The hometown kid is staying home.
Shaun McEwen, 16-year-old South Hadley native and grandson of former UMass coaching great Toot Cahoon, has committed to play hockey at UMass.
For McEwen, the decision was not only easy, but a long time coming.
“I wanted to be the hometown kid,” McEwen said. “I’m just really comfortable around here. I grew up wanting to be on this team, and I’m excited to finally see it happen.”
McEwen officially toured the school in mid-January of this year and was convinced it was the place for him. Due to NCAA rules, however, UMass was unable to make an offer until Aug. 1.
A few months of waiting ensued, and finally Aug. 1 rolled around. McEwen received an offer from Boston University that morning, another school he held interest in. That night, though, he received the call from UMass.
“They called me that evening, offering me a full scholarship,” McEwen said. “I accepted right there on that phone call.”
Returning home will be a change for McEwen, who has played hockey around the country and internationally as his renown has increased over the last few years. His ventures include playing locally for South Hadley, playing in the Pioneer Valley Youth Hockey Association, and in more recent years playing for the New England Junior Falcons and Springfield Rifles.
His game took him overseas when he was selected to play for Team North America at the World Selects Invitational in Spain. He has since played for Seacoast Performance Academy and South Kent Selects Academy while attending high school online.
“(Shaun) has been out of the house since he was 12,” Brandon McEwen, Shaun’s father, said. “For more than half the year he’s in various countries and playing outside of the area, so close family members didn’t get to see him that much. Being able to play at home and have everyone be able to see him play will be a great experience for him.”
That family includes an older brother, Jason, who played hockey at Bowdoin, and Cahoon, who played for Boston University, later coaching for Princeton and UMass.
Cahoon coached at UMass from 2000-2012, meaning McEwen had special access at an early age to the program he would one day join.
“He was really young and got to experience UMass in a unique way,” Brandon said. “Growing up, his room was always colored black, white and maroon … it’s great that he now gets to experience the program as a player.”
As a high school junior, McEwen first has some unfinished business before officially becoming a Minuteman. He was selected in the third round of the United States Hockey League’s Futures Draft in May by the Tri-City Storm. After flying down to Las Vegas for training camp, McEwen didn’t make the final roster for this year’s team.
Instead, McEwen will be enrolling at Bishop Kearney high school in Rochester, New York and playing for their selects team. McEwen hopes to improve throughout the year and try to crack the Storm roster next season.
McEwen is unsure of when he’ll officially join the Minutemen, but is more than ready to step up whenever that time finally comes.
“It’s mostly a game of waiting to see when the coaches think I can be a good contribution to the team and rotation,” McEwen. “But I will say that I’m super excited and ready to get that call.”