There were 75 defensemen selected in the 2019 WHL Prospects Draft, 38 of them ahead of Luke Shipley. By the time his WHL career was finished, however, Shipley had one over on all of them.
This past season, Shipley became the only one of the 2004-born defensemen to have a 20-goal season in the WHL. He also set career highs in every major statistical category and played his way onto the Eastern Conference’s Second All-Star Team. Not a bad way to wrap up a WHL career that spanned five seasons, 271 games, and the east and west extremes of the league.
“I was playing with a lot of confidence,” said Shipley. “I’ve always been a hot-or-cold player, and this year I kind of got hot around Christmas and made the note that I was going to stay hot for the rest of the season and it was going to be my new normal to produce and help the team. I got hot and never looked back. I feel like my teammates made a lot of nice plays and I got into some good positions to shoot the puck.”
Once the 112th overall pick in the draft, Shipley’s offense grew steadily every season he was in Brandon, culminating in 20 goals and 57 points in 60 games in 2024-25. But his +/- rose steadily as well (he led the team at +37 this past season) and Shipley attributed that to a personal focus on his own zone.
“I made a conscious note of being able to defend, which I think was a weakness of my game early in my career,” said Shipley. “Being able to defend and shut guys down contributed to my offense even more. Spending less time in our end means more time with the puck and more time playing in the O-zone, so making a conscious effort and wanting to defend, to shut down the other team’s top guys, was a big thing on my checklist.”
Shipley’s rise since arriving in Brandon is all the more impressive when you consider the off-ice adjustment he had to go through. Not only did he come from the westernmost team in the WHL in Victoria to the easternmost, he moved from British Columbia where he’d played his entire hockey career to the prairies, which meant a big change in the kind of climate he had to get used to.
“I had never been in -30 or -40,” he said with a smile. “To get shipped off to the furthest team from home was a bit different, but I’ve lived away from home since I was 14. The adjustment was quick and I’m happy it happened. I made so many memories and created so many friendships, things that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
For Shipley, those friendships are the defining aspect of his Wheat Kings career. Like so many of his teammates, Shipley marveled at the closeness of the room the Wheat Kings enjoyed this season.
“I’ve never been in a locker room that was so tight,” Shipley said. “We battled hard, and we all wish we could still be playing so these memories could last longer. At the end of the day, you look back and you’re grateful for the people you’ve met and the times you spent together. When we’re 30 or 40 we’ll be looking back at these days and probably realize it was the best times of our lives.”
Shipley will continue his hockey career next season at U-Mass Lowell in the NCAA.
