Steve Shields

Steve Shields
Date of birth	July 19, 1972
place of birth	Toronto , Ontario , Canada
size	191 cm
Weight	98 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1991 , 5th round, 101st position Buffalo Sabers
Career stations
1990-1994	University of Michigan
1994-1995	Rochester Americans South Carolina Stingrays
1995-1998	Buffalo Sabers
1998-2001	San Jose Sharks
2001-2002	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
2002-2003	Boston Bruins
2003-2005	Florida panthers
2005-2006	Atlanta Thrashers
2006	Houston Eros
2007	Linköpings HC

Stephen Charles Shields (born July 19, 1972 in Toronto , Ontario ) is a former Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper . During his career between 1995 and 2006 he played for the Buffalo Sabers , San Jose Sharks , Mighty Ducks of Anaheim , Boston Bruins , Florida Panthers and Atlanta Thrashers in the National Hockey League .

Career

In 1990 Steve Shields joined the University of Michigan and played four years for the University of Michigan ice hockey team. There he received several awards, such as the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) twice elected to the Allstar team. At the end of his time at the university, he led the all-time best lists of the CCHA and NCAA in Siegen.

In the 1991 NHL Entry Draft , Shields was selected by the Buffalo Sabers in the fifth round in a total of 101st position. From 1994 he played first in the farm teams of the Sabers, first with the South Carolina Stingrays in the East Coast Hockey League and then with the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League . In December 1995 he completed his first two missions in the National Hockey League . But he had to wait over a year for his next appearance in the top division. In the same season he won the Calder Cup with the Rochester Americans .

In the 1996/97 season he rose to number 2 behind Dominik Hašek and in January 1997 Shields was finally allowed back on the ice for the Sabers. He came to 13 games in the season, but could only win three of them. During the play-offs , Hasek was injured and Shields stepped in for him and reached the second round. In 1997/98 he was again Dominik Hasek's back-up gala.

In the summer of 1998, Shields was transferred from the Sabers to the San Jose Sharks . There he had a very experienced goalkeeper in front of him in Mike Vernon , but thanks to his good performances he played 37 games. He had 15 wins, just one win less than Vernon, who had played twelve more games.

In 1999/2000 , Steve Shields took the position as the goalkeeper after Mike Vernon left the team in December 1999. Shield's back-up goalie was Yevgeny Nabokov . In the playoffs, the Sharks made it to the second round, but that was the end of the line.

At the beginning of the 2000/01 season, Shields was injured and Nabokow took over the post in the gate. Shields had to settle for number 2 again. In March 2001 he was transferred from the Sharks to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . But after just two days in Anaheim, he sustained an injury in his shoulder. Since he needed an operation, he was out for the rest of the season.

He played the 2001/02 season as a back-up goalie for Jean-Sébastien Giguère . Shields was used 33 times, but could only record nine wins against 20 losses. After a year in Anaheim, he was given to the Boston Bruins . Shields formed a goalkeeping team with John Grahame for part of the 2002–03 season and with Jeff Hackett for the other part . But he also had to leave the Boston Bruins after a year and was transferred to the Florida Panthers , where he was number 2 behind Roberto Luongo .

The 2004/05 NHL season was canceled because of the lockout and Steve Shields used the time to take a break. In October 2005 the game should start again in the NHL, but Shields' contract in Florida was not renewed. In September the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim invited him to the training camp, but where he could not convince. It wasn't until mid-October that he received a contract in the AHL with the Chicago Wolves , the Atlanta Thrashers' farm team . After Kari Lehtonen and Mike Dunham , the goalkeepers from the Thrashers' NHL team, got injured, Shields got a contract with the Thrashers and was used five times. But he couldn't convince. In addition, there were injuries that meant that he was no longer used in the NHL.

His contract expired in the summer of 2006 and he had to look for a new team again. It was only very late that he received a contract in the AHL with the Houston Eros . But things didn't go as planned in Houston either. He was only used once for ten minutes and conceded three goals. On November 29, 2006, he was released from the Houston Eros. Two months later, at the end of January, he received a trial contract with Linköpings HC in the Swedish Elitserien . After two weeks he had to leave Linköpings again.

Achievements and Awards

• 1996 Calder Cup win with Rochester Americans
• 1999 Seagate Technology "Sharks Player of the Year" Award (together with Mike Vernon )

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victories	Defeats	draw	Minutes	GT	Shutouts	Sv%	GTS
Regular season	10	246	80	104	40	13630	606	10	.907	2.67
Playoffs	4th	25th	9	16	-	1445	74	1	.901	3.07

( Legend for the goalkeeper statistics: GP or Sp = total games; W or S = wins; L or N = defeats; T or U or OT = draws or overtime or shootout defeats; min. = Minutes; SOG or SaT = shots on goal; GA or GT = goals conceded; SO = shutouts ; GAA or GTS = goals conceded ; Sv% or SVS% = catch quota ; EN = empty net goal ; ¹  play-downs / relegation ; italics : statistics not complete)

Web links

• Steve Shields at hockeydb.com (English)
• Steve Shields at hockeygoalies.org