THUNDER BAY – Shandor Alphonso realized early on in his major junior hockey career he likely wasn’t going to make the National Hockey League as a player.
A grinder, the Orangeville, Ont. native scored 25 goals over three seasons and eventually made his way to Thunder Bay, where he spent five seasons in a largely defensive role with the Lakehead Thunderwolves, appearing in three national championships between 2006 and 2010.
When his LU days came to an end, Alphonso was offered the chance to sign a professional deal in Texas, in the low minors, but that’s when reality set in. It was time to move on.
Alphonso, who earned a masters degree in business administration, took a job with the Royal Bank as a financial planner, content to work a nine-to-five helping others secure their retirements.
A year earlier, however, he and teammate Andrew Brown, the Thunderwolves captain, were contacted to attend the NHL’s annual amateur exposure combine, a program designed to encourage former players to take up officiating.
Alphonso, honoured recently by Lakehead University, jumped at the idea and in his spare time, worked his way up the ranks, eventually spending three seasons as a linesman in the Ontario Hockey League.
In 2014 he was offered a minor-league contract, a 40-40 deal that would give him 40 games in the American Hockey League and 40 in the National Hockey League.
He’d made it, but like an NHL player finally realizing his dream, it took a lot of sacrifice.
“It was a grueling process. I had a lot to learn in a short amount of time. I was working full-time, I was starting a family. I was trying to learn as much as I could about the business,” Alphonso said. “It was tough. I was seven days a week going, but at the end of the day, when it all worked out, it was all worth it.”
Making the transition from player to linesman had its bumps, especially while he was working in junior.
“It was a tough go at the beginning, but then you throw your playing days behind you and figure OK, this is the way the game is supposed to be officiated and you do your job.”
Alphonso, now a veteran of 244 NHL games and just the second official of colour in league history, worked his first big-league contest on Oct. 17, 2014, a game between Florida Panthers and Buffalo Sabres.
He admitted he was pretty nervous.
“I had a big group of friends and family at the game. You want to do well and perform in front of them. It’s on national TV and the nerves were definitely flowing. But once you get into the swing of things, it just kind of felt like a normal game,” Alphonso said.
He was actually more nervous in the pre-season, working his first game between Montreal and Boston.
“It was the year after (Boston forward Milan) Lucic had threatened (Montreal’s Dale) Weise in the lineup after playoffs. That was a little more nerve-wracking than my first regular-season game.”
Though he’s not winning Stanley Cups like he dreamed of as a youngster, he’s got the best seat in the house, skating alongside the likes of Connor McDavid, Auston Mathews and Erik Karlsson. Just like those players, his ultimate goal is to get to the championship.
“That’s absolutely what I’m working toward. It’s one step at a time. I’m working toward making the playoffs first. It’s kind of like being a player. Every guy on our roster wants to be working the Stanley Cup final. Hopefully I’ll do it one day,” he said.
