Shane Willis

Shane Willis
Willis with the Springfield Falcons in 2004
Born	(1977-06-13) June 13, 1977 (age 48) Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Carolina Hurricanes Tampa Bay Lightning
NHL draft	56th overall, 1995 Tampa Bay Lightning 88th overall, 1997 Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career	1998–2009

Shane Willis (born June 13, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. Willis was born in Edmonton, Alberta, but grew up in Sylvan Lake, Alberta.

Career

Willis was originally drafted by Tampa Bay 56th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, but unable to come to terms, he re-entered the draft and was selected 88th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Willis was drafted from the Western Hockey League where he played for the Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes.

In 1999, his first full professional season, Willis won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie of the American Hockey League, while playing for the Beast of New Haven. 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 in the conference quarterfinals. Late in game 2, Willis was leveled by a Scott Stevens hit. He sat out the rest of the series. Combined with another hit the following season, an elbow to the face by Bryan Marchment, the injuries would hinder Willis' game, who would never score as much as in his rookie season. ^[1]

In 2005–06, he played in Europe for Davos in Switzerland and for Linköpings HC 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.

On July 5, 2007, Willis signed a one-year contract with the Nashville Predators but after his first game with affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals, he was ruled out for the season.

In the 2008–09 season Willis had signed a tryout contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets ^[2] for the 2008–09 season but was subsequently released on September 25, 2008. ^[3] On January 13, 2009, Shane was signed by the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL to a player/coach role. ^[4] After one game Willis was then signed by former team the Springfield Falcons of the AHL to a professional try-out contract on January 16, 2009. ^[5] 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 Carolina Hurricanes. He also serves as a television analyst for locally-broadcast Hurricanes games. ^[6]

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 Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award
• 2000–01 NHL All-Rookie Team

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1993–94	Red Deer Royals AAA	AMHL		34	40	26	66	103		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		65	24	19	43	38		13	3	4	7	6
1995–96	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		69	41	40	81	47		18	11	10	21	18
1996–97	Prince Albert Raiders	WHL		41	34	22	56	63		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL		26	22	17	39	24		19	13	11	24	20
1997–98	Lethbridge Hurricanes	WHL		64	58	54	112	73		4	2	3	5	6
1997–98	Beast of New Haven	AHL		1	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		7	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Beast of New Haven	AHL		73	31	50	81	49		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Cincinnati Cyclones	IHL		80	35	25	60	64		11	5	3	8	8
1999–00	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		73	20	24	44	45		2	0	0	0	0
2001–02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		59	7	10	17	24		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		21	4	3	7	6		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Springfield Falcons	AHL		56	16	16	32	26		6	4	2	6	4
2003–04	Hershey Bears	AHL		55	27	21	48	71		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Tampa Bay Lightning	NHL		12	0	6	6	2		—	—	—	—	—
2004–05	Springfield Falcons	AHL		58	18	16	34	29		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	HC Davos	NLA		32	5	15	20	47		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Linköpings HC	SEL		6	0	1	1	4		13	6	5	11	10
2006–07	Albany River Rats	AHL		43	20	23	43	23		5	3	1	4	0
2007–08	Milwaukee Admirals	AHL		1	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Springfield Falcons	AHL		32	5	10	15	8		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				319	117	136	253	208		11	7	3	10	4
NHL totals				174	31	43	74	77		2	0	0	0	0

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1997	Canada	WJC		7	0	0	0	0
Junior totals				7	0	0	0	0

References

1. Willis Proud of the Way He Played
2. "Willis gets tryout with Columbus". dispatch.com. 2008-09-05. Archived from the original on 2008-09-17. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
3. "Willis released by Blue Jackets". sports.yahoo.com. 2008-09-25. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
4. "Wheeling Nailers sign former NHL goal scorer". oursportscentral.com. 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2009-01-14.
5. "Falcons fall short to pack". falconsahl.com. 2009-01-16. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
6. https://canespr.com/broadcasters/

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Eurohockey.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database