It’s the first period in a scoreless Game 6 of the Calder Cup final between the Coachella Valley Firebirds and the Hershey Bears. Shane Wright is looking to break the deadlock and an opportunity presents itself in the form of a loose puck. He sprints toward it and pins his opponent to the wall so his team can gain possession of the puck. The puck goes into the goal and his teammate makes no mistake and shoots the puck into the net.
Eventually, Wright takes control of the game. Two plays in the third period stand out, each of them a drive through the bottom slot that gives him a scoring opportunity; the first a clean goal, the second a rebound that allows his teammate to score.
His Firebirds lost that game and the Calder Cup, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort from Wright. His three points gave the Firebirds a chance to fight in overtime and extend the series.
In his draft year, the center’s involvement was criticized shift after shift, particularly his tendency to lag behind the game and fade into the background. However, that hasn’t been the case this season.
The many great performances he put in at both the Calder Cup and NHL levels are rapidly changing the perception of his game, and reinforcing the argument that Wright never really lacked effort, but simply approached the game in a more intellectual way. {{
