By HockomockSports.com Staff
One of the best coaches in the entire Hockomock League is hanging up his whistle and putting down his clipboard.
After 21 seasons at the helm of the Canton boys hockey team, five-time state champion head coach Brian Shuman officially announced his retirement this week.
Throughout his tenure, the Bulldogs have had unparalleled success. Since taking over in 2005, Canton has been not only one of the best teams in the Hockomock League, but one of the premier programs in the entire state. Canton boys hockey is the only program across all sports to win every single division title since the league split in 2010-2011; the Bulldogs secured their 16th straight Davenport title this past winter with a perfect 8-0 league record.
In 481 games on the bench, Canton won 371 of them — an eye-popping 0.811 win percentage — and won the state championship in 2010, 2019, 2020, 2023, and this past winter, capping a dominant 24-1-0 season with a comeback win over Tewksbury. It marked his second state championship win with his son Teddy, who earned HockomockSports.com Player of the Year honors. He was named HockomockSports.com Coach of the Year four times, one of just three coaches across all sports to earn the honor at least four times.
On top of his success on the ice, Shuman constantly had his players volunteering and participating in charity events, including the annual Jimmy Fund Walk and skating with the Boston Bear Cubs.
“Our run of success over the past 15 years is unlike anything the program had seen in the past,” said Canton athletic director Danny Erickson in the athletic department’s official blog. “The team this year played a level of hockey rarely seen in any high school team…period.
“Finally, with one of Coach Shuman’s own important values in mind- gratitude- I want to thank Coach Shuman for everything. For being a great role model for his student athletes and his fellow coaches. For dedicating so much of his time, love and care to our boys. For setting a very high bar of excellence for all CHS coaches to continue to strive towards. And for making the world a better place.”
You can read the entire blog post from Erickson here.
A note from HockomockSports.com Editor Ryan Lanigan:
The more games you cover, the more some moments start to fade and blur together. But a moment from March 2018 has stuck with me for a long time. Canton boys hockey was the No. 2 seed in the Division 2 South sectional and the favorite to make a run, but Gallo Ice Arena down in Bourne had been a house of horrors for the Bulldogs over the previous handful of seasons. In the semifinals, Canton fell behind Plymouth South by two goals less than a minute in. The Bulldogs rallied with three unanswered goals to tie it with less than two minutes left, only for the Panthers to regain the lead just 14 seconds later — the ultimate gut punch.
Back then, a limited number of people were allowed down to ice level at Gallo, so after the game, I had a clear view of Brian outside the locker room. His back was against a concrete wall, his head was in his hand — a real moment of vulnerability. I think people often forget that coaches care. They carry these losses home with them. They pour so much into these programs, into their players, into every season. And for all the success that followed, Brian Shuman remained humble because he truly cared about Canton hockey.
That moment stuck with me for years, and that’s why I never got tired of seeing the success Brian had, state championship after state championship. It was only fitting the Bulldogs had the best season I’ve ever seen a team have just a year later — a dominant run to the 2019 state championship. That squad was named the HockomockSports Team of the Decade back in 2020.
On a personal and professional level, I can’t thank Brian enough for his support and friendship over the years. When I started this at 22, I probably took for granted what it meant to have someone like Brian treat us with that kind of respect. We were welcomed with open arms by plenty of .500 teams that didn’t always get the coverage, but Brian treated us the same way he treated the Boston newspapers. After doing this for more than 15 years, I couldn’t be more thankful for that. Having that respect from a coach and program like Canton not only boosted our credibility, it boosted our confidence.
