There are professional athletes that will always be linked to the colleges they attended: Doug Flutie to Boston College, Christian Laettner to Duke.

And then there is Dave Shand.

Shand was regarded by many as the top junior hockey player in Canada while playing for Toronto of the Metropolitan Toronto Junior Hockey League. Former Michigan hockey coach Dan Farrell heavily recruited Shand, as did college hockey powerhouses like Wisconsin, Harvard and Yale, among others. Even though Michigan was the last place Shand visited, he was instantly persuaded to come to Ann Arbor because of a conversation with someone not necessarily known for his hockey expertise.

"I sat with Bo (Schembechler) for nearly 45 minutes. I have never been around a better motivator in my entire life," Shand said. "His quiet intensity showed me what Michigan meant to him and how he felt about this place."

What impressed Shand the most was how Michigan had such a powerful effect on a man who didn't even attend the school (Schembechler is a Miami of Ohio alum). According to Shand, he wanted to have the same experience.

Shand jokingly added: "Bo's speech was so persuasive that I went to Coach Farrell and I told him that I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I was coming to Michigan - the bad news is that I wanted to play football for Bo."

Schembechler introduced Shand to a concept that has stuck with him to this day and a concept shared by many Michigan alumni - the concept of a Michigan man. Even though being a Michigan man has as loose a definition as just about anything, it always embraces the devotion and pride that Michigan students and graduates have for their school.

It's what has made Dave Shand's relationship to Michigan so unique to any other college athlete.

"I still carry being a Michigan man with me today, and I will for the rest of my life," Shand said. "It makes me feel smart, distinguished, dignified and highly regarded by others. People hear the name 'Michigan,' and they gasp or stand there in awe. The special luster that comes with being a Wolverine on and off the field is what has kept me in Ann Arbor."

After an eight-year NHL career, Shand returned to Yost - this time behind the bench as an assistant coach to present coach Red Berenson from 1989-94.

Currently, Shand stars on "Mike and Dave in the Morning," a sports talk show on WTKA-AM 1050 in Ann Arbor, from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. every weekday morning. He said it's a way for him to give back and entertain the Michigan fans that supported him throughout his career, and have helped make Ann Arbor such a rich sports community.

According to Shand, one of the greatest benefits of being a Wolverine is the sports legacy and history that you become part of, and the relationships that are created and sustained.

"There is one large Michigan hockey family," Shand said. "I know that the term "family" might be lame, but there is no other way to describe it. Every Michigan player fights hard to win for the players that preceded him or her, that have made Michigan a great athletic institution. I have kept in touch with every player I played with and coached for and when you see them have success you feel like you are there with them."

Two examples that stick out in Shand's mind are when Brendan Morrison scored the game-winning overtime goal to win the national championship for Michigan in 1997 and ex-Michigan player Aaron Ward holding up the Stanley Cup just a couple of weeks ago.

"Brendan Morrison epitomized what being a Michigan athlete is all about," Shand said. "I will never forget that right after he scored the game-winning goal, the first words to come out of his mouth were, 'This is for all my teammates, coaches and most importantly those that have come before me here at Michigan that have given me the chance to compete and experience what it is like to be a Michigan hockey player.'

"When it comes to Aaron Ward, I had tears in my eyes when he held up that Stanley Cup. I felt like I was right there with him because I taught him how to play hockey at Michigan and some of the skills he used to reach the pinnacle of hockey. I realize I have nothing to do with the Carolina Hurricanes (Ward's team) themselves; but, due to the fact that he once put on the Maize and Blue, I feel like I accomplished something right along with him."

When asked to summarize as best he could what all of his Michigan experiences have meant to him, whether it be the athletic success, being a Michigan man or the lifetime relationships that have been created, he simply replied: "Once a Wolverine, always a Wolverine."