SYDNEY, N.S. — Cape Breton Eagles forward Shawn Element can do anything his coach asks of him on the ice.
The 19-year-old can produce offense, play a physical style of game and be responsible in the defensive zone, making his presence in the local Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team’s lineup quite valuable.
Although he doesn’t wear a letter on his jersey, Element also brings leadership skills to the team for the second half of the season, having been the captain of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan prior to his trade to Cape Breton last month.
“I really like playing here in Cape Breton,” said Element when talking about the team. “From the time I’ve arrived, the organization has been really good to me and made me feel very comfortable — I love winning for the fans.”
BIO
SHAWN ELEMENT
- Hometown: Victoriaville, Que
- Age: 19
- Position: Left Wing
- Height: 6’0”
- Weight: 187
- Team: Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL)
- QMJHL Draft: First-round draft pick, No. 9 overall, in 2016 by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar
- NHL Draft: Undrafted
After playing his minor hockey in Princeville — about 20 minutes from his hometown of Victoriaville, Que. — Element went on to play bantam ‘AAA’ with Collège Clarétain, posting 30 goals and 59 points in 29 games during the 2014-15 season.
Following that season, the then 15-year-old moved 45 minutes away from Victoriaville to play midget ‘AAA’ hockey with the Trois-Rivières Estacades, a team that his best friend Cédric Desruisseaux — now of the Charlottetown Islanders — also played for.
“I lived with a billet and the experience helped me become a man, so It was a good choice for me to play there,” said Element. “I learned a lot during my time with the team and it made me prepared for the jump to major junior.”
In June 2016, Element was drafted No. 9 overall by the Baie-Comeau Drakkar at Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Entry Draft in Charlottetown, P.E.I.
“I was ranked No. 18, so I wasn’t sure if I was going in the first round, but then the Drakkar picked me,” said Element. “They told me they had a good plan for me, so I went there and started playing my type of game and I soon became a fan favourite.”
Element struggled to find the back of the net his first two seasons with the Drakkar. He recorded 17 goals in 117 games and people questioned whether he’d ever be the points producer they expected when the team drafted him.
His physical play and desire to become a better player every day went unnoticed by NHL scouts. Unfortunately, Element was not drafted in 2018 NHL Draft, but he used the snub as motivation.
As he entered his third season in Baie-Comeau, Element started the 2018-19 season slowly but recalls the turning point in his career coming in November 2018.
“I was really looking for myself, I didn’t know what I was doing on the ice,” said Element. “I was having two or three meetings with my coaches per week and we were trying to figure it out — they helped me a lot.”
It wasn't long before Element began taking his game to the next level and finished the year with 17 goals and 33 points, along with 68 penalty minutes and 152 shots on goal.
His strong play continued in the playoffs, notching two goals and 27 shots on goal in a disappointing seven-game series loss to the Moncton Wildcats in the President Cup opening round last April.
Last June, Element was traded to the Acadie-Bathurst Titan during the league’s entry draft. He considered the trade to be a fresh start, but knew he’d miss Baie-Comeau.
As he began preparing for the 2019-20 season, Element received a phone call in early July from the Chicago Blackhawks, inviting him to attend the NHL team’s rookie camp in September.
Unfortunately, Element never did receive the paperwork required from the Blackhawks and never did attend the camp, which was quite disappointing for him, but again a setback was used as motivation.
Element would appear in 32 games with the Titan during the first half of the season, scoring 20 goals and adding 14 assists.
“I continued to build off the previous year and I wanted to show Chicago that they made a big mistake by forgetting to send me the paperwork,” said Element. “I wanted to show everyone that someone should have drafted me when I was available in 2018.”
On Dec. 27, Element was traded to Cape Breton from the Titan in a deal which included 16-year-old forward David Doucet being shipped to the northeastern New Brunswick club, along with newly acquired Zackary Riel and three draft picks.
Since the trade, Element has played 13 games in an Eagles uniform, recording 11 goals and five assists for 16 points. He also has a plus-15 rating and 53 shots on goal.
Eagles' head coach Jake Grimes said Element has played even better than the team first expected.
“He’s exactly what we wanted,” said Grimes. “His physicality is through the roof, he has good hands — I can’t say enough about him, this is a man and he makes the right choices every time.”
Element played against his former team, the Titan, for the first time on Jan. 3 at Centre 200 in Sydney. During the game, he dropped the gloves with former teammate Yan Aucoin, who he also played with in Baie-Comeau.
“It all started when we were in Baie-Comeau because we both knew we were going to be traded last offseason,” said Element, noting Aucoin taught him how to fight when he was a 16-years-old.
“We said if we ever played against each other, we’d have no choice but to drop the gloves.”
Following the game, Element said he and Aucoin talked about the fight prior to the Titan hitting the road.
“There’s no hate between us, after it was over we were still really good friends and we’ll always be really good friends,” he said. “He thought it was funny because I gave him a cut on his nose, meanwhile I was fine.”
Element will be in the Cape Breton lineup when the Eagles (29-14-2-1) host the Acadie-Bathurst Titan (9-31-3-4) Friday at 7 p.m. at Centre 200.
The Eagles are currently on a five-game winning streak, while the Titan have won three of their last 10 games, including a 4-2 victory over the Halifax Mooseheads on Wednesday in Bathurst.
CAREER STATISTICS:
- 2014-15 - Collège Clarétain (Bantam ‘AAA’) – Games Played: 28 – Goals: 30 – Assists: 29 – Points: 59 – PIM: 36
- 2015-16 - Trois-Rivières Estacades (Midget ‘AAA’) – Games Played: 32 – Goals: 11 – Assists: 10 – Points: 21 – PIM: 30
- 2016-17 – Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) – Games Played: 55 – Goals: 8 – Assists: 5 – Points: 13 – PIM: 45
- 2017-18 – Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) – Games Played: 62 – Goals: 9 – Assists: 10 – Points: 19 – PIM: 85
- 2018-19 – Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) – Games Played: 65 – Goals: 17 – Assists: 16 – Points: 33 – PIM: 68
- 2019-20 – Acadie-Bathurst Titan (QMJHL) – Games Played: 32 – Goals: 20 – Assists: 14 – Points: 34 – PIM: 23
- 2019-20 – Cape Breton Eagles (QMJHL) – Games Played: 13 – Goals: 11 – Assists: 5 – Points: 16 – PIM: 15
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