Great Lakes Wire

Former Northern Michigan University hockey player Dominik Shine made his NHL debut with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. The Red Wings secured a 5-2 victory over the Los Angeles Kings at Little Caesars Arena.

Shine, who is from Pinckney, Michigan, became the 22nd former Wildcat to play in an NHL game. He is the first since Jared Coreau, who was with the Red Wings from 2016 to 2018. The game also featured NMU alum Jim Hiller, now head coach of the LA Kings.

The 31-year-old Shine signed a two-year contract with Detroit covering the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons. In his debut, he wore number 50 and played for nearly ten minutes across thirteen shifts. He recorded one block, two hits, and led his team in takeaways.

During his time at Northern Michigan University from 2013 to 2017, Shine served as an alternate captain and was an All-WCHA selection in both his junior and senior years. He scored a total of 97 points over four seasons.

After college, Shine joined Grand Rapids as an undrafted free agent in March 2017. Since then, he has accumulated significant experience in the AHL with the Griffins.

Shine grew up playing hockey in Metro Detroit with the Little Caesars Amateur Hockey program.