Shandor Alphonso
For Orangeville, Ontario native, Shandor Alphonso, Lakehead wasn’t even on his radar as a possible choice of university. But that all changed when a scout from Lakehead saw him play a few games in southern Ontario and recruited him. The scout told him what a phenomenal school Lakehead was for hockey and how the Thunderwolves hockey team was run like a professional hockey team with strong fan support. After a trip to Thunder Bay to talk with other team members and see the campus, his attendance at Lakehead became what Shandor called a “no-brainer.”
He started his Lakehead journey in 2005 as a business student majoring in Information Systems and playing for the hockey team. In the summer of 2008, he got a job working at the Royal Bank. In his final year as an undergraduate he and the team captain, Andrew Brown, were invited by the NHL to look at careers in officiating. Andrew jumped immediately while Shandor decided to play a fifth year with the Thunderwolves while completing his MBA.
After graduation he planned to play pro hockey in Texas, but he decided to start officiating instead after Andew made the OHL officiating staff after completing only his first season. At the same time the Royal Bank offered to transfer him into a full-time job back home. For the next four years, Shandor worked as both an official and at the bank. “Some days I’d put in a full nine to five shift at the bank,” said Sandor, “and then go and work three hockey games that night, getting home around midnight only to do it all over again the next day.”
After four years of that grind, the NHL called again and this time he said yes, becoming a linesman. In a normal (non-COVID) season, he spends about twenty days of a month on the road and then gets a little home time. He also gets his summers off to enjoy with his family. “I'm officiating what is, in my opinion, the best game in the world,” said Shandor. “I have the best seat in the house Thursday night in Nashville and I love what I do. I’m right in the mix of things out there on the ice. It doesn't feel like a job.”
Shandor credits Lakehead with preparing him for his unlikely career. “With the hockey team we traveled a lot. We were on planes. We were in hotels, and on buses. So, in a weird way, it was like a warm-up for my career now. Learning how to manage my time as a student while traveling around the way we did kind of taught me how to manage my life now.”
Even though he has made it to the “Big League”, he hasn’t forgotten the impact his time at Lakehead made on him. “If Thunder Bay wasn't so far away from our family,” he said, “my wife and I would have stayed. We just love it, love the community, and love Lakehead. It was just a great time of our lives up there.”