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DETROIT -- Dominik Shine was taking his son, Cooper, to buy hockey skates at Perani’s Hockey World in Grand Rapids, Mich., when Grand Rapids Griffins General Manager Shawn Horcoff gave him a call on Monday morning.

Horcoff broke the news to Shine that he was going to make his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings later that night.

So, the 31-year-old forward rerouted to Dick’s Sporting Goods and got his son a ball before hustling home to pack his bags because he had to drive from Grand Rapids to Detroit.

Several hours later, while reflecting on his NHL debut, which saw him record two hits and two takeaways with one blocked shot in 9:50 of ice time in the Red Wings’ 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena, Shine added that the entire day itself was special from start to finish.

“Being a kid from Detroit, it’s something you dream about,” said Shine, who also signed a two-year contract with the Red Wings on Monday afternoon. “I don’t know, you pretend like you’re on the Red Wings or put on a jersey. But to actually be able to wear it in a regular-season game is something I’ll cherish forever.”

When the Pinckney, Mich., native was going through warmups, he saw his son against the glass with his wife, Taylor, sharing the moment.

“I can’t put it into words,” Shine said. “I saw him in warmups, he recognized it was me. He’s only 21 months, but he’s starting to be aware of his surroundings, what he likes. To have him look at me and smile, I can’t put it into words.”

But according to Shine, experiencing everything that his Monday had to offer almost didn't happen.

“There was a point last year where I had my first child and in the American League, you’re away from your family a lot, so I was thinking about maybe being done,” Shine said. “Once I had my kid, I realized it’s really special for him to see me play, so I thought maybe I’ll just play one more year and see what happens. I just can’t believe…to be here [on Monday], it’s amazing.”

A product of the Little Caesars Amateur Hockey program while growing up in metro Detroit, Shine played four seasons (2013-17) at Northern Michigan University before signing with the Griffins as an undrafted free agent on March 14, 2017.

Shine has accumulated 170 points in 462 games with the Griffins since then, and his play and leadership have served as a model of consistency for Detroit’s AHL-affiliate.

“He shepherds the group [in Grand Rapids],” Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan said about Shine. “He takes care of it. He leads. He plays hard for them. He fights for them. He scores for them. That’s likely the reason he spent [those] years there, because he’s a good shepherd. If he wasn’t, then he’d move on and be on four other different teams.”

McLellan added that Shine’s story on the ice is just as uplifting as the person he is off it.

“He’s persevered,” McLellan said. “He’s resilient. I’m sure there’s been moments when he’s probably looked in the mirror and gone, ‘What the hell am I doing?’ But he stuck with it and got rewarded.”

This season, Shine leads the Griffins in assists (21) and points (32) though 40 games. Well on his way to eclipse his AHL career-highs in several offensive categories, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound forward said he’s just doing what he can to make the most of his opportunities.

“We have a ton of new guys who work extremely hard, which is why I think we’re having a lot of success [in Grand Rapids],” Shine said. “We have a lot of older guys. Younger guys are great, too. It’s been really fun.”