Ice Hockey
Favorite athlete: Claude Giroux because he is a great player and captain. He leads by example.
Favorite team: Philadelphia Flyers
Favorite memory competing in sports: The 2011-12 Pennridge season because we had a group of fun and talented players that all got along. It was the last time we all got to play together, and we had a good Flyers Cup run as well.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: It’s always funny when a player falls or loses an edge without being touched – it just happens sometimes.
Music on iPod: A little bit of everything
Future plans: Attending a four-year university – Drexel or the University of Delaware
Words to live by: ‘Don’t try to do things, just do.’
One goal before turning 30: Have a successful career, including a family and a home.
One thing people don’t know about me: I love the outdoors.
By Mary Jane Souder
Tyler Shagen, according to coach Larry Wheatley, has only two speeds on the ice – fast and faster.
“He has no brakes,” Wheatley said. “To me, he’s the Corvette with no brakes. He’s super fast and very talented, and it’s very hard for anybody to get a really good hit on him because he’s just awesome on his feet.
“You have to see him to believe it. He makes these fabulous moves on the ice. It’s like – wow, how did he do that?”
Speed, however, is just a small part of the equation for the Pennridge senior, whose work ethic matches his talent.
“His work ethic is unbelievable, and he’s got that never-say-die attitude,” Wheatley said. “We were in a game, and we were losing 7-1, and he was playing like it was 3-2.”
Shagen lists Claude Giroux as his favorite athlete, choosing the Philadelphia Flyers star not only because of his accomplishments on the ice but because of his leadership qualities as well.
It is for those same reasons Shagen was named a captain of his Pennridge squad the past two seasons.
“He’s the guy cheering in the locker room, and he’s the guy flying around out there,” said Wheatley, who started the Pennridge program in 1989 and returned to the helm three years ago. “When we started this club, we had a boy named Dan Brown who was our first captain, and the kids loved him. They would do anything for him. That’s what Tyler is about. If Tyler asks them to do something, they’ll do it just out of respect, and they know he can do it. All the guys get along with him.”
On the ice, Shagen is most comfortable playing center but will happily play wherever needed.
“If you put a set of pads on him, he could play goalie,” Wheatley said. “He’s one of those kids you’ll say, ‘Hey, Tyler, we’re really short, can you play D?’ He’ll say, ‘Sure.’ Or ‘Hey, Ty, can you do me a favor and play right wing?’ He’s just one of those kids – he doesn’t care. He just wants to play.
“We started a trophy last year – it’s called the best two-way player. He’s all that. There have been times where he took the rush up ice, took a shot on net, got a rebound, turned around and was already back checking the guy coming back on a breakaway. He’s like the Energizer bunny.”
According to Wheatley, Shagen has the perfect demeanor on the ice.
“You never see him not smile because he’s having such a great time,” the Pennridge coach said. “I’ve seen guys try to get under his skin, and he actually really ticks them off because he’s smiling the whole time.
“We just played a team that has a boy who played for the Ice Dogs national team, and he went after Tyler and tried to hit him and missed him twice. To me, that’s impressive that a kid at that level couldn’t even catch him.”
Shagen actually got his start in sports playing baseball. Ice hockey entered the picture when he was eight years old.
“Me and my dad drove by a hockey rink where it said, ‘Sign up for ice hockey,’” Shagen recalled. “I asked my dad if I could do it, and he said I could.
“My dad loves hockey – he grew up a Flyers fan and always played street hockey with his friends in his cul de sac.”
Shagen’s first year was spent going to clinic after clinic, and from there, he competed in an in-house league. It wasn’t long before he was hooked.
“I guess I fell in love with it,” he said. “I love how fast it is – it’s a lot faster than any other sport, and you’re always going 110 percent all the time.
“You get to hit people, you get to control the puck, scoring is just so much fun, and passing and getting a good assist is fun too. It’s all fun. It’s just great.”
In addition to playing for his school teams since he was in elementary school, five years ago, Shagen began playing club hockey for the Ice Dogs and, more recently, the Glaciers. His final season for both the Glaciers and his Pennridge high school squad is coming to an end, but it’s been quite a run for Shagen, who points to last year’s postseason run as his most memorable experience.
“Even though we lost in the first round of Flyers Cup, it was just a great run,” he said. “We were playing with all the kids we knew – the seniors that graduated last year. It was my last time ever playing with them. We were all just friends, and we were having a great time.
“I’ve made friends in ice hockey that will last forever.”
An excellent student, the senior captain is deciding between Drexel and Delaware, and he is not sure ice hockey will be part of his future.
“Where a lot of kids make a mistake at the high school level is they look to see if a school has a hockey program, and then they turn it down if it doesn’t,” said Wheatley, himself a former college coach. “A lot of schools out there don’t have hockey programs. You have to realize sooner or later your chances of making it to the NHL are slim to none. If you’re looking for a school just because it has a hockey program, what are you going to do when hockey is all done?”
Shagen, who is enrolled in both AP and honors classes, is a member of the National Honor Society. He also is a student liaison on the Pennridge Community Education Foundation.
He is considering a business or finance major.
“Academics is my first priority when it comes to college,” he said. “Hockey – if I can do it, that would be great, but academics is what concerns me the most.
“I talked to the University of Delaware coach. He said I could play for him (Division II), but I’m waiting on an acceptance letter from them. I’ve been accepted at Drexel, and I’ll probably play for Drexel’s team if I go there, but I don’t even know if I want to play hockey in college.”
Whatever Shagen decides, Wheatley is certain he will be doing it for the right reasons.
“He’s looking at colleges for his future,” the Pennridge coach said. “He’s a smart kid.”
