Mason Shaw is still an easy guy to root for. In a world where goals, assists, accomplishments, and championships tend to define players, a select few transcend those tangible markers of success to become an embodiment of the innate desire to participate in or witness something special; that thing that draws us to sports in the first place.
For many who follow the Minnesota Wild, Shaw became one of those select few. Fans remember Shaw as the farm kid from Alberta who persevered through four devastating ACL injuries and returned to the pinnacle of hockey each time.
Shaw looked like he had made it for good in the 2022-23 season. The 5-foot-10 ball of energy had brought his intelligent, physical, and havoc-wreaking style of play to the NHL for 59 games and counting, becoming a mainstay on a Wild team that was on its way to another playoff berth.
Then, disaster struck. During a road game in Vegas, the winger’s skate hit a rut in the ice, and he tumbled down behind the net. Soon afterward, the worst-case scenario that everyone was dreading became fact: Shaw, just 25 years old at the time, had suffered his fourth ACL tear. It was a heart-wrenching blow for Shaw.
Remarkably, though, Shaw persevered, and the Wild stuck with him. After electrifying the Xcel Energy Center crowd and his teammates by leading an epic “Let’s Play Hockey” chant before Game 3 of the Wild’s playoff series against the Dallas Stars, Shaw rehabbed in Minnesota over the offseason.
He returned to the ice mid-way through the 2023-24 season and played nine games in Iowa before earning another NHL call-up and playing against the St. Louis Blues on March 2, 2024. Shaw played 20 games down the stretch for the Wild.
The Wild didn’t re-sign him that offseason, and Shaw signed a two-way contract with the Winnipeg Jets. He’s spent the last two seasons with the AHL’s Manitoba Moose. He was the team’s captain this past season and led the deep, well-rounded Moose in scoring with 15 goals and 29 assists. More importantly, the team’s playing style reflected its captain: straight-line, physical, and tenacious, with the right mix of skill and playmaking.
Shaw led Manitoba to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs, where he scored a game-winning goal in the final minutes of Game 1 against Grand Rapids. However, the Moose ultimately lost the best-of-five series to the heavily favored Griffins.
At 27 years old, Shaw still looks like a player who has NHL games in his future. I was in Des Moines to cover the Iowa Wild’s final home series in late April, against the Moose. I caught up with him after that Friday’s game, which Iowa won 3-2 in a shootout.
Despite the loss, the friendly, always professional Shaw was generous with his time, and we had a wide-ranging discussion about his team in Manitoba, the special place Minnesota holds in his heart, his experience representing Canada in the 2025 Spengler Cup, and his journey as a professional hockey player still chasing that NHL dream.
First of all, it was a tough result for you guys tonight, but man, it looked like your line was around it all night. You guys were buzzing.
Yeah. I mean, David Gustafsson‘s been out for a while. He’s our big horse centerman, so it was, he’s been kind of out for a little while here, so it was nice to have him back. He kind of can just calm everything down for our line, and then playing with Walker Duehr…I mean, there’s not many that are as big, fast, and strong as him in this league. It’s been a good combination for us.
Unfortunately, with Gus out, it’s been kind of a little bit juggled a bit, but it’s really good to have Gus back. Unfortunately, we didn’t find as many tonight as we thought we deserved, but, like you said, we’re around it pretty good.
So how do you feel about your game these days? It looks like you’re doing a lot of the things that have always defined your game. Do you feel pretty good about the way you’re playing?
Yeah, I mean, it’s a long season, right? I mean, it’s two years in a row where I’ve been able to stay healthy and get in every game, so yeah, I’m happy with my game. And you know, at the pro level, I think the hardest thing that I’ve learned over the years is being consistent. At the pro level, the things that make you good, you gotta do every night.
So I’m happy with where my game is at. You know, obviously, [I] would like a few more things to go in here or there. But now I’ve taken on the role of being the captain here, and leading this group, and now we’re gonna look forward to, hopefully, a good playoff run.
Obviously, a lot of people were inspired by your story and what you went through with the four knee injuries, and the fact that you kept coming back and making it again to the pinnacle of pro hockey.
Now that you’re a captain, has that experience helped you as a leader, and how have you been able to use everything you’ve learned in your career as you’re now captaining a team in this phase?
Yeah, I mean, that’s something that I’ll always hold my head high on, being able to come back from these injuries. I mean, you know, one or two is enough, but to go through three and four was…you know, there was certainly a point in my career where I was wondering if I could even get back to pro hockey again, so, it’s something I’ll always hang my hat on and be proud of.
But at the same time, once you get back and play in your game, you’re always chasing that carrot, right? You always want to get to the highest level. So, obviously, my role here as captain is to lead this group here, but you always chase the highest stakes, and that’s the NHL.
I still think that I can get back to that point at some point in my career. But at the same time, I’m really proud of the work that I put in to get, you know, to still be playing as a pro for eight years now.
And there’s a lot of thank yous…a lot of people helped me get to this point. I mean, the support I received, especially from the Wild organization. It would have been easy to quit on me, you know, throughout one or two.
You know, I went through three GMs there, through Chuck Fletcher, Paul Fenton, and Billy Guerin, and all of them were amazing to me, and just kept giving me a chance to come back, and prove that you might be out, but you’re not really out of the fight. So I’m always grateful for my days, and there’s nothing better than playing hockey.
Awesome. Speaking of that, who are some of the guys that helped you a lot, that you learned from as a younger player? How do you pass that on now as you’re an…I don’t want to call you an older player, but, you know, sometimes that’s how it goes.
Yeah, I mean, I can start back to my rookie season. I learned from guys like Cal O’Reilly, Matt Bartkowski, [and] Nate Prosser. I mean, the list goes on and on, guys that I was able to play with in [the Wild] organization, who were really involved. Cody McCloud, now a manager here, he’s a great friend of mine.
Man, I got nothing but good things to say about my experience with the Wild organization, and, obviously, you go to the highest level in the leadership with the Wild…they took me in, you know, for the year and a half. Alex Goligoski is a guy, I lived in his townhouse. He let me and Connor Dewar live there. Jared Spurgeon, I mean, that group is unbelievable.
I have a house in Minnesota now, and I spend my summers there. Alberta will always be home, the farm will always be home, but while I’m still playing hockey, I’ll call Minnesota home.
Do you do Da Beauty League or anything like that?
Yeah, yeah, I get out there for probably half the skates. I like to get home, get back to the farm and see my family as well, but that’s something that’s been great for me. You know, not being from Minnesota, just being able to meet guys, and obviously, there’s so many good hockey players there, that it’s an advantage to be an outsider and get my training in there. So, I’m still great friends with Fabes and Bolds, and those guys, and I see a ton of them in the summer, and get up to Da Beauty League and other skates around there when I can.
I saw you and (Gerry) Mayhew talking a little bit there in the 3rd period, I think it was. What’s it like playing against him again?
Yeah, it’s great. I mean, he was my roommate, me, him, and Mitch McLain, lived together for a year. Me and Gerry played together for three years here [in Iowa], I think…I went to his wedding and stuff. He’s a great friend, and I mean, that’s the greatest thing about hockey.
The wins and losses, they all come and go, but the camaraderie and the friendships you make last forever, so I’m very fortunate and lucky to be part of this organization for I don’t know how many years it was…six years, and it was unbelievable. So it’s always fun playing against a former teammate.
You got to play in the Spengler Cup this year. What was that like?
Yeah, that was really cool. I’ve actually never been to Europe before, so that was kind of a no-brainer to go. Switzerland, Davos was amazing. My parents were able to come, [and] my fiancée. It’s a completely different game on that big ice going against these European teams.
It was something totally different, but an experience I couldn’t really pass up. Very fortunate I got asked to go, so it was a blast.
I’ve heard the atmosphere there is just insane.
Yeah, it’s totally different. I mean, I’m not a big soccer fan, or I guess I don’t watch a whole lot of soccer, but that was the closest thing I think you can get to that atmosphere in hockey. So, you know, fans are great here, too. But it’s just different, they’re just chanting the whole time and stuff. It was a really cool experience, and one I got to share with my family, so that was really cool.
And then one last question: What do you guys have to do to make a run here in the playoffs?
Yeah, I mean, it’s exciting. You never really know what’s gonna happen in the playoffs. You just got to get to the dance and see. We have a good team here. We have a mix of everything, so, at the end of the day, you just, you know, some of these short series, whether it’s 3 games, 5 games, you just gotta be ready to go right from the first puck drop.
We got a good group here. I really like this group. I really care about this group, so I really want to…you’re playing to not go home every day, so that should be enough motivation to win your games, so you can come hang out with your buddies again at the rink for a few days, so I’m just really looking forward to it. It’s gonna be fun.
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Shaw is an unrestricted free agent for next season, but after another successful campaign and two consecutive healthy seasons, he looks like a sure bet to land a two-way contract somewhere.
Regardless of where his hockey journey takes him next, you can bet that Mason Shaw will still be doing his thing and that he’ll have plenty of people in his corner as he does.