Wright on track maturing game with Firebirds | TheAHL.com

Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer

It only seems that Coachella Valley Firebirds forward Shane Wright is older than his birth certificate indicates.

Wright, after all, has been a household hockey name for years. Nothing has been normal or routine for him.

He was barely a teenager when he was already attracting attention as an emerging star in the ultra-competitive world of minor hockey in the Greater Toronto Area. His teammates with the Don Mills Flyers included the likes of eventual NHL first-rounders Brandt Clarke and Brennan Othmann. It was that kind of environment that Wright dominated.

Then came 2019 and Hockey Canada granting Wright exceptional-player status, a decision that allowed him to join Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League as a 15-year-old. He delivered on the hype, providing 39 goals and 66 points to win top rookie honors in both the OHL and the Canadian Hockey League.

After COVID-19 wiped out the 2020-21 OHL season, a 17-year-old Wright earned the Kingston captaincy and supplied 94 points in 2021-22. By then the hockey world’s gossip machine was in full motion bandying about Wright’s name as a possible first-overall pick, and of course that spotlight only intensified when the Montreal Canadiens won the NHL Draft lottery that spring of 2022.

Debates raged, especially with the Habs hosting that year’s NHL Draft.

Instead Wright went fourth overall to the Seattle Kraken. He won a spot on the Seattle roster in training camp, but he was 18 and needed to play more, so the Kraken sent him to the Firebirds on a conditioning assignment. Wright showed plenty of promise, pocketing four goals in his first three games.

But the AHL was a short-term option. Wright captained Canada to a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship; with that role in that tournament, the spotlight hardly gets any bigger anywhere outside of the NHL. He was then returned to junior, and after his rights were traded from Kingston to Windsor, he notched 37 points in 20 games before the Spitfires were abruptly swept in the first round of the OHL playoffs.

That early exit opened up an opportunity for the Kraken to return Wright to the Firebirds far earlier than expected. He was back in the AHL for the final weekend of the regular season, and got valuable experience on Coachella Valley’s ride all the way to Game 7 of the Calder Cup Finals.

“I learned the intensity of the playoffs,” said Wright, who finished with two goals and seven assists in 24 postseason games. “I learned what it takes to play at that level and that time of year. It was a great experience for me.”

But even for someone whose maturity is readily apparent, it was time for some normalcy.

“There was a lot that happened to Shane, and a lot going on with his situation,” Firebirds head coach Dan Bylsma said. “It didn’t feel like he had an opportunity to just play hockey and display how good of a player he is.

“This year he has been able to settle in, have a team, have something he’s working for in addition to being able to get to his game. He continues to display great poise with the puck, playmaking, carrying the puck, transporting the puck with speed. An elite shot, elite finishing ability. You can see his game continuing to grow in confidence and him being able to show the ability that he has.”

Wright has played three games with the Kraken this season, but he has had largely the same kind of experience that a less-heralded 20-year-old prospect would typically have. Fourth-overall pick or not, the Kraken want him in the AHL, fine-tuning the smaller nuances of the game with Bylsma and the Coachella Valley coaching staff.

He has logged 38 points in 50 games with the Firebirds and sits tied for fourth among AHL rookies – yes, he’s still a pro rookie – with 19 goals. But the time with the Firebirds is about a lot more than amassing eye-popping statistics. It’s about long-term success, and Seattle management is in no rush.

“I think it’s been a great opportunity for him,” Bylsma said. “Just to figure out what kind of player he is, figure out how he can have success, and continue to display the obvious skill and ability that he has. He just has to continue to develop in his confidence and being able to play, compete, and show his ability.”

So, yes, Wright has been in high-profile roles for the better part of the past five years. But really, truly, he is barely 20 years old: January 5, 2004, is the birthdate, no matter how long it seems like he has been around. He is positioned to have another chase for a Calder Cup this spring, and a long NHL career should be his before too long.

While the Seattle organization is in no hurry with Wright’s development, Wright is working to be in no hurry with the puck.

It is a key point of emphasis: Slow down the game and let skill take over.

“Having the confidence to hold on to the puck a little bit longer, to make play from my own abilities, my speed and skating,” Wright elaborated.

Bylsma has plenty of experience coaching the best of the best. In 2008-09, he won a Stanley Cup in Pittsburgh with a 21-year-old Sidney Crosby and a 22-year-old Evgeni Malkin. With the Buffalo Sabres in 2015-16, he had rookies Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, both second-overall draft picks.

“There’s a lot of developing, there’s a lot of growing that happens when you’re 19, 20, and 21 in the game,” Bylsma pointed out, “Good for Shane. Coming to us, starting his pro career, it just gives him a chance to continue to develop and grow and get stronger and get faster and be more confident in the skills that he does have.

“It’s a progression that will keep happening for him. I think the more you come and watch him play, the more you see that skill. You see that poise. You see that playmaking ability, transporting the puck, and the elite shot. I think there’s a bright future for him at the end of it.”

Bylsma and Wright have hit it off in their time together. A player-friendly coach who is well-regarded by the Coachella Valley dressing room, Bylsma is a prime choice to help refine an elite talent like Wright.

“He really likes and supports his players,” Wright said, “and just wants us to be the best we can be. He’s a Stanley Cup-winning coach and went to the Olympics. He’s a really, really smart guy and knows what he’s talking about. He knows what it’s like to be in our shoes as well, so he’s such a good guy to learn off.”

Bylsma circles back to Reinhart as a comparison point for Wright.

“Sam Reinhart is potentially very soon going to get 50 goals in a year, and that’s not the way Sam was eight years ago,” Bylsma said. “He had to keep working on his game and keep developing and getting stronger and more confident in his ability, and that happened over three or four or five years.

“Shane, he’s in that process right now.”

TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams has been on the American Hockey League beat for nearly two decades for outlets including NHL.com, Sportsnet, TSN, The Hockey News, SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and SLAM! Sports, and was most recently the co-host of The Hockey News On The ‘A’ podcast. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.