It has taken Marc Shaw no time at all to make his mark in the Yorkton Harvest offense since recovering from his pre-season femur fracture. In his first six SMAAAHL games, he has scored four goals, including two on the man advantage.
Albeit the Harvest are on somewhat of a skid, head coach Dan Cross believes Shaw is exactly what his club lacked in the nine games prior to him getting in the lineup.
"We needed earlier in the year what he has brought to our offense," said Cross. "He's a big body out there that has finished some big plays for us this year. He gives our offense more depth and is a player who can play top-line minutes for us."
The 6-foot, 186-pound rookie forward is ultimately fortunate to be back on the ice this soon. His femur injury suffered from a knee-on-knee hit could have been a lot worse.
"I felt lucky that I didn't have to do any physiotherapy," said Shaw. "I just had to wear a knee brace for three to four weeks. The knee healed pretty quickly and I was happy with how it went."
Shaw credits his team's success at smoothly transitioning the puck out of their own end for his impressive stats sheet.
"The little things in our end I think has helped me score," said Shaw. "The defence has been chipping it up and guys have made good breakout passes."
Based on what Shaw accomplished last year in the Â鶹´«Ã½AV Saskatchewan Midget AA Hockey League, where he won the scoring title with the Estevan Bruins by notching 29 goals and 36 points in 32 games, it's not that surprising to see him quickly adapt to midget 'AAA.'
"It hasn't taken him long at all to get used to this league," said Cross. "He has the talent to come in here and be a good player in this league right away."
Despite his silky smooth transition, the Carlyle, SK., native has had to overcome obstacles in making the jump up.
"It's a lot faster - I've really noticed the speed," said the 16-year-old Shaw. "The players are also a lot more talented. They moved the puck better and the defencemen are harder to get by."
