Beating the odds is Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw's game

Andrew Shaw has always beaten the odds.

He's Rocky, Rudy Ruettiger and Kurt Warner all rolled into one.

Too small, too scrawny to play hockey. Won't hold up. Eventually, this kid is going to get hurt.

Nobody gave him a chance.

"Media, scouts, general managers. Everyone was against my size," Shaw said. "They didn't think I had it in me."

But Shaw knew better and has shown that drive, desire and a hellbent attitude on the ice can go a long way when it comes to not only making an impression but making a huge impact on a perennial Stanley Cup-caliber franchise.

Now, after making a name for himself as a lunch-bucket grinder, playing mostly on the third and fourth lines, Shaw's skating with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.

It's a metamorphosis that defies the odds. But that's what Shaw has been doing his entire life.

Who needs lessons?

Like almost all pro hockey players, Shaw was on skates from nearly the time he could walk.

His first year, though, didn't go so smoothly.

The Shaws, you see, had a rule that their kids had to take lessons in order to play organized hockey. And Andrew being Andrew, he figured he could teach himself.

Even at age 3.

"He just kept telling us, 'Nope, nope, nope,' " said his mom, Darlene.

It wasn't until Shaw's younger brother began taking lessons about a year later that he relented.

"For Andrew everything comes naturally," Darlene said. "So when he was younger … he'd put on his skates and think he's gonna skate. He was that kid that would lay on the ice and go, 'wahhhhh!' "

The third of four children to Darlene and Doug, Shaw says that rebellious attitude probably came from being the middle boy.

"They all tried to gang up on me," he said.

Carrying that chip on his shoulder much of his life, Shaw fought, scraped and banged his way through the ranks and eventually ended up on the Niagara Ice Dogs of the OHL as a 17-year-old.

Three years later, the Blackhawks drafted him in the fifth round, and he headed to prospects camp determined to be noticed. It didn't take long as the 5-foot-11, 171-pound Shaw locked horns with Dylan Olsen, who today is listed at 6-2, 223.

"I didn't want to play junior hockey again," Shaw said. "I said, 'This is my opportunity to go out there and (have) someone notice me.' So I just went out there and gave it everything I had."

So did he beat Olsen? "Yeah. I split him open actually pretty good."

Shaw 101

Playing against Shaw - and keeping one's emotions in check - isn't always an easy task.

Just ask teammate Andrew Desjardins, a blue-collar player himself, one who had his fair share of run-ins with Shaw during his days with the San Jose Sharks.

But - brace yourself - Desjardins said he actually looked forward to facing the Hawks' Tasmanian devil.

"I loved playing against him, to be honest," Desjardins said. "It got me excited because it was a challenge and one of those things (where) you knew you were going to be getting a little yaps and getting engaged. It was fun. ...

"When you're that kind of player kind of like me - or another player similar to him - you kind of get excited about it. But I'm sure there's lots of D-men out there that would say the opposite."

Shaw's self-admitted "go, go, go" personality isn't confined to the ice. Over the summer - if he's not fishing for bass, pike or walleye - you can find him playing tennis, basketball, baseball or even road hockey with his buddies in Belleville, Ontario.

And what else runs nonstop?

His mouth.

"Yeah, sometimes I need to leave the room," joked 37-year-old Hossa. "Sometimes I feel like I'm too old for (that) much talk."

In all seriousness, though, most of his teammates appreciate the energy and pizazz Shaw brings.

"He's a great guy in the room," Desjardins said. "Talks a lot, but in good ways, too. He gets guys excited, helps guys get ready for the game by keeping their mind focused just by being excited. … I think it gets guys going."

Top billing

Shaw was called up to the Hawks midway through the 2011-12 season, scoring 12 goals in 37 games.

And he never looked back.

He's a two-time Stanley Cup champ, he scored 20 goals two seasons ago, and has notched 12 goals in 61 playoff games.

His biggest postseason goal came in Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final against Boston in triple overtime to give the Hawks a 4-3 victory.

"Fluky goal, but I'll take it," Shaw told us last May. "Just drivin' to the net, hit my leg and it went in."

During last season's playoff run, Shaw, Desjardins and Marcus Kruger were a force on a fourth line that often was tasked with shutting down the other team's top players.

When it was time to turn the page, though, Shaw got off to a rough start this season.

"I don't know if it was the short summer, the three long seasons in a row, body was tired - I don't know what it was, but physically and mentally I wasn't there," he said. "I was taking stuff home with me and getting frustrated about everything.

"I just said, 'All right. I've got to settle down. Leave hockey at the rink, go home, have fun, enjoy life.' Slowly it got better from that point on."

And it really got a lot better on Dec. 29 when coach Joel Quenneville put Shaw on the top line with Toews and Hossa - a spot that Shaw has held down for 16 straight games.

Along with the rest of the team, the trio slowed down a bit right before the all-star break, but in their first 11 games together Toews had 8 goals and 5 assists, Hossa 3 goals and 5 assists and Shaw 2 goals and 7 assists.

"It's been unbelievable," said Shaw, who will be a restricted free agent when the season is over. "Those are two guys that are going be future Hall of Famers. (They're) guys players look up to, guys role model after them.

"To be on their line and playing with them, it's pretty surreal. You just go out there and work as hard as you can to help them out."

He certainly has done that.

Toews' season was bordering on disappointing. Although the Blackhawks' captain never said so publicly, there were moments of frustration on the ice in the first third of the season. Toews and Hossa were paired with Teuvo Teravainen, Viktor Tikhonov, Ryan Garbutt, Marko Dano - and even Shaw for a bit - with little success.

Now, though, Shaw is giving Toews and Hossa exactly what they need: energy, tenacity and just enough skill to make their line dangerous almost every night.

"It's definitely nice to have some continuity there," Toews said. "When things are changing all the time, it's really difficult to (be consistent). You might have a good game here and there, but to put it together and do it every night is a whole different thing. I think we're finding that consistency."

A re-energized Shaw hopes to keep playing with Toews and Hossa the rest of the season and into the playoffs, but he realizes that "nothing's set in stone."

Hossa said he has been impressed with the way Shaw has evolved, going from a "regular player" to one who can do just about anything.

"He's improved so much and it's fun to watch a guy getting more confidence, making plays," Hossa said. "He's just become a really good player, a really important player for our team."

One who got there by defying the odds with a work ethic that should serve as a guiding light to any undersized, under appreciated athlete with enough skill, determination and a burning desire to be the best.