Pretty much every time he stepped on the ice as a member of the Sudbury Wolves, from the fall of 1990 through to the spring of 1992, Shawn Rivers was all business.
His commitment to extracting every last ounce of his potential allowed the smooth-skating undersized defenceman to become a fan favourite in the old barn on Elgin, earning a cameo in the NHL (four games as a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning, recording two assists) and moving on to a six-year career in the pros. And he did it all at a time when smallish blueliners were still something of a rarity at the highest levels of the game.
A quarter century after lacing ‘em all for the last time for any kind of serious adventures on the ice, Rivers remains all about the business.
Settled nicely in the Ottawa area, the 52-year-old who first dabbled with entrepreneurship in his very early 20s recently celebrated more than 20 years as the man behind Gunn Media, a successful firm that specializes in promotional products, corporate clothing, signage and displays and such.
To this day, he remains thankful for all that has come his way, both on and off the ice, fondly cherishing his time in the Nickel City.
“I loved playing in Sudbury, and I had a really strong connection with the fan base in Sudbury,” Rivers said. “I think they enjoyed watching me play, how passionate and hard I would play – and I would go through the wall for them.
“I was fortunate because at that time, we had good teams; I feel like the building was pretty full on most nights.”
The strength of those teams, an era in which the Wolves lineup was dotted with names like Glen Murray and Jamie Matthews, Jason Young and Terry Chitaroni, Brandon Convery and Derek Armstrong, was a big part of the reason why then GM Sam McMaster decided to make a serious bid for the 12th round OHL pick who had already embarked on an NCAA career at St. Lawrence University, cracking the ECAC All-Rookie team in 1988-1989.
“There was no good reason to leave (St. Lawrence), to be honest,” said Rivers. “I loved playing college hockey. It was designed for my style of play, for sure.”
Still, the structure of the NHL draft at the time did no favours to Canadian prospects who had decided to follow the scholarship route State-side, adding just another hurdle into the path of the young man who simply wanted the chance to showcase himself against many of the greatest players in the world.
“I was rated in the fourth round (of NHL draft) and didn’t get drafted,” said Rivers. “I was pretty frustrated by that and Sam sensed that. I really wanted to play pro hockey. Sam said, ‘I will put you in the NHL’ – and he did.”
Yet at the same time Rivers was racking up almost 80 points in his first two years of pro hockey with the Atlanta Knights of the IHL, he was also looking ahead.
“I started a roller hockey rink down there with some business partners,” he said. “It didn’t work out – but it was a good experience – and I was just 21 at the time.”
Shawn Rivers took little to nothing for granted. His family background afforded him no such luxury, the young man understanding very early in life the value of a more than solid work ethic. “I think the main reason that I had the foresight into what was coming (post-hockey) was that we grew up with no money,” he said candidly.
“I had used oversized skates; we struggled going to hockey tournaments. I appreciated how lucky I was being trekked around (in the pros) – but I always knew that this was a moment in time, this isn’t going to go on forever.
“I feel I was pretty grounded in that way, for sure.”
Throw in teenage years that would see the Ottawa-based prospect tackling 6-11:00 p.m. shifts during the summers, doing screen printing and engraving and the like, part-time gigs that allowed him to workout and be on the ice during the day time, and you have the makings of a retired hockey pro more than ready to jump into the next phase of his life.
As the end of his playing days loomed ahead, Rivers purchased what was then a small signage company.
“I knew there was no way this (hockey) was going to last forever; this is way too fragile. The first big deal I struck when I came back was with Jeff Hunt and the (Ottawa) 67’s.”
Looking back on the two segments of his life – hockey and business – Rivers noted not only the similarities, but how one actually may have helped prepare him for the other.
“Persistence has to be the one thing that keeps coming back for me,” he said. “From the time I was ten years old, it was nothing but persistence that got me a pro career and a chance to play in the NHL.”
“That helped for sure in business,” he continued. “It seems that every time you get something going smoothly in business, there is something big you need to contend with. There is always something; you have to pick yourself up off the floor and keep going.
“You just can’t go backwards.”
On or off the ice, Shawn Rivers can move forward with the best of them, almost like it is nobody's business.
Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.
