Shepard has memorable last season to end WHL career

By Lethbridge Herald on April 13, 2023.

Herald photo byJUSTIN SEWARD Lethbridge Hurricanes graduating forward Cole Shepard led the team in points in his last season in the WHL.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Lethbridge Hurricanes graduating forward Cole Shepard had what was a memorable last year in the Western Hockey League.

Shepard completed his WHL career as the Hurricanes leading scorer, as he amassed 55 points  (20 goals, 35 assists) in 65 games.

“You know Lethbridge was the best year of hockey for me in the Western Hockey League,” he said.

“… My  teammates were a massive part of that. And you know Peter (Anholt), Kiss (head coach Brent Kisio), the whole coaching staff, and training staff (and) management, you know they made this past year so special and I owe them one.”

Shepard saw his career as a bit of a rollercoaster where split time with the Vancouver Giants and this last season with the Hurricanes.

“I think that my Western League career was a bit of a rollercoaster,” said Shepard.

“I didn’t sign until I was 17. So (I) didn’t play as a 16-year-old and then came in at 17 and had a great time until unfortunately COVID hit and that shut that year down. And then you know coming into my 18-year-old year, I ended up having to have a couple of surgeries and kind of get somethings fixed up and wasn’t able to play in the bubble. And then my 19-year-old year, coming off of injuries, it was tough. And then my last year as a 20-year-old in Lethbridge, it was by far my best season. My first full season in the league, which is something that I really appreciated.”

Shepard agreed being traded to  the Hurricanes, it felt as though it came full circle for him after  his brother Jackson suited up for the Canes in the 2018-2019 season.

“It definitely came full circle for me and the family,” said Shepard.

“Jack obviously playing in Lethbridge and me getting traded (and) coming to Lethbridge. And I got traded and Lethbridge honestly wasn’t really in the trade talks for things that I’d been hearing, and then it was just such an unbelievable surprise when Lethbridge was able to trade for me. Yeah, my brother just told me before I came how unbelievable of a place it truly was and to enjoy every second of it and really cherish the time you have there.”

Shepard thought the biggest thing as a 20-year-old is to go out with a bang  and be a winner in hopes of earning a professional contract.

“I thought that for large parts of the year, I played good hockey and I think we beat a lot of expectations put on our team and I’m proud of what we did, especially in the regular season,” said Shepard.

“And then obviously coming into playoffs we did not meet our goals and obviously that’s disappointing as a 20-year old since it is your last year. You know you want to continue to play and you want to win and that was unfortunate. But overall, I thought that it was a great year and played good hockey (and) just wished we could’ve played longer.”

Shepard enjoyed playing with every single player he played with.

“I think specifically my first year playing in Vancouver with by older brother was probably the best moment of my life (in) being able to play my first game alongside him,” said Shepard.

The Shepard brothers played in the 2019-2020 season together in Vancouver.

His favourite memories were scoring his first goal in the league alongside his brother in his first game and netting his first goal as a Hurricane right away.

If playing professional is not an option, he plans to go to school and start a new chapter.

Shepard amassed 104 points (38 goals, 66 assists) in 143 games in the WHL.