By Shane Doan, Arizona Coyotes

Born: Oct. 10, 1976
Hometown: Halkirk, Alberta, Canada
Height/Weight: 6-2/228 lbs. Position: Right Wing
Drafted: Seventh overall in 1995 by the Winnipeg Jets (current Arizona Coyotes)
Notes:
- Two-time NHL All-Star ('04, '09)
- 2010 NHL King Clancy Memorial Trophy (significant humanitarian contribution to the community)
- 2012 NHL Mark Messier Leadership Award (superior leadership within the sport)
- Former member of Team Canada Hockey (2006 Olympic Team; 1999, 03-09 World Championships)

"We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose."  -Romans 8:28

It’s a running joke in our family that we were all destined to either be cowboys or hockey players. Having grown up on a ranch outside of the very small rural community of Halkirk, Alberta, Canada, there was more truth to the joke than we realized.

The land, donated by my grandparents, was turned into the Circle Square Ranch by my parents. That was our home, but it also served as a site for summer Bible camps for kids. For 10 weeks each summer, we’d have 1,500 kids come through, and I’d join them as we learned biblical principles.

I learned a lot each summer, but my parents were my ultimate source in understanding Christ’s love for me. They were such a great example of a Christ-like life and marriage in caring for my two siblings and me, and they inspired me to ask Jesus into my heart when I was 12 years old. That was such a huge moment in my life.

Around that same time, I began to realize I wasn’t tough enough to be a cowboy, so I wanted to be a hockey player. The hockey bloodlines ran deep on both sides of my family—my mom’s brothers each played high-level hockey, and my dad actually passed up an opportunity to play in the NHL to instead attend Bible school. His love and passion for the game didn’t diminish, though, and he passed that down to me.

When I was 15, I was selected to play for Kamloops, an elite junior hockey team in Canada. A Kamloops invitation was an honor you didn’t turn down, but it was tough being 11 hours from home. I missed my family and the ranch, but my faith was my stronghold during that time. It was so exciting to be playing such high-level hockey, winning championships almost every year.

Every young hockey player’s dream is to play in the NHL, and that came true for me in 1995 when the Winnipeg Jets drafted me seventh overall. At just 18 years old, I was competing among the greatest hockey players in the world.

After one season in Winnipeg, the entire organization moved to Arizona and became the Phoenix Coyotes. I, of course, moved with the team, and at that point God was also moving in my heart. I rededicated my life to Him and was baptized when I was 20 years old. I truly felt then that I was developing a deeper and stronger personal relationship with Jesus Christ. When I was younger, I knew in my mind and could talk about Christ and His teachings, but it took a little longer for me to experience the weight and power of His love in my heart.

Nineteen years later, I’m still blessed to be playing for the Coyotes. I am so fortunate to have played for the same organization my entire career and realize just how rare that is today in professional sports. My wife, Andrea, and I love the city of Phoenix and have enjoyed being able to raise our kids in the same city their entire lives.

Looking back at my career, I can see a clear picture of how God has moved in my life. I’m so grateful to Him for the skills He gave me to play hockey—a game I love because of the energy and emotion, the intensity and speed, the camaraderie between the guys, the way we work together, and ultimately the competitiveness of every player on the ice.

My parents taught me Colossians 3:23 very early on, that in everything I do, to do it heartily unto the Lord and not unto men. I’ve held on to that verse my entire life, knowing that regardless of the results, my efforts are not in vain if they are for the Lord.

I love being a Christian in the hockey world and sharing Christ from this position in which He’s placed me. I am so deeply grateful and thankful for the grace of God and the fact that I know He loves me.

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–This article appears in the March/April 2015 issue of FCA Magazine. To view the issue in its entirety digitally, click here: March/April 2015 FCA Mag Digital 

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Photos courtesy of Arizona Coyotes/Getty Images