web1_TTL120615pacelli.bdy_.jpg

Happy birthday to Frank J. Pacelli!

Public drunkenness citation issued

When you grow up just five miles from Boston where baseball is king, finding a few hockey games isn’t always easy. Conor Sheary played on midget and junior teams outside of his town of Melrose, Massachusetts to work on his skills. Sheary’s love for Boston sports teams has shaped his shaped the person and the player he is today.

<strong>Player:</strong> Conor Sheary

<strong>Hometown:</strong> Melrose, Massachusetts

<strong>Type:</strong> Boston suburb

<strong>Population:</strong> 26,983

<strong>Distance from Wilkes-Barre:</strong> 322 miles

<strong>Your hometown is Melrose, Massachusetts, what is it like there and how has that shaped you?</strong> “It’s a city just north of Boston, about five miles away. So I grew up in a really populated area. I spent a lot time playing outside with my friends. I guess it shaped me in to the person I am today by athletics.”

<strong>How popular is hockey in your hometown, are there a lot of ice rinks, did it take you a little while to get into the sport?</strong> “Hockey wasn’t really popular in my town itself. I had to play for a midget or junior team to branch out and play with other cities and towns to get the good experience and good hockey. There was a lot of football and baseball in my town. I played baseball when I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to play football, I didn’t want to get hurt. So hockey I had to play outside of my hometown.”

<strong>What were your favorite sports teams growing up? </strong>“I’m a big New England Patriots and Boston Red Sox fan. I’ll root for the Boston Celtics, and I used to root for the Bruins in hockey. I was a big college hockey fan. I was a big fan of Boston College, so that’s where I watched most of my hockey, I wasn’t really into any NHL when I was younger. It wasn’t until I got to middle school and high school that I started watching the NHL and the Bruins.

<strong>Now with the NHL, who were some of your role models that you wanted to emulate their games and grow up to be?</strong> “Like I said I watched a lot of Boston College hockey growing up, and I watched a lot of Brian Gionta play there. He was also a smaller guy who could score at that level, so I watched him growing up. Now I watch Patrick Kane and Pavel Datsyuk, they are two of my idols watching them protect the puck and the things they can do with the puck are pretty amazing.”

<strong>Who were some of your other sports heroes growing up by Boston?</strong> “Obviously Tom Brady, he’s an idol to a lot of people. I like to watch golf too, so I like a lot of golfers. I like guys like Jordan Spieth or when Tiger Woods was on his game. I like when guys kind of dominate, so I’m a fan of that too.”

<strong>How bad are the winters in Melrose?</strong> “Yeah last year they had the most snow ever in Boston, so luckily I was here. Winters are bad, it’s kind of similar to here. You get a lot of snow. It’s cold obviously, so it’s pretty bad winters up in New England.”

<strong>Was it bad getting to the ice rinks growing up in the tough winters, do you have memories of that?</strong> “Oh yeah, my dad would come home from work and we would probably leave two hours before I needed to be at practice just to get there because we would have to drive maybe 20 minutes away, so I have a few memories of that.”

<strong>Any holiday traditions in your area?</strong> “Within my family we always just visit each other. There’s not many traditions in my town or anything. We always have a big dinner together, so that’s probably my only tradition.”

<strong>Coming from Melrose, what made you the hockey player you are today?</strong> “I always wanted to play hockey. My older sister played and I always kind of idolized her. She always pushed me to be better, so when I was growing up I used to watch her. Until I got to a certain age, I realized I could start making it in this. Once I started to get recruited for colleges and eventually here, I just always had that drive to kind of take that next step and be at the next level. I think that always just pushed me.”
<div class="neFileBlock">
<div class="neFile">

<img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Sheary-Mug.jpg" alt="" />
<div class="neCaption">Sheary</div>
</div>
<div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/web1_Sheary-Mug.jpgSheary</div>
</div>
<div class="metaInfo">

By Ross Turetsky

For Times Leader

&nbsp;

</div>
<div class="metaInfo">

Reach Times Leader sports at 570-829-7143 or on Twitter @tlsports

&nbsp;

</div>
<div class="metaInfo">
<table class="mceItemTable" style="border: none; width: 98%;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">VideoID:</td>
<td id="videoid" style="width: 50em; font-size: 90%;">UNiIM1Vk-LE</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">VideoType:</td>
<td id="videotype" style="font-size: 90%;">YOUTUBE</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">URL:</td>
<td id="url" style="font-size: 90%;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNiIM1Vk-LE</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">Video Embed String:</td>
<td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size: 90%;"></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">Video Caption:</td>
<td id="videocaption" style="font-size: 90%;">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Connor talks about growing up in MMelrose, Massachusetts.</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">Video Credit:</td>
<td id="videocredit" style="font-size: 90%;">Ross Turetsky | For Times Leader</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 100%; vertical-align: top; text-align: right; border: none;">Video Position:</td>
<td id="videoposition" style="font-size: 90%;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="margin-top: 10px; font-size: 70%; color: #555;">(use the “for files…” link above to associate attached files with this source)</p>
&nbsp;

</div>

My Hometown: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Conor Sheary shares love of Melrose