The winds of change are blowing through the Portland Winter Hawks’ organization. . . . Dean (Scooter) Vrooman, who left the Winter Hawks more than a year ago after a lengthy stint as the team’s much-loved play-by-play voice, remembers the legendary Brian Shaw in a story that was prepared a couple of years ago as part of a book project that never got off the ground . . .
PART 7:
During the good times, Brian Shaw was at his best in the press room before Hawks’ games. It seemed he always had a cigar, a big smile and a whole bunch of one-liners. I never felt that Shaw intentionally belittled or talked down to his opponents while the Hawks were in their glory years. I always felt Brian was just very happy that his team was on top. But other teams probably felt Shaw was arrogant, big-headed and egotistical. So now that the shoe was on the other foot and Shaw’s Hawks were getting stomped night in and night out, most felt little sympathy. In fact, I am sure many delighted in it.
One of Shaw’s favorite expressions was: “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” During the tough times, I will always remember and respect the fact that Shaw took the heat.
During the 1990-91 season, a group of zealous Winter Hawks’ season-ticket holders circulated a petition throughout the Coliseum and submitted it to Shaw, asking him to fire Ken Hodge as the head coach. But every single time the Hawks’ poor record was the topic of a media report, it was Shaw who took the blame. Certainly, Hodge appreciated Shaw standing with him, but it wasn’t as if they were always on the same page.
“I think Brian fired me five times,” Hodge says. “I think I had to go back once to him and make amends and I think the other times he cooled off and came back to me. That was very nice of him because I am a bit stubborn and he certainly was a bit stubborn.
“The arguments were mainly over players and how I handled them, or trades, or my salary, or maybe a playoff bonus, but really never about the team’s poor performance during those trying years. He was very realistic about our talent level and that was really the issue, for the most part.
“The first time he fired me,” Hodge remembers, “I had packed up my personal belongings in my office and boxed them up and was in the process of leaving when he came in to make amends. That happened a second time, so I decided to just keep the box packed under my desk as a reminder that there were times I should keep my mouth shut.”
Hodge also remembers when Shaw fired another head coach.
“Brian would get rather heated,” Hodge says, with a smile. “After he had become ill and I first became general manager, he roared in one night and actually fired Pete (head coach Brent Peterson, who succeeded Hodge). I had to patch that one up. He was pretty fiery and when he got that way, it was his hockey team. Other’s opinions did not matter in those moments when he was hot, but he would cool down and wisdom would usually prevail the next day.”
Those were tough years, but we all learned from them. As a broadcaster, I had it pretty good, covering mostly winning teams until that 1987-88 season started the run of some very horrible hockey games involving the Winter Hawks.
I remember not looking forward to facing Shaw on the bus. He hated losing so much, he was miserable. He would sit with his arms folded and he would scowl. The funny thing was, the angrier he became, the less he said. It got so I almost wanted him to yell a little.
Shaw rarely lost his temper with individual players, at least around me. Everybody hates losing, but it seemed to me that being so intolerable when things were already bad enough just compounded the problem. But, looking back, I was very thankful he was so passionate. Losing prompted him to makes the changes necessary to improve the team.
Shaw started by revamping his scouting system. Then, when he realized his illness would reduce his ability to do his job, he hired Peterson. Hodge was well equipped to be a good WHL general manager and Shaw knew it. Still, those bad years made all of us appreciate the good years even more. Those years brought me to have an appreciation and understanding of what a team’s management and players had to go through when the losses begin to pile up. I now have a lot more empathy for what other teams go through when they have losing seasons even though, obviously, I always want the Winter Hawks to win.
Even though many other folks around the league reveled in watching Shaw squirm, slump and just plain get mad when his teams went through losing seasons, you couldn’t find very many people who would question Shaw’s generosity and heart.
Many, many times Shaw’s phone would ring late at night and it would be a former player in trouble. His hockey family would call “Unkie” about everything. Personal problems. Family problems. Hockey problems, like slumps and contract disputes. On several occasions, he was involved in drug and/or alcohol rehab programs with ex-players and their families. I can remember him telling me over and over how awful it was to be at those sessions, but how good he felt if the player got through it.
One of those players went public about Shaw’s generosity. Colin Foley played for the Winter Hawks from 1990-94 and during his tenure it came to the team’s attention that he had a problem with alcohol. It was a serious problem.
“They could have sent me home, kept me on their list and never let me play in the league,” Foley told Rob Vanstone of the Regina Leader-Post. “But they did not do that. (Shaw and Hodge) have a kind heart toward their players. They gave me another chance to prove myself and that might not have happened under different people.”
Every Winter Hawks player had to wear a suit surrounding games, at many player functions, and during meals on the road. Often, Shaw would take players from less fortunate families to a local men’s store and purchase the clothing necessary to meet the dress code. He also routinely offered to negotiate NHL contracts for his players. I know he was involved in negotiations on behalf of Perry Turnbull and Darrell May, just to name two.
And even after Shaw traded him to Regina for his 20-year-old season, and before he was hired by Hodge in 2000-01 as an assistant under current head coach Mike Williamson, ex-Winter Hawks sniper Troy Mick, the No. 5 scorer in franchise history with 353 points in 201 games, remembered Shaw’s role in his pro career.
“I remember when I signed with Pittsburgh, he negotiated my contract and never charged me a cent,” Mick said. “Usually, agents take five or six per cent, and Brian never even thought of doing that. I went in the seventh round of the draft and my knees were already a concern. He had a huge role in getting me a decent contract in spite of that.”
Shaw was steadfast in making sure the Winter Hawks helped local charities with ticket donations, fund-raisers and auction items. His main focus during his Winter Hawks’ days was the 65 Roses Club. Many professional sports teams had the clubs, so named because young children afflicted with cystic fibrosis sometimes sounded like they were saying “65 Roses” when telling others of their illness. Many, many Winter Hawks fans joined the club and every dollar they contributed went to the local cystic fibrosis chapter to help local children. Shaw was very involved in all of the fund-raising activities and made many personal contributions.
Shaw also was one of the most complex people I have ever met.
“Brian always wanted to present an image of wealth and success,” Hodge reflects. “In his mind, he was both of those – wealthy and successful. If you compare his net worth to the average guy, he probably wasn’t all that wealthy, but he was very successful. He was successful because he was able to do something he enjoyed doing for a large part of his life.”
“Brian had a huge personality, was fun-loving and could be silly and sometimes even outrageous at times,” recalls his sister, Sonia. “But, more than that, I remember how generous he was.
“Brian walked the talk.
“Brian Shaw made things happen.”
(Part 7 of 7)
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