Dominik Shine just scored his first NHL goal this weekend for the Detroit Red Wings.

He’s 32 years old.

Shine has played 521 AHL games.

Only 14 NHL games.

He was never drafted.

He played junior in the USHL, then four years at Northern Michigan University.

After college he turned pro…
…and waited EIGHT YEARS for his first NHL call-up.

Youth sports today would tell you that if you’re not dominating by 12…
If you’re not on the “right team”…
If you’re not on the “right path”…
Your window is closing.

Dominik Shine’s story is just another example that says otherwise.

Extra skill sessions at 12 didn’t bring him to the NHL.

Character did.
Patience.
Consistency.
Hard work.
Resilience.
Love of the game.

Every athlete's pathway will be different - but it's those characteristics that will help you write your story, not when everything happened.

Development is not linear.

And sometimes the best stories take the longest to write.

How many players do we write off far too early because they were not the best version of themselves at 14?