Shyiak eager to get started at Marian

If it was up to Sheldon Shyiak, the upcoming hockey season would be starting yesterday.

The 21-year-old Dauphin Kings forward is up at it and ready to go after committing to Fond du Lac, Wisconsin’s Marian University to play NCAA Division III with the Sabres for the 2026-27 season.

He made his decision official last week after visiting Marian’s campus in early May. And while the news is still fresh, the St. Cloud, Minn., product has been itching to make his college debut since he first laced up the skates at age five.

“I’m so fired up,” said Shyiak, who will be studying business. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play college, so I honestly don’t even have words to explain it. I just wish I could get going right now, like I wish I could play now and just try and bring a championship to Marian. I just want to get after it.”

Unlike a lot of college deals that are dealt with throughout the season, Shyiak’s post-secondary arrangement came together fairly late.

He reached out to Marian and head coach Clay Van Diest a few weeks after he and the Kings were eliminated by the Waywayseecappo Wolverines in the first round of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs in late March, and it turned out, the interest was mutual.

“I reached out to them and Clay was like, ‘Yeah, we were looking at you all year, but usually guys from Minnesota don’t like to go to other states,’ recalled Shyiak. “I told him I wanted to be there and then things moved pretty quickly and it went pretty smoothly, so it feels great just knowing that I got a home next year and can kind of get settled in and stuff like that. The stress is definitely a lot easier.”

He’s still fairly close to home, but his biggest incentive with Marian was the coaching staff. Van Diest has been at the helm since the summer of 2022, but has already built up a solid reputation of developing his newcomers. Van Diest has also gotten a boost to his staff with the addition of assistant Alex Mandolidis, who served as the head coach and GM of the Winnipeg Blues from 2022 to 2024 and VP of hockey operations last year.

Shyiak said he’s excited to start working with them in the fall.

“I heard great things about them, talking to other people about how they develops their players and it just really peaked my interest,” he said. “They spend a lot of time developing and helping players mature and develop as people and as players, and that really got my attention.

“I’ve definitely grown on and off the ice just maturity wise, which obviously comes as you grow up, so now I’m more mature and see the importance in both sides, so that’s going to help me in the long run.”

His entire maturation period practically came during his time in Dauphin, where he spent the last three seasons. The six-foot-two, 195-pound grinder entered the fold on an extremely talented roster led by head coach Doug Hedly and quickly established himself as a fourth-line rookie that would do anything to earn a role.

“I just learned to hit anything and everything,” chuckled Shyiak. “First year was definitely just grinding, chipping pucks into the zone and hitting guys, just making them know I was always gonna be there to finish a hit.”

In 30 games, he collected one goal, six points and 65 penalty minutes before adding one goal in the post-season en route to a first-round Game 7 exit against the Northern Manitoba Blizzard. The next year, he worked his way into a checking role on the third-line and earned two goals and 10 points along with 55 penalty minutes. He also notched one goal and three points through 18 playoff games, as the Kings fell just one goal shy of a Turnbull Cup after losing to the Blizzard, once again in Game 7 in triple overtime.

Dauphin took a few steps back this time, not even winning a game in its first-round matchup against Wayway in what was Shyiak’s last year, but he still has no regrets when he looks back on his Kings career.

“My three years here were amazing and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything,” said Shyiak, who registered four goals, 13 points and 20 penalty minutes through 47 games of playing a pesky Matthew and Brady Tkachuk-esque style of game.

“The whole community is behind you and again, to get to get to that point of being down 3-1 in the series against OCN (Northern Manitoba) and make a comeback to get to Game 7, and even though I know we lost, it’s still pretty incredible that our group of guys did that.

“It was a tall task and even though we didn’t complete it, it was still unreal.

“Everyone in Dauphin believed in me and they helped develop me and got me to where I am today.”

Shyiak will now join a Sabres lineup that finished 9-16-2 with a conference record of 8-10-0 in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association last year and possesses a fairly heavy crop of former MJHL players in Brendan Bottom (Niverville), Brett Sabel (Virden), and Cole and Caden Carlson (Wayway).

He said can’t wait to connect with his teammates and reconnect with his old ones once the fall hits.

“It’s going to be an exciting time, for sure. I’ve been texting all the guys so it will be nice putting faces to names when the season gets going, but it’s definitely gonna be a little different not seeing all those guys I’ve seen the last three years.

“The group of guys we had were all so tight, so thank God for technology and you can just give ‘em a ring and they’re right there, so that will be nice. All the guys have landed spots in college so I’m just glad were all the playing the sport we love so much still.”

» mdelucataronno@brandonsun.com