Neil Kane Sheehy (born February 9, 1960) is a Canadian-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player with dual citizenship. He grew up in

International Falls, Minnesota International Falls (sometimes referred to as I-Falls) is a city in and the county seat of Koochiching County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,802 at the time of the 2020 census. International Falls is located on the Rainy R ...

. A

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

graduate, Sheehy signed as a free agent in 1983 by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

. His tough defensive play would help guide the Flames to their first finals appearance in 1986. He has also played for the

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its 25-year existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1 ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. Sheehy is one of two NHL players who wore the number 0, the other was

Paul Bibeault Joseph Arsine Paul Emile Albert "Babe" Bibeault (April 12, 1919 – August 2, 1970) was a Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played in the NHL from 1941 to 1947. Playing career Born in Montreal, Quebec, Bibeault began his NHL career in the 1940� ...

. After NHL statisticians discovered a bug in their new stat-tracking software, the league restricted jersey numbers to whole numbers between 1 and 99 (later limited to numbers between 1 and 98 after the league-wide retirement of number 99 for

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

). This gives Sheehy the distinction of being the last player in NHL history to wear the number 0, with the Hartford Whalers in 1988. His older brother is former NHL and USA Olympic team member Timothy Sheehy.

Sexual Assault Allegation

In May 1990, while playing for the Capitals, Sheehy was accused of raping a 17-year-old girl outside a bar, alongside teammates

Dino Ciccarelli Dino Ciccarelli ( , born February 8, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1999, primarily with the Minnesota North Stars, but also notably with the Detroit Red ...

Scott Stevens Ronald Scott Stevens (born April 1, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. As a defenseman, Stevens played 22 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Washington Capitals, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey ...

, and Geoff Courtnall. The court case fell apart, though a spokesperson for the Metropolitan police at the time stated that the police “have sufficient grounds to believe that a criminal offense did occur.”

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* 1960 births Living people American men's ice hockey defensemen American sportspeople of Canadian descent Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Colorado Flames players Hartford Whalers players Harvard Crimson men's ice hockey players HDD Olimpija Ljubljana players Ice hockey people from Ontario Ice hockey players from Minnesota Moncton Golden Flames players People from International Falls, Minnesota Salt Lake Golden Eagles (IHL) players Sportspeople from Fort Frances Undrafted National Hockey League players Washington Capitals players 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Canadian sportsmen {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1960s-stub