Wolves winger's brush with NHL royalty
Chicago Wolves right wing Shane Harper is no stranger to some of hockey's greatest players.
When Harper celebrated his seventh birthday at a rink in suburban Los Angeles, Wayne Gretzky came to the party with an armload of presents because Harper invited all of his house league teammates to attend - a roster that included Gretzky's daughter, Paulina, and son, Ty.
The last few summers, Harper has participated in offseason workouts in Southern California with Pittsburgh Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby. In fact, kind words from Crosby about Harper's puck-handling skills encouraged Wolves general manager Wendell Young to sign Harper in the summer of 2013.
Now Harper has turned into one of the American Hockey League's best players.
The affable 26-year-old ranks second in the league with 25 goals and has proven so popular he has been tabbed to wear a different sweater for each of the Wolves' St. Patrick's Day commemorative jersey games (March 11, 14, 15) at Allstate Arena.
The jerseys are auctioned and raffled during the games to raise thousands of dollars for Easter Seals Metropolitan Chicago and Chicago Wolves Charities. Harper is also the face for the team's Peanut Allergy Awareness Day on Sunday, March 29, when the arena will be nut-free.
In this edited conversation, Harper talks about The Great One, goal scoring, nutrition and his game-day routine.
Q: What do you remember about Gretzky being at your birthday party?
A: He showed up with tons of gifts. It was crazy. It was amazing. He gave me a pair of his Gretzky sneakers. I already had a pair at the time because I loved them so much. He gave me a pair of Gretzky rollerblades. He gave me his new video game that came out for Nintendo.
I don't think he was trying to show off. He just thought, 'I'll give this kid all the stuff I can give him.' He seemed like such a nice dad. He would come and watch his kids' games, even though he was playing full-time with the Kings.
Q: When you see your name at the top of the AHL's scoring list, considering your previous career-high was 13 goals, what do you think?
A: Coming into the season, my goal was to shoot for 30 goals. I think it's important to strive for something. Why not shoot for a big number? I believed in myself and I'm pleased with how it's gone so far.
Q: When you scored two goals against Milwaukee on Sunday, you earned the MVP belt in the locker room after the game. What's that ceremony like?
A: Every game we win, we hand out the belt. Pat Cannone had the belt from the last win, so he came in and awarded me the belt. Usually there's a speech involved. 'Great game by the team, (goaltender) Jordan (Binnington) hung in there and played solid, but I'm going to give it to Harps.'
It's nice to get that belt. It travels with me until the next win. It goes in my equipment bag to Cleveland (for this weekend's games). Gotta keep it with me so I can give it out after the next win.
Q: You're one of the guys who's really into fitness and nutrition. What are a few of the ways you prepare for peak performance?
A: Evan Levy, our strength and conditioning coach, has helped me with this. I always have a post-workout recovery shake. A lot of people have protein afterward, but this is both protein and carbs. It's from Advocare, a product I get online.
"I take BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids) before I skate. It helps hydrate your body, gets you going, gets you prepared. I also take it before games. I also drink electrolytes before games. I get to the rink about two hours before the game and as soon as I get there, I make a drink.
"It's also good to get a little sugar in you before a game, so I'll drink a half-Gatorade, half-water mix. Between periods, I'll drink more BCAAs because your body's in a stressful state on the ice."