On October 30th, 2022, Minnesota Wild forward Mason Shaw scored his first NHL goal; and nobody was happier than his teammate Connor Dewar. The Wild were on the road battling the hated Chicago Blackhawks when Dewar threw a centering pass to Sam Steel, who pulled the Chicago goaltender out of position, then calmly slid the puck into the crease. Shaw was in the perfect position to tap in one of the easiest first NHL goals you’ll ever see. (Though, perhaps not quite as easy as Brandon Duhaime, who scored his first goal seemingly by accident the year before.) Dewar was the first to embrace Shaw along the boards, and it’s hard to say who had the bigger smile. Dewar was quick to acknowledge the adversity Shaw faced to get to that first career goal.
“He’s worked so hard. He’s been through so much with surgeries and rehabs,” Dewar said after the game in Chicago. “It wasn’t given to him, so I was very proud of him.”
There seems to be some real chemistry brewing between Dewar and Shaw. Even the most casual Wild fan has heard about the “bromance” between superstar Kirill Kaprizov and veteran Mats Zuccarello. Minnesota’s top wingers have had their names on the scoresheet more often than not since Kaprizov’s debut in 2021. While the spotlight is rightfully on the Wild’s top line, there is something special building between Shaw and Dewar. You can see it in the joy the two shared while celebrating Shaw’s goal.
“You go through a lot of stuff with a guy like that to get to this point,” Shaw told reporters after the win over the Blackhawks in October. “It’s something you talk about, and for him to be a part of that goal, be the first one there, and for the hugs after, it was a special moment for me, that’s for sure.”
Shaw, 24, has already recovered from three ACL surgeries. He has battled his way into the NHL, and it’s not surprising his teammates have helped him along the way. Especially people like Dewar, with whom Shaw became fast friends while they worked their way through the Iowa lineup.
The similarities between the two are hard to ignore. The Wild drafted Shaw with the 97th overall pick in 2017, while they took Dewar with the 92nd pick a year later. They’re almost exactly the same height and weight, with Shaw officially edging Dewar by just one pound. Technically, they’re both listed as centers, but Dewar has been taking the faceoffs between Shaw and newly-acquired veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves.
The penalty kill has also been a bright spot for the two youngsters because they have solidified themselves as the forwards on the second PK line. Dewar is tied for the most shorthanded goals in the NHL with three. Shaw has assisted on two of them. While they’re not exactly lighting up the box scores every night, they are producing. They both have ten points with four goals and six assists. Shaw is sitting comfortably at +3 and Dewar at +2, putting both in the top five for plus/minus on the Wild. Not bad for two young players tasked with matching up against the opposing team’s scoring lines each night.
Playing on the fourth line means points aren’t necessarily the only way to measure success. Neither Dewar nor Shaw is afraid to get into the trenches and throw their weight around. Each of them has had one fight so far this year. They both picked up 10-minute misconduct penalties on November 9th in Anaheim during a scrum that sent three Wild players and three Ducks to the locker room with a minute left in the game. However, with the Wild bringing in notable heavyweight Reaves, Shaw and Dewar may as well keep their gloves on in the future.
It seems the Wild have found a pretty good pair with these two. Dewar hasn’t looked back since being called up last January, and Shaw will require going through waivers if Minnesota wants to send him back down to Iowa, a risk they aren’t willing to take again. The Wild initially called him up due to injuries to Ryan Hartman, Jordan Greenway, and Marcus Foligno. Greenway and Foligno have since returned to the lineup, and even with Hartman’s return coming any day, it still doesn’t seem like Shaw will be going anywhere.
It’s safe to say Connor Dewar and Mason Shaw won’t replace Kaprizov and Zuccarello on the “Peanut Butter & Jelly Time” shirt anytime soon. Still, they are building chemistry on a fourth line made of grit, determination, and a sixth sense for helping each other out.
