As we continue with our Meet The Blogger series, I had the pleasure of interviewing The Oilers Rig’s own Shawn Kelemen. I have known Shawn for a few years and he was a great inspiration for me when I first started writing. Shawn was a constant contributor on Oilogosphere and for…what seemed like forever…he was the reigning champ for most blogs posted, most views and most comments on his articles. When I first started writing, it was also for Oilogosphere and Shawn was one of the first people to reach out to me and provide me with some positive feedback, which in turn helped build my confidence to continue writing. Besides being a great writer, Shawn also manages to juggle a young family and is in the midst of running his own business…yet he can always be counted on to pull a great article out of the air.
So, without further delay, here is our interview.
1. When did you start writing about hockey? What got you into it?
I have always liked to talk hockey with people. Quite a few years ago I worked with a shop of guys who always wanted to talk about the hockey. These were all guys who played hockey and were very opinionated, about the Oilers especially. After I left that job, I went to a place where there was not a single hockey fan. At this time I spent most of my time reading posts by Richard Cloutier and Travis Yost. I loved reading peoples’ opinions since I didn’t have the stimulation of actual people to discuss hockey with. When Oilogosphere started up Cloutier wrote on the site. I had discussed things with him, Raine (from Oilogosphere) and Yost and I had they gave my some encouragement to give it a try. My first blog got almost 600 hits by different people! Then I did a piece on Coburn and Carle, both Flyers players at the time and had over 800 different people read it as well as quite a few e-mails. It was a way to get my thoughts out and see what people thought of what I had to say. That was about three years ago now, the rest is history.
2. Are there any writers that you look up to? If so, who are they and why?
Richard Cloutier was the first blogger I started reading, and the guy who told me to give it a shot and has been a big influence. Raine is right up there as well, he helped me improve my writing a great amount which I still appreciate. Travis Yost is another guy I respect a great deal. He is intelligent in all aspects of hockey and one of the smartest hockey minds I have ever met. I still converse with him and ask advice and opinions. The Oilers Rig group are right up there as well. Alex Thomas and Jeremy Wright (Boris) are both guys I respect a great amount as well, both for different reasons. Alex is a great writer who runs the radio show for The Oilers Rig so naturally. The quality and amount of work he does is mind boggling. Jeremy on the other hand is a pain in the ass. His knowledge of hockey analytics is incredible and just keeps me on my toes. Also, he constantly reminds me how to keep feelings towards certain players in check (you know who I’m talking about Jeremy). He is the guy who has made me start to figure out advanced stats, which seem to be the future of hockey. Jackie Dawson is someone I have always respected. Her style of writing and the quality of every single piece is just amazing. Plus, after quite a few months of writing, she asked me to join The Oilers Rig. Then that brings me to Dave Gordon. When I first started writing here, he organized a live radio show event that raised money for the MS society. While most bloggers talk about stuff like that. He actually put on a fundraiser. Just amazing. I guess, new and old, I’ve been influenced by quite a few writers in so many different ways.
3. If you could give any advice to people interested in getting into writing about sports…what would it be?
Just do it. If it’s something that you want to do. DO IT! If you have a passion for something, that’s all the incentive you need. Don’t worry about anything or doubt yourself. Like anything in life, the more you do it, the better you will get at it. You just have to get over the first speed bump of self doubt and everything else is improvable. I am saying that as someone who started off the exact same way. The biggest advice I can give is “Just Do It”. Nike had it right before they changed it.
4. Do you specialize in types of writing (analytical, post/pre game blogs, prospects, opinion pieces…all of the above)?
Not really. My writing has always been sloppy and full of speculation. I didn’t start writing until my mid twenties and before that I didn’t do anything of the same nature. I haven’t ever really had a “writing style”. Thinking about it though, I guess I’m a trade rumors idiot. I love watching so many players on different teams and I have a love for trying to figure out playing style eventuating. I’ve tried many different types of writing but I always end up coming back to players I would love to see in an Oilers jersey. I try to take a different approach to it to try and differentiate from other writers. I usually take quite a lot longer to finish blogs since I try to balance out every aspect of a player. The players’ fit, salary, age, stats, reason for being traded just to name a few. If any of the different areas I go over don’t add up, I usually end up scratching the piece. I try to target certain players and figure out if it’s realistic and makes sense. So, in a nutshell, I like to talk trades with people and that’s usually what I write about.
5. Do you have a favorite article that you’ve written or one that got a lot of positive feedback or criticism? Tell me a bit about it.
No, not really. I usually write to try and gain opinions from people and it’s still the reason I write. While I do enjoy positive feedback from people, I can’t really choose one that was my favourite. I would favor the blogs I wrote that had the most feedback from people, whether it’s positive or negative. If I had to choose one, it would probably be one I didn’t actually publish. I worked on a piece about “Goal Songs” for each player on the Oilers It was being done as a humorous piece, for example: for Jordan Eberle it should be: “All I want for Christmas is no space in my teeth” as an alternative to all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth. It was a bunch of joke song names as goal songs. I finished it with a re-write of “Me Like Hockey” by the Arrogant Worms and changed it to “Me Like Oilers” with a bunch of lines about Oilers players and making fun of Canucks, Flames and the Maple Leafs. In the end, I wound up just posting the “Me Like Oilers” part. A lot of people thought it was pretty funny and so did I. Ultimately though, my favourite blog….I didn’t show it to anyone.
6. What sites do you currently write for? Favorite team(s)?
I currently write for The Oilers Rig. It’s a great site with amazing writers. I don’t write nearly as much as I want to though. Time tends to get away from you when you have young kids and a blossoming business. Edmonton Oilers will always be “my team”. The oil drop will always ignite something inside myself, even if it is mostly negative lately. Funny story, I went to England with my family when I was young, and when we got there, we were waiting in the airport and an English man, out of the blue, making small talk asked me “From Edmonton Eh?” Which I thought was absolutely awesome…because he said “eh” in an English accent and knew where I was from. I didn’t know how he knew so I asked him and he told me the oilers jersey I was wearing gave it away. I thought that was really cool. Sorry, off topic…but just a story on how well known our franchise is. When non-hockey countries think hockey, they think of Edmonton.
A close second to my favourite team would be the Claude Giroux led Flyers. Some of my closest friends live in Philadelphia, and I became a fan of Giroux when he played in the Q. He’s still one of my favorite non-oiler players to watch.
7. Where can we find you on social media?
You can find me on Twitter @sharkyzeee, that’s your best bet for talking some hockey.
Shawn was a huge help in setting up The Oilers Rig live show and MS fundraiser last year and was a great on-air presence during the live show. He’s someone I am proud to call a friend, colleague and also someone I enjoy tormenting with my constant grammar corrections. Autocorrect is not very friendly to him sometimes. If you have time, you can check out Shawn’s Oilers Rig articles HERE, I promise that you won’t be disappointed.
Thanks for reading!
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