Shaun Heshka

Shaun Heshka
Born (1985-07-30) July 30, 1985
Melville, SK, CAN
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Right
Liiga team
Former teams		 Oulun Kärpät
Phoenix Coyotes
EC Red Bull Salzburg
Ässät
Ak Bars Kazan
Admiral Vladivostok
Modo Hockey
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–present

Shaun Heshka (born July 30, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, who currently plays for Oulun Kärpät of the Finnish Liiga.

Playing career

Heshka played his junior years for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Upon completing his time with the Silvertips, Heshka was signed by the Vancouver Canucks to a three-year entry level contract on July 24, 2006. In his professional debut season in 2006–07, Heshka played with the Canucks affiliates, the Manitoba Moose and the Victoria Salmon Kings. Following two strong and productive seasons with the Moose in the American Hockey League, Heshka's rights were traded by the Canucks to the Phoenix Coyotes at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on June 27, 2009.[1]

On July 3, 2010, Heshka signed a one-year contract to remain with the Coyotes.[2] Shaun was initially assigned to the Coyotes AHL affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage to start the 2009–10 season.

After leading the Rampage defence in scoring, Heshka received his first recall from the Coyotes on November 6, 2009. He made his NHL debut the following night, in a tight game with the Anaheim Ducks on November 7.[3] On November 12, Heshka brought home his first career NHL point, an critical assist on a Paul Bissonnette goal, in a 4-2 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens.[4] After 8 games and 2 assists with the Coyotes, he was then reassigned to the Rampage after a number of Coyotes players returned from injuries.

Unable to reach an agreement or be traded, the restricted North American was forced to play overseas. He signed with EC Red Bull Salzburg team on September 6, 2010. The 25-year-old remained restricted throughout the 2010–11 season to the Phoenix Coyotes. He went on to play a critical defensive role in the Red Bulls spectacular 2011 season, securing his position as a team leader in the overtime championship win in game 7 of the series final.

On November 15, 2012, Heshka signed a two-year contract with Porin Ässät of the Finnish SM-liiga. In the 2012–13 season on April 24, 2013, Heshka won the Finnish Elite League championship with Porin Ässät. He was named to the SM-liiga Allstar team as well as being named the Best Defenseman of the league (Pekka Rautakallio Award.)

On June 18, 2013, Heshka departed Ässät on a mutual release and signed a two-year contract with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League.[5] He led the team's defence in scoring and was named to the starting line-up of the KHL Allstar Game for Team East held in Bratalsava. In the midst of his second season with the club under a new head coach in 2014–15, Heshka was traded to fellow KHL club, Admiral Vladivostok on October 31, 2014.[6]

After playing out the season with Vladivostok, Heshka left the KHL to sign a one-year contract in Sweden with Modo Hockey of the SHL on May 28, 2015.[7]

Personal life

Shaun is married to Laura Heshka, and they reside in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the off season.[8]

Career statistics

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2002–03 Melville Millionaires SJHL 53 6 14 20 53 — — — — —
2003–04 Everett Silvertips WHL 66 3 7 10 25 21 0 2 2 8
2004–05 Everett Silvertips WHL 72 12 26 38 21 11 2 0 2 6
2005–06 Everett Silvertips WHL 66 10 49 59 91 14 3 10 13 10
2006–07 Manitoba Moose AHL 57 2 4 6 14 7 0 0 0 8
2006–07 Victoria Salmon Kings ECHL 3 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2007–08 Manitoba Moose AHL 77 9 21 30 59 6 0 1 1 4
2008–09 Manitoba Moose AHL 77 3 23 26 25 22 0 5 5 12
2009–10 San Antonio Rampage AHL 73 7 26 33 34 — — — — —
2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 8 0 2 2 4 — — — — —
2010–11 EC Red Bull Salzburg EBEL 50 6 18 24 32 18 3 7 10 14
2011–12 Binghamton Senators AHL 10 0 1 1 6 — — — — —
2011–12 Peoria Rivermen AHL 60 4 14 18 12 — — — — —
2012–13 Ässät SM-l 60 8 23 31 26 16 1 7 8 6
2013–14 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 54 8 22 30 34 6 1 2 3 2
2014–15 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 22 1 5 6 8 — — — — —
2014–15 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 35 2 11 13 14 — — — — —
2015–16 MODO Hockey SHL 50 1 9 10 14 7 0 1 1 2
NHL totals 8 0 2 2 4 — — — — —

References

  1. ↑ "Completed trades from day 2 of the Draft". National Hockey League. 2009-06-27. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  2. ↑ "Phoenix Coyotes sign Shaun Heshka to one-year contract". National Hockey League. 2009-07-03. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  3. ↑ "Hiller loses shutout, but hold on for Ducks win". Yahoo! Sports. 2009-11-07. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  4. ↑ "Bergeron, Metropolit help Canadiens beat Coyotes". Yahoo! Sports. 2009-11-12. Retrieved 2010-09-21.
  5. ↑ "Ak Bars announces recruits" (in Russian). Ak Bars Kazan. 2013-06-18. Retrieved 2013-06-18.
  6. ↑ "Shaun Heshka acquired by Admiral" (in Russian). Admiral Vladivostok. 2014-10-31. Retrieved 2014-10-31.
  7. ↑ "Shaun Heshka to Modo Hockey" (in Swedish). Modo Hockey. 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  8. ↑ "Shaun Heshka: "I have Ukrainian roots"". sport.business.ru. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-10-31.
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