Shane Willis (born June 13, 1977) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former professional

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 ...

. Willis was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, but grew up in

Sylvan Lake, Alberta Sylvan Lake is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately west of the City of Red Deer along Highway 11 or Highway 11A. It is on the southeast edge of Sylvan Lake, a freshwater lake that straddles the boundary between Re ...

Career

Willis was originally drafted by

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

56th overall in the

1995 NHL Entry Draft The 1995 NHL Entry Draft was the 33rd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta. The drafting order was now set partially by a lottery system whereby teams would not be guaranteed first pick if they finished last. I ...

, but unable to come to terms, he re-entered the draft and was selected 88th overall by 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 ...

in the

1997 NHL Entry Draft The 1997 NHL Entry Draft was the 35th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on June 21, 1997. As of 2022, the only remaining active player in the NHL from the 1997 draft class is Joe Thornton. Selections ...

. Willis was drafted from the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior ...

where he played for the

Prince Albert Raiders The Prince Albert Raiders are a major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League. The Raiders play in the East Division of the Eastern Conference. They are based in the city of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team plays its hom ...

and

Lethbridge Hurricanes The Lethbridge Hurricanes are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team currently members of the Eastern Conference (Central Division) of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Lethbridge, Alberta, and play their home games at the ...

. In 1999, his first full professional season, Willis won the

Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award The Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award is given each year to the player in the American Hockey League determined to be the most outstanding rookie. The award is based on voting by the media and the players. It was named after Dudley Garrett, Dudle ...

as the top rookie of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

, while playing for the

Beast of New Haven The Beast of New Haven were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League in the 1997–98 and 1998–99 seasons. The team was based in New Haven, Connecticut, and played at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which was demolished in 2007. The Be ...

. Shane made his NHL debut for the Hurricanes in the 1998–99 before breaking out in the 2000–01 season, enjoying career highs of 20 goals and 24 assists. Carolina qualified for the postseason in 2001 and faced the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

in the conference quarterfinals. Late in game 2, Willis was leveled by a

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 ...

hit. He sat out the rest of the series. Combined with another hit the following season, an elbow to the face by

Bryan Marchment Bryan William Marchment (May 1, 1969 – July 6, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets (1972–96), Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa ...

, the injuries would hinder Willis' game, who would never score as much as in his rookie season. In 2005–06, he played in Europe for Davos in Switzerland and for

Linköpings HC Linköpings may refer to: * Linköpings ASS, Linköpings Allmänna Simsällskap is a Swedish swim team *Linköpings FC, an association football club *Linköpings FF, premier men's football team * Linköpings HC, Linköpings Hockey Club See als ...

in Sweden. He returned to North America for the 2006–07 season, signing with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 18, 2006. However, Willis spent the year playing with the Hurricanes affiliate, the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with an ...

. On July 5, 2007, Willis signed a one-year contract with the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

but after his first game with affiliate, the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

, he was ruled out for the season. In the 2008–09 season Willis had signed a tryout contract with the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conferenc ...

for the 2008–09 season but was subsequently released on September 25, 2008. On January 13, 2009, Shane was signed by the

Wheeling Nailers The Wheeling Nailers are a professional ECHL ice hockey team based in Wheeling, West Virginia. They are the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey Le ...

of the

ECHL The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). Th ...

to a player/coach role. After one game Willis was then signed by former team the

Springfield Falcons The Springfield Falcons were a former ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) and played in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the MassMutual Center. In 2016, the Falcons' franchise was purchased by the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Ari ...

of the AHL to a professional try-out contract on January 16, 2009. Willis has played 174 career NHL games, scoring 31 goals and 43 assists for 74 points. On September 8, 2011, Willis was hired as the Youth and Amateur Hockey Coordinator for the

Awards and achievements

* 1996–97 WHL East First All-Star Team * 1997–98 WHL East First All-Star Team * 1998–99 AHL All-Rookie Team *1998–99 AHL First All-Star Team *1998–99 AHL

* 2000–01

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

All-Rookie Team

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Willis, Shane 1977 births Albany River Rats players Beast of New Haven players Canadian ice hockey right wingers Carolina Hurricanes draft picks Carolina Hurricanes players Cincinnati Cyclones (IHL) players HC Davos players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Alberta Lethbridge Hurricanes players Linköping HC players Living people Milwaukee Admirals players People from Red Deer County Prince Albert Raiders players Sportspeople from Edmonton Springfield Falcons players Tampa Bay Lightning draft picks Tampa Bay Lightning players Wheeling Nailers players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Switzerland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden