with a considerably good attitude. In a way I feel bad for referring to his younger brother in a story about him, but I can’t think of a better example of Shane’s leadership. Without a doubt, Shane’s biggest accomplishment is his younger brother. Let me explain, without Shane letting him tag along, without Shane letting him watch and be a part of all of the games of mini-sticks, street hockey, weekend tournaments, and without being allowed to worship his big brother, Conner doesn’t make it where he is today. I think if he hasn’t already, Shane will one day realize that his younger brother’s success is Shane’s biggest accomplishment. He’s always been the perfect big brother. High expectations and yet an amazing role model. For me, his younger brother’s success is the greatest example of Shane’s leadership. Both on and off the ice.”
“Ever since Shane started playing hockey, his top qualities and attributes to his game was his speed, strength, his big heart and eventually his physical play, but he also loved to score, especially in shootouts,” said dad Preston. “Shortly after Shane started playing hockey at the age of 6, I started a youth Aboriginal hockey team called the Anishinabe Magic to play in Aboriginal tournaments in Winnipeg or in the province of Manitoba. I remember we went into a shootout and he wanted to go so bad and he guaranteed me a goal. So I let him go and sure enough he scores, we win the game and the tournament.”
“By the next tournament Shane would bring an extra stick that he strictly used for our shootout games. He called it his Breakaway Stick or sometimes his Five Hole Stick and he never missed his chances. Eventually when he played with the Winnipeg Thrashers in the Manitoba Provincial Under-18 League (formally referred to as the Midget Div.) he was frequently used in shootouts situations and he continued scoring more than often,” added Preston.
Dad Preston continued to talk about his hockey son: “When Shane was 8 years old he was asked to tryout for a Spring/Summer AAA Hockey team. During the tryouts I saw that he was one of the better forwards, but did not make the team and this was my first experience of seeing the politics of hockey. Because of this, I took the responsibility to make our own Triple AAA spring/summer team that was made up of mostly Aboriginal hockey players that were good enough to play in these tournaments, but were passed up on these opportunities to play more hockey into the spring and summer months. Many of the Aboriginal parents I asked to play had no idea there was extra hockey played after the season was over. Our first Triple AAA Spring Tournament we entered was the Ice Breakers Tournament in Edmonton, Alberta and we ended up winning the Tournament. We kept the Spring/Summer team going for a couple of years, until it moved on and became Team Pepsi with a different Coaching staff, but mostly the same players.”
“I remember the very first time Shane played in a body contact game he was 10 years with his Spring/Summer AAA team. After the game I walked into the dressing room and I seen him all happy with a big smile and he says to me: “Dad, did you see my hits?” I said, “yes I did” with a laugh and I reminded him, “but you guys lost 5-3,” and he couldn’t wait to play his next game,” added Preston.
“Shane loved playing the physical game and because of that, Mr. Keegan Kolesar (who’s currently playing with the Chicago Wolves – AHL) stepfather, Mr. Charles Peterson, current MLB Scout for the St. Louis Cardinals was heavily involved with the local Football team called the Winnipeg Nomads,” recalled Preston. “Throughout the hockey season, he kept asking Shane to come play football once hockey was over. The following summer Shane at age 11 played football and both Keegan and him were the two heavy hitting linebackers that stopped everything in its tracks. Shane only played football for one season because both sports would overlap for a couple of months in September and October and hockey was his main focus.”
“When Shane was 14 years of age, he got drafted by the Moose Jaw Warriors of the WHL and later got picked up by the Portland Winterhawks when he was 16,” said Preston. “He was invited to go back to Portland the following year, but declined to keep his options open for a chance to play NCAA.”
Shane played for Team Manitoba for three years at the National Aboriginal Hockey Championship (NAHC) and during this tournament he was asked twice to participate in the ‘Hit the Ice TV Series’ on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). Mr. John Chabot. former NHL player with the Montreal Canadians, Pittsburg Penguins and the Detroit Red Wings would select the 20 players from each of the ten provincial teams participating at the NAHC. This invitation was something very special to the players because it was an all expense paid opportunity to learn NHL drills, hear from former or current NHL coaches, players and scouts, learn healthy eating habits and at the end of the three-week summer camp the players would play an exhibition game in front of WHL, OHL, QMJHL and NCAA Scouts for the opportunity to get invited to attend their main hockey camps.
