Thornton Reflects on AHL Career: 'You Can Never Take a Night Off'

I played over 600 games in the AHL and never got an all-star selection, so this will have to do.
When I got the text from Dave Andrews a few months ago asking me if I had time for a phone call, I knew it was important. I've known him a long, long time. He's been president of the AHL since 1994, so we must have first met when I started there back in 1997 - time flies, right?

Anyways, when we finally got on the phone he wasted no time in getting to the point: he wanted me to serve as an honorary captain at the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic. At first I had no idea what the job entailed, but he took some time to explain the role and it sounded like pretty easy lifting.
But it wasn't until after we hung up and I started to do a little bit of research that I realized what the honor was actually all about. In looking through the names of previous honorary captains, I was blown away to see how many great guys there were, even some future Hall of Famers.
I could tell that they put a lot of thought into picking an honoree each year, so I was humbled by the offer and, of course, accepted. It's something I'm really looking forward to, being back on the bench and in the locker room. I'll do my best to represent the AHL and the Florida Panthers.
The whole thing really worked out perfectly, with Springfield not only being Florida's affiliate, but also just an hour and 40 minutes away from Boston, where I spent seven seasons of my NHL career. Honestly, I think Dave also just wants to have a beer with me again. Can't blame him.
In many ways, the trip to Springfield is also a trip back down memory lane.
When I first got into the AHL, I was a kid that was just happy to be there instead of working in a steel factory back home. I was quite content with just being in the minors those first few years, learning everything I needed to learn. Without that, I don't think I would've made it to the NHL.
I spent the first four years in St. John's with the Maple Leafs organization. I was in the middle of nowhere in Newfoundland, but I met some of the greatest people I've ever met in my life. After that, there was a lot of drama playing in Norfolk with the Blackhawks organization, going up and down for five years. Then, I finished my career in Portland before getting called up to Anaheim.
If I had one bit of advice to give the guys in the AHL nowadays, it would be that you never know who's watching and know that work ethic doesn't go unnoticed. Sometimes you just have to be in the right spot at the right time to get your shot. For me, that "right spot" was on Mach 3, 2006.
At the time, I was captaining Norfolk in a game against Portland. I had a goal and an assist that night, but also fought their tough guy, Trevor Gillies. We went toe-to-toe for about a minute at center ice. Afterwards, it felt like just another game. Only later did I learn it was much bigger.
When I first came to training camp in Anaheim in 2006, general manager Brian Burke pulled me aside and told me that he was actually at that game and had been keeping a really close eye on me ever since, trying to get me to the Ducks. Like I said, you never know who's in the stands.
For some guys, there will be a plenty of moments like that. For others, like myself, you probably have a lot fewer chances, so you have to make the most of them. Every time you're on the ice, you never know who's going to be paying attention that game. You can never take a night off.
In the AHL I know there are times you think you are forgotten about, but I know from experience that's not the case. In my case, people counted me out for about 10 years until I finally made it.
That being said, would I have loved to make it to the NHL four or five years earlier than I did? Sure. But I have a lot of great stories and friendships from my time in the AHL that I wouldn't trade for anything. I had a bunch of great teammates and a lot of good coaches to learn from.
It's where I really learned how to become a leader and a good teammate. It's something you have to learn very quickly down there. The way things used to be set up, you'd have a good mix of mentorship, leadership and, of course, no shortage of aggressive banter from the older guys.
There were six or seven tough guys on every team back then, so you had to be ready to go every single game. There were no nights off at all. Having my head on the line every single game like that taught me how to prepare, which definitely helped when I came to the NHL.
The AHL is also where I learned to give back. Long before I even thought of starting the Shawn Thornton Foundation, I was visiting hospitals and schools bi-weekly in St. John's and Norfolk. I think that's why I enjoyed doing it when I transitioned into the NHL. I thought it was an important thing and really enjoyed doing it. It's an obligation that we need to do as professional athletes.
Off and on the ice, I learned a lot of great things in the AHL.
As one of just four players with 600 games played in both the NHL and AHL, I feel like I almost had two different careers that couldn't have been further apart. But both were equally important. I rode a lot of buses and traveled a lot of miles before I was flying on private plane eating filets.
I remember bussing from Chicago to Norfolk for 16 hours without any beer on St. Patrick's Day - a very big day in my house, as I'm sure you can imagine. Then there was the 22-hour bus ride from Saint John to Norfolk. This was before smart phones, so we just played cards, took naps, had conversations and wasted time. I even took a handful of college courses to kill the time.
It's funny, at the same time I was learning to become a professional hockey player, I was also learning to become a professional time waster. And in both areas, I think I achieved my goal.
Looking back, my time in the AHL and NHL were very different and felt very different, but I'm not sure I would have been able to play until I was 40 and win two Stanley Cups if I didn't have the work ethic and preparation that was ingrained in me over all those seasons in the AHL.
After all this time, it's good to go back.