Shattuck-St. Mary’s Shlaine Shines

LINCOLN, Neb. – A 16-year-old Daniel Shlaine didn’t do Tom Ward’s blood pressure any favors. The young forward had a tendency to blindly drop pucks behind his back and try for the highlight-reel play – perhaps giving his Shattuck-St. Mary’s coach a few miniature heart attacks.

“Dan loved to throw the puck behind his back, and I’ll just say I wasn’t a huge fan,” Ward said, with a laugh. “I remember his first year he gave the puck right to the other team a few times, and he’d come back to the bench with this look on his face that he knew I was gonna bark at him a little bit, and I did. But that was part of his maturation process as a player.

“I would tell him to save that move for men’s league in the future and I’m sure he’s still tried it a couple times since, but he got better with time. We still laugh about it today and Daniel Shlaine is one of my favorite kids that’s ever played here.”

However, eliminating those passes was just one part of what’s been a tremendous growing process, both as a hockey player and a person.

Shlaine first moved from Moscow, Russia to Faribault at 13 years old with his parents, Ekaterina and Dmitri, to join his older brother, Artem – who is currently a grad student at Arizona State. Artem, who also attended Shattuck-St. Mary’s, split his first four NCAA seasons between UCONN and Northern Michigan and is a New Jersey Devils draft pick (2020, fifth-round).

As for Daniel, he spent five years at Shattuck and the past two seasons with the U18 Prep Team, scoring 42 goals and racking up 146 points over 110 games. He also registered 44 points (19-25-44) over 57 games with the 16U AAA team in 2021-22.

While there have certainly been adjustments on the ice, living in North America was an adjustment in itself, especially early on.

“I was very fortunate to be at Shattuck because everyone knew what they were doing and everyone was so helpful,” Shlaine said. “I didn’t really know much English my freshman year, and I didn’t really know anybody or have many friends, and the size of the rink was different from the European sheet. So, it was just a lot different. But after probably three or four months I was able to adapt and felt comfortable.

“I ended up spending my whole five years of high school there and played with some of the best kids in the country, and the coaching staff is unbelievable. It’s easy to say yes when you have the opportunity to go there and they have everything for you to succeed. You just have to take advantage of it.”

Daniel Shlaine started figure skating as a 3-year-old kid in Russia and shifted to hockey a year later, eventually moving to the United States and Minnesota at age 13. “He quickly became a rink rat, and he was at the rink every day skating and working on his game,” said SSM coach Tom Ward. “He spent a lot of time in the weight room, too and just took advantage of all the perks we have here at Shattuck, and it paid off for him.” (Photo courtesy of Sammy Miller / Lincoln Stars)

Those last four words are exactly what Shlaine did.

“He was a kid that came here with his older brother and his family and honestly, he was just an average player,” Ward said. “He was nothing special as a young player, and he was always Arty’s little brother, but he started to break out his 16-year-old year and put the work in.

“He started to understand how he could be the best version of himself and he just continued to grow, and it was really fun to watch him.”

That growth certainly raised some eyebrows last season as Shlaine received plenty of college interest and ultimately committed to Minnesota Duluth in March. He cited the coaching staff, specifically Scott Sandelin, and UMD’s tradition as his biggest reasons for picking the Bulldogs.

A leader on the Stars
Shlaine had conversations with a number of junior teams last season, too, and was selected by the Lincoln Stars in the USHL Phase II Draft (fourth overall) last May.

He’s made an immediate impact with his new club.

“I was excited to get drafted this past summer and get started, obviously new faces and new coaches, but my time (in Lincoln) has been great so far,” Shlaine said. “Everyone has helped me out a lot and I’ve been able to feel really comfortable, and we’re having a pretty good start to the season too. So, hopefully we can keep it going.”

The UMD commit is averaging more than a point per game to open his USHL career and leads the Stars in points (13) and assists (8). His five goals and plus-7 rating are also tied for the team lead, and Shlaine already has four multi-point games.

Lincoln (9-2-0) currently owns the USHL’s best record and has outscored its opponents 43-25 through 11 games. It’s been a collective team effort.

However, Shlaine has been one of Lincoln’s individual standouts, and he’s certainly impressed head coach Rocky Russo and his staff.

“He’s so talented and you can tell he wants to be successful, and he certainly doesn’t look like a first-year player in our league,” Russo said. “He’s a little bit of an older guy as an ’05, but it’s still an extremely hard league, and it goes to show his hockey IQ and work ethic.

“He’s a great skater, he moves laterally so well, he’s good on the dots and he can play both power play and (penalty kill). He’s got a great brain, and he’s not afraid to advance pucks up the ice either, and he just wants to do whatever to help his team win.”

Daniel Shlaine was Lincoln’s first-round pick in the 2024 USHL Phase II Draft. “It’s kind of funny, but I talked to almost every other USHL team except Lincoln leading up to the draft,” Shlaine said. “I remember I was on my phone watching the draft and we were eating at the dining hall (at Shattuck), and when the Stars were on the clock, I put my phone down for a minute and got up. When I came back the guys started congratulating me, and I saw my name on the screen, and it’s worked out really well so far.” (Photo courtesy of Sammy Miller / Lincoln Stars)

It’s a continuation of what Shlaine showed in Faribault.

“He’s always been an intelligent kid, and he’s no different as a hockey player,” Ward said. “He’s a cerebral guy, and he sees what’s going on on the ice. He plays with vision, he understands how to play the team game, he’s a 200-foot player, and I think he’s a very solid defensive player. He’s just a true centerman and he can play in any situation, and you’re seeing that offensive side of his game too.

“I think you’ve seen his confidence grow and as he’s become more of a counted-on player, his personality has grown so much too. He’s a keeper of a kid.”

While Shlaine hopes to continue producing, he’s also aware the 62-game season will include its share of ups and downs – a challenge he’s ready to embrace.

His goals are to round out the little details of his game and be a consistent 200-foot center, along with winning the Clark Cup. Lincoln last did so in 2003.

However, it’s hard to ignore Shlaine’s start to the 2024-25 campaign.

“It’s been a good start, but there’s still a lot of season left and room to grow,” Shlaine said. “The USHL is a fast league and the guys are obviously bigger and stronger, so you know that you’re going against the best every night. So you just know you’ve got to work twice as hard and I’m excited for that challenge.

“But I think that prepares you well for college, and I’m excited to keep learning and developing my game. You don’t want to look too far ahead, but I’m excited to keep working towards and making that jump to college.”