Shayne Corson

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Shayne Corson (born August 13, 1966) is a Canadian former professional hockey forward in the National Hockey League. He played in the NHL for the Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Dallas Stars. During his NHL career Corson battled both ulcerative colitis and, as detailed in the October 21, 2001 issue of Sports Illustrated, panic attacks.

Corson last played in the 2003-04 NHL season. Despite some speculation to the contrary, Corson did not return to the NHL after the 2004-05 lock-out and is now retired.

Contents 1 Background and Early Career 2 NHL Playing Career 3 Notable Achievements 4 Personal Life 5 Sources/External References

[edit] Background and Early Career

Corson was born in Barrie, Ontario, and played in the OHL for the Brantford Alexanders (1983-84) and Hamilton Steelhawks (1984-86). The Canadiens drafted him in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He played briefly with the Canadiens in the 1985-86 season, and joined the team fulltime the following year.

[edit] NHL Playing Career

Corson played for the Canadiens from 1986 until 1992, when he joined the Oilers. He played with Edmonton for three full seasons, before leaving the team for the Blues. His time in Edmonton was marred by some controversy, as head coach George Burnett chose him as the team's captain during the 1994-95 season (Jan.-Mar.1995). Burnett would later strip Corson of the captaincy. He was signed by the Blues as a free agent in 1995, and the Oilers received the rights to Curtis Joseph as compensation. During the 1996-97 season, the Blues traded him back to Montreal, where he played until 2000. The Leafs then signed him as a free agent, and he spent three full seasons in Toronto before retiring in the middle of the post-season because of 'medical issues'. In the 2002 playoffs against the New York Islanders, Corson got into a fight against New Yorks' Eric Cairns in which Corson tried to kick Cairns in the middle of the fight. Corson has been jeered by Islander fans ever since. The Stars signed him during the last part of the 2003-04 season in order to add some grit and leadership for their playoff run, but the team was unsuccessful (losing in the first round to the Colorado Avalanche), and Corson retired afterwards.

[edit] Notable Achievements

Shayne Corson captained two NHL clubs during his 19 season professional career. He has also played for Team Canada at the Canada Cup, World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, World Cup of Hockey, and 1998 Winter Olympics. Corson was known as a gritty player, with good instincts both offensively and defensively, and a good leader. Corson represented his teams three times at the NHL All-Star Game, having scored 693 points and earning 2357 penalty minutes during his 1156 game regular season NHL career. In addition, he scored 87 points and earned 291 penalty minutes in 140 playoff games.

[edit] Personal Life

Corson suffers from ulcerative colitis, a chronic digestive disorder that can cause severe pain and significant weight loss. During the later stages of his career, Corson began to suffer from panic attacks, a condition that he attributed to a variety of factors including his battles with colitis and the premature death of his father, Paul Corson, from throat cancer in 1993.

Corson's sister, Shannon, is married to current Maple Leaf forward Darcy Tucker. In retirement, Corson (often with Tucker) has been a promiment proponent of building a cancer care facility at Barrie's Royal Victoria Hospital.

[edit] Sources/External References

• Hockeydb player page.
• Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com

Preceded by Craig MacTavish	Edmonton Oilers captains 1995	Succeeded by Kelly Buchberger
Preceded by Brett Hull	St. Louis Blues captains 1995-96	Succeeded by Wayne Gretzky