“I came to a team where I knew quite a few guys and I knew the coach. I played for Mike before. I knew he was going to use me a lot and he expected a lot out of me and I like that. It made my decision to come to St. Louis a lot easier.”

The additional burden of trying steer an aging ship that lacked chemistry, largely due to the constant shuffling of personnel, was further hampered by a series of nagging injuries Corson suffered throughout the year. Corson played through the pain of an early-season separated shoulder, not missing a single game. Then, as the Blues were making a stretch drive towards the playoffs, the rugged Corson sustained a broken jaw, which caused him to miss five games. Despite all that, Corson finished third on the team in goals (with 18) and fourth in points (with 46), while leading the club with 192 penalty minutes.

Corson, obviously, is enjoying his opportunity to play on a line with Brett Hull and Wayne Gretzky. “I’ve played with Hullie most of the year and Gretz came over later in the season, and its been really enjoyable for me. I played with Gretz before in the ‘91 Canada Cup (also under Keenan) on a line with him and Steve Larmer. Any time you get a chance to play with the greatest ever, you learn and see a lot. It is enjoyable to watch him practice and listen to his stories. It’s a lot of fun and I am going to try to take advantage of it.”

Corson’s outstanding play in the playoffs, combined with sub-par performances from Gretzky and Hull, recently enticed Keenan to imply that Corson was carrying his linemates. “I was embarrassed when Mike said it,” Corson recalls. “I guess Mike (was) giving me a compliment because I (was) playing well. It’s nice that he notices, but I haven’t been carrying anybody.”

A leader and a friend

Prior to playing alongside Gretzky, Corson served as team captain in Edmonton. During his three seasons with the Oilers, he accelerated the development of a carbon-copy Shayne Corson in the person of Jason Arnott. The modest Corson downplays his role in Arnott’s success, however.

“I just tried to be a friend. Whenever he needed to talk about something, I gave him an ear to listen to. I tried to tell him to go out and play hard; play the way he is capable of playing. If something happened on the ice, he could count on me being there all the time.”

One of the top power forwards in the game today, Corson’s physical style of play developed in the Junior ranks. “When I was younger, I was more of a skater and a passer. When I went to Junior, I tried to become a more complete player; to play aggressive and hard.”

Corson, selected eighth overall in the 1984 draft by the Montreal Canadiens, mentions the pressure of being a high draft pick.

“When you are taken in the first round, people try to take shots at you in Junior, and I didn’t back down. I got in my share of fights and played aggressive. So when I went up to Montreal, that is what they expected of me, to be a hard-nosed two-way hockey player, and that’s what I’ve tried to do to be a complete hockey player. When Pat Burns took over in Montreal, he didn’t want me fighting as much. He preferred that I play hard and play aggressive, but then have the discipline to skate away from the scraps and the other stuff.”

Despite his success in the 1991 Canada Cup and in the NHL, Corson was not selected by Glen Sather to play in the World Cup this Fall. Obviously disappointed, Corson reasons, “My old coach and GM in Edmonton was picking the team and he didn’t invite me back. They have some great players and I’m sure they’ll have a great team. It would have been nice to play there again—maybe another time—but this time I didn’t get my opportunity. Every player would obviously love to play in it.”

And who were Corson’s idols growing up? “When I was really young, I remember Bobby Orr was a great player and I’ve seen tapes of him. I always liked the way Brian Trottier played hockey. I was a centerman most my life until my last couple of years in Montreal, and Trottier was a player I always enjoyed watching. I also liked Darryl Sittler, as I grew up close to Toronto. As I got closer to turning pro, obviously Gretzky is somebody you looked at as a superstar, and I enjoyed Mark Messier’s play. Both of them are great leaders and great hockey players.”

Just as a young Shayne Corson looked up to his idols, you can bet many North American youngsters—not to mention NHL GMs and coaches—today see the same qualities in Corson as he saw in Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier.