Shane Willis
Willis with the Springfield Falcons in 2004
Born (1977-06-13) June 13, 1977
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 19982009

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.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1993–94 Red Deer Royals AAA AMHL 34402666103
1994–95 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 6524194338 133476
1995–96 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 6941408147 1811102118
1996–97 Prince Albert Raiders WHL 4134225663
1996–97 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 2622173924 1913112420
1997–98 Lethbridge Hurricanes WHL 64585411273 42356
1997–98 Beast of New Haven AHL 10112
1998–99 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 70000
1998–99 Beast of New Haven AHL 7331508149
1999–00 Cincinnati Cyclones IHL 8035256064 115388
1999–00 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 20000
2000–01 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 7320244445 20000
2001–02 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 597101724
2001–02 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 214376
2002–03 Springfield Falcons AHL 5616163226 64264
2003–04 Hershey Bears AHL 5527214871
2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 120662
2004–05 Springfield Falcons AHL 5818163429
2005–06 HC Davos NLA 325152047
2005–06 Linköpings HC SEL 60114 13651110
2006–07 Albany River Rats AHL 4320234323 53140
2007–08 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 10000
2008–09 Springfield Falcons AHL 32510158
AHL totals 319117136253208 1173104
NHL totals 17431437477 20000

International

Year Team Event GPGAPtsPIM
1997 Canada WJC 70000
Junior totals 70000

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.
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