Raymond Garfield Sheppard (born May 27, 1966) is a Canadian former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) from

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airpor ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

. Sheppard was born in

Pembroke, Ontario Pembroke is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario at the confluence of the Muskrat River and the Ottawa River in the Ottawa Valley. Pembroke is the location of the administrative headquarters of Renfrew County, though the city itself is pol ...

, but grew up in

Petawawa Petawawa is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. Geography The town lies on the west ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Playing career

Sheppard was selected 60th overall by the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...

in the

1984 NHL Entry Draft The 1984 NHL Entry Draft was the 22nd NHL Entry Draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The 1984 Entry Draft is noted for the unusually high number of future Hall of Famers picked, particularly in lower r ...

. He played 817 career NHL games, scoring 357 goals and 300 assists for 657 points. His best season statistically was the 1993–94 season when he scored 52 goals and 93 points for the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. He also played for the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home game ...

, and the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

. On March 21, 1996, Sheppard scored the first home ice

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mech ...

in Panthers franchise history. He achieved a rare feat during his career, scoring at least twenty goals in a season for six different NHL teams (accomplishing it in 1999). This was a record of until

Bill Guerin William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Minnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general m ...

passed him by scoring twenty goals with seven teams. Sheppard has been named the second-best golfer amongst athletes (of sports other than golf) by Golf Digest. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Panthers Alumni Association.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

Transactions

* Drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the

in the third round as the 60th overall pick. *Acquired by the New York Rangers for $1

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

from the Buffalo Sabres in 1990. * August 5, 1991 - Signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Detroit Red Wings. * October 24, 1995 - Traded by the Detroit Red Wings to the San Jose Sharks for

Igor Larionov Igor Nikolayevich Larionov (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ларионов; born 3 December 1960) is a Russian ice hockey coach, sports agent and former professional ice hockey player, known as "the Professor". Along with Viacheslav ...

and a conditional 1998 draft pick. * March 16, 1996 - Traded by the San Jose Sharks, along with a fourth round pick in 1996, to the Florida Panthers for 2nd and fourth round picks in 1996. * March 24, 1998 - Traded at the deadline by the Florida Panthers to the Carolina Hurricanes for

Kirk McLean Kirk Alan McLean (born June 26, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks, Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers and New York Rangers. ...

. * November 15, 1999 - Signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Florida Panthers. * Announced retirement at the end of 1999–2000 NHL season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheppard, Ray 1966 births Living people Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Canadian people of English descent Carolina Hurricanes players Cornwall Royals (OHL) players Detroit Red Wings players Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from Ontario New York Rangers players Sportspeople from Pembroke, Ontario Rochester Americans players San Jose Sharks players SC Langnau players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland