ECHL: Reading Royals: A Talk with Shane Sellar

Shane Sellar is a mainstay in Reading the last two seasons and quickly became a fan favorite. This season, Sellar has played in 37 games thus far and tallied 12 goals with 10 assists.

AHL Training Camps

Sellar was invited the past two seasons to AHL training camps. He speaks on his experience and what he thought of it:

“It was good. I think I was a little more knowledgeable going in. I knew what to expect. I think obviously for myself, the expectations were a little bit higher. Knowing how to play at that level and what to expect. So it went really well. It was nice to play in two preseason games up there as well”

Playoff Experience

Reading clinched playoffs last season and won in the first round against the Maine Mariners. Reading went to the second round until they were knocked out by the Newfoundland Growlers in Game 5. Sellar speaks on what he thought of the experience and the team during post-season play:

“I think against Maine last year, It was obviously a good start for us, winning the first two or three games. It was a little bit of a grind. We had a younger team last year, so i think everyone’s first experience in pro hockey, playing a seven game series might have taken a toll on us a little bit. I think we learned from that. Newfie, we got off to a rough start and got behind. We were never able to catch up

Linemates and Chemistry

When Sellar is in the Reading line-up, he is typically on the first or second line. He is often on the same line with fellow forward Devon Paliani.

“We have played together a lot in the last couple of years, so I think the chemistry is there. We know what to expect from each other. We are reliable together. We know where each other is going to be on the ice, so I think that helps us a lot.”

College Days

Sellar attended Dartmouth University and RPI during his college career. He played with Former Utah Grizzlies Left Winger Cam Strong and and Pittsburgh Penguins Left Winger Drew O’Connor. Sellar speaks on what it was like playing with them both:

“Cam Strong was great, I was with him for all four years at Dartmouth. We were really close friends being in the same class. It was great to play with him just because the work ethic he put in every single day, he made me push myself to be better. We were always the first two at the rink every day and the last two to leave the ice. It was always “What can I do to help you? What can you do to help me?” So that was great. Also, the work ethic off the ice as well. Between us two, he was an engineering major and I was a bio major. We both were having to grind through classes and did homework together a lot, kept each other up for some long nights. Drew O’Connor was awesome. No one coming in, no one really knew what to expect from him and he kind of just ran off with his career. He was awesome to watch and grow throughout his two year there. It was great to be an older kid on the team for him.

College players never envision themselves leaving the school they started at, but situations arise in where it is necessary. Sellar spend his fifth year at RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute). He was a biology major with the end goal of becoming a doctor:

“I got hurt my senior year at Dartmouth and tore my meniscus, MCL, and LCL. Ivy league does not allow fifth year players in ice hockey. You have to get a huge waiver and it takes months. I applied for it and got denied and they asked for further information. At that point, I said I’m better off graduate transferring and getting a degree somewhere else. In the Ivy League, you also can’t graduate if you come back for a fifth year, you have to keep doing your undergraduate coursework. I didn’t have enough classes left to really push it off so I decided to go elsewhere.”

Rehabbing Injury

When coming back from injury, players need to rehab and keep themselves healthy in order to be ready and prevent other injuries from occurring. Sellar spoke on what his rehab looked like:

“When I started to come back from skating, COVID started. So we got sent home and I was in a bind. The guy that I trained with in the summer, I trained out of his basement, so I could go over when I wanted to keep rehabbing. It gave me the chance to really get back to a hundred percent off the ice before I started skating again. The break probably helped me in the long run.”

Summer Training

Summer training is crucial for every player as it strengthens skills, and gives players to work their weaknesses during the off-season. Sellar speaks on his summer training regimen:

“I workout five to six days a week. Strength training for four days and conditioning as one day. My trainer is an ex army vet. Every Saturday, we go outside and we do something in the woods or in nature, whether it’s hiking, rocking, running, whatever he comes up with, we do. I also run a full summer camp for eight weeks in the summer for the youth. I work out from 6am-8am, Skate from 8:15-9:30, and then I run a summer camp from 10 am to 4pm, and then I get to go home finally. Long days, but I wouldn’t trade the grind for anything.”

Life Lessons

Learning life lessons throughout the span of a player’s career can make their mindset visible on the ice and off of the ice. Sellar talks about his biggest life lesson throughout his career:

“I think kind of one of the biggest ones is just never quit, never give up. As cliché as it sounds, there will always be setbacks in life. There is always gonna be something that probably doesn’t go your way. Something you think should happen that doesn’t. It’s honestly just about persevering and keep going. You can’t worry about anybody else. You just have to worry about yourself and just go with it.”

Accomplishments

Every player has different accomplishments that they speak on what has made them who they are and what they are proud of. Sellar speaks on his Non-hockey and hockey accomplishments:

“Non Hockey accomplishment is graduating from Dartmouth. Hockey accomplishment would be winning a national championship when I was 18. We practiced once all year and then won a championship.”

Learn to Skate

Most players start skating at a very young age. With hard work, grinding day in and out, on and off the ice, they can make it professionally:

“When i was young, my dad had always watched it on TV, so they would watch it at home. The story I’ve heard is when they were watching it at night, they could never put me to bed. If they tried to put me to bed, i would just stay up because i knew they were watching hockey. So they finally decided to put me on skates. Here we are, 24 years later.”

In-Game Mindset

Keeping a positive mindset during the game is important because it plays into how the rest of the team will feed off that player. Sellar talks about his in-game mindset:

“I try to stay even keel most of the time. I know it’s hard sometimes. I think kind of learning that you just have to go play by play. You can’t worry about what’s coming next. Can’t worry about last shift. You have to keep one foot in front of the other and just keep going with the grind. 72 games is a lot, if you start to worry about the last shift of the game, it will take a toll on you and it will be a long year for you.”