Born in Thompson, Manitoba, Jody Shelley moved to Yarmouth, N.S. with his family when his father went to work at the tin mine.

He played hockey in the Yarmouth County Minor Hockey Association until his midget year. He left Yarmouth when he was 18 to play for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Even though it’s been 18 years since he played for the Mooseheads, he’s still one of the top all-time popular Moosehead players.

After the Mooseheads, Shelley played 19 games for Dalhousie University before being signed by the Saint John Flames in the American Hockey League to make his pro debut. Shelley was signed as a free agent by the Calgary Flames on Sept. 1, 1998, but he never played for them. He played until 2000 with the Saint John Flames.

Almost two years later on Aug. 17, 2000, he signed as a free agent with the Columbus Blue Jackets. After that, he played fairly regularly with the Blue Jackets from 2003 to 2007.

After 31 games with Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2007-2008 season, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks and played an additional 31 games with them. The next season 2009-2010, he was with the New York Rangers.

From 2010 to 2013 he played with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Shelley retired as a player with the NHL on Aug. 9, 2013 and rejoined the Columbus Blue Jackets organization as a broadcast associate and team ambassador.

Even though it’s been 21 years since Shelley played hockey in Yarmouth, he’s always had a connection to Yarmouth and Yarmouth has had a connection to him. One of his biggest contributions has been the annual Jody Shelley Golf Fore Health Tournament, a major fundraiser for the Yarmouth Hospital Foundation. Since 2005 the tournament has raised around $325,000. Shelley has also supported many local fundraisers by donating items for auctions. Many years ago he used to run a hockey camp for minor hockey kids here.

On July 13, 2013, Cottage Street in Yarmouth was officially changed to Jody Shelley Drive and the Mariners Center Civic address was also changed to number 45, Jody Shelley’s NHL Jersey number.