Fort Wayne, IN— After 14 seasons as a pro and 10 with the Fort Wayne Komets, forward Shawn Szydlowski has announced his retirement from professional hockey.
Szydlowski, 34, played his first pro game in 2011 with the Portland Pirates of the AHL. After stints with Rochester (AHL), Gwinnett (ECHL), and Fort Worth (CHL), he was assigned to Komets from the Buffalo Sabers, making his Memorial Coliseum debut on October 23, 2013. In his tenure with the Komets, the St. Clair Shores, Michigan native played in 528 regular-season games, scoring 189 goals and 321 assists, making him 10th on the Komets all-time scorers list with 511 points.
With playoff appearances, Szydlowski finishes his Komet career 9th all-time in combined points with 589 (216g, 373a). He was named to the ECHL all-star team three times (2014-2015, 2016-2017, 2017-2018) and took home league Most Valuable Player honors for the 2017-2018 season after leading the league in scoring with 79 points (31g, 48a). The right-hander was also voted team MVP twice (2014-15, 2015-16) and helped the Komets to a Kelly Cup Championship in 2021. In his final season with the Komets, Szydlowski skated in 52 games, scoring 10 goals with 14 assists, and was named team captain before the final regular season game.
He holds the Komet single-game record for most short-handed goals, scoring three on March 21, 2015, against Missouri.
“Shawn Szydlowski was a dynamic player on the ice," said Komet General Manager David Franke. "He could score, hit, and fight. He was an MVP-caliber player and a big fan favorite. Winning the Kelly Cup was the crowning achievement of his illustrious career. I’m sure we will see Shawn at the Coliseum, not as a player but as one of our biggest fans. We wish Shawn all the best."
Along with his Komet career, Szydlowski also appeared in games with Portland, Rochester, Binghamton, Lake Erie/Cleveland, Norfolk (AHL), Gwinnett, Orlando (ECHL), Fort Worth (CHL), and Frisk Asker in Norway, totaling 806 regular season and playoff games played, collecting 248 goals, 422 assists, 670 points, 890 penalty minutes
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