ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Tributes continue to pour in for Shannon 'Shaq' Coady, the longtime and beloved member of training staffs for St. John's American Hockey League teams who died earlier this week.
Such was Coady's widespread and enduring impact on the people he dealt with during his two-plus decades in professional hockey that news of his death led to public remembrances from NHL coaches, leagues, teams, countless players he worked with over the years and others he dealt with at Memorial Stadium, Mile One Centre and road arenas.
On Thursday, Ottawa Senators head coach D. J. Smith, who spent the first five seasons of his professional playing career as a defenceman with the St. John’s Maple Leafs, spoke about Coady during a media availability in advance of a game that night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
D.J. Smith took a few moments today to offer his condolences on the passing of Shannon Coady, who was a long-time equipment manager in St. John's. pic.twitter.com/3wIEIqerWl
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) March 25, 2021
“Little in stature, huge in heart,” said Smith. “A lot of hockey guys who have gone through Newfoundland and (those) in Newfoundland know him as a big part of that hockey community.
“I just wanted to say my thoughts and prayers are with his family and to all the people in Newfoundland. It’s a huge (hockey) community and it’s a big loss.”
Shawn Thornton, who had been a teammate of Smith's on the AHL Leafs during his first four years as a pro, also noted Coady's contributions to those St. John's teams.
Great show of respect for Shaq by the @Senators and my former roommate on the rock DJ Smith. Class act. pic.twitter.com/P3ZMVqRLqD
— Shawn Thornton FDN (@ThorntonFDN) March 26, 2021
"An outstanding guy and good friend. He represented the heart and soul of St. John’s hockey," said Thornton on his Twitter account.
Thornton, who played over 700 NHL games and won two Stanley Cups, also tweeted a photo of pucks stacked on the Ottawa bench spelling out "Shaq," something he said was arranged by Smith.
Journalist Andrew Zadarnowski, who covers the Montreal Canadiens, noted \the Laval Rocket, Montreal's AHL affiliate, and the Manitoba Moose, the Winnipeg Jets farm team recognized Coady during their game Thursday night, as did AHLTV in its broadcast of the contest. The Jets and Canadiens both had their AHL prospects in St. John's with the IceCaps when Coady was a member of the team's training staffs.
Those are only a few examples of the tributes and remembrances that have poured in, many in social media, others in messages between individuals who knew Coady.
That includes Newfoundland Growlers president Glenn Stanford, who ran the AHL Leafs and IceCaps operations, and like Coady, was a part of the AHL experience in St. John's since its beginnings in 1991.
“Shannon had a positive impact on everyone he met,” said Stanford. “It’s obvious in the number of calls and messages I’ve received...from players, coaches, managers, executives, members of other training staffs, he dealt with over the year, and not just with our team, but the visitors as well.
“But it's not just the number of people reaching out, but what they are saying. He left an impression on everyone and it was a good one.
“In the coming days, you’ll find he not only had an impact on pro hockey here, but that he had an impact on the hockey industry as a whole.”
“Shannon had a positive impact on everyone he met. It’s obvious in the number of calls and messages I’ve received...but it's not just the number of people reaching out, but what they are saying. He left an impression on everyone and it was a good one." — Glenn Stanford
Coady began with the St. John's Maple Leafs as a teenager who had won a contest to become the team's stick boy.
It was in those early days that he got his nickname; speaking to Ken Campbell of The Hockey News in 2019, Coady explained that some of the Leafs players whose English was limited had difficulty pronouncing his name and settled on "Shaq" as an alternative.
There was also some irony in the choice, since "Shaq" was the nickname of Shaquille O'Neal, the seven-foot-plus NBA centre and Coady was a little person with achondroplasia dwarfism.
But he didn't object, and the nickname would become one that would be universally used with fondness, something epitomized in the stack of pucks prior to a Senators pre-game skate.
Coady's personality — always epitomized and often punctuated by a huge smile, a smile consistently referenced by those remembering him — touched beyond the world of hockey. In 2017, when St. John’s hosted the Brier Canadian men’s curling championship, Coady worked the dressing room occupied by Newfoundland and Labrador’s team, skipped by Brad Gushue.
Prior to playing Thursday games that would lead to a Canadian mixed doubles championship for him and partner Kerri Einarson, Gushue offered his thoughts about Coady.
“Very sad to hear the news about Shaq,” Gushue posted on his Twitter account/
“We had a great experience with him during the St. John’s Brier and he was a big help to our team. Great guy and will be missed! “
The Gushue team also tweeted about Coady.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire Coady family during this difficult time,” said the team account. “Shaq never sought individual glory or accolades, he was the epitome of a team player! Thanks for the memories, we will be forever grateful!”
But Coady is certainly best-known for his work in hockey, work that began in 1991.
“I was 14-years-old, and never missed a home game since then,” Coady recalled in a Telegram feature in 2017, the same year when he was honoured for having worked 1,500 career AHL games.
“He carved a career for himself, working his way through the ranks with the St. John’s Maple Leafs, going from stick boy to assistant equipment manager to equipment manager, and when we brought in the IceCaps in 2011, we brought Shaq back,” said Stanford.
One of Coady’s career highlights came in 1992, when St. John’s went to the Calder Cup league championship series against the Adirondack Red Wings. That was the year the visiting team won every game of the final series, including the Red Wings in Game 7 at old St. John’s Memorial Stadium.
“And my first NHL playoff game,” he told The Telegram, recalling when he was added to the parent Toronto Maple Leafs’ training staff in the postseason.
“From being on a delayed flight (to Toronto), to getting to the rink just in time to start and getting thrown right into the mix.
“It was such an amazing experience, to be part of it all before the game, during and after. I remember leaving the rink at 1 a.m., and there was still a crowd outside the Air Canada Centre celebrating the game.”
