Shane Willis
Shane Willis | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 13, 1977 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey player (retired) |
| Years active | 1998–2009 |
| Known for | NHL right winger for Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning |
Shane Willis (born June 13, 1977) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. Although born in Edmonton, Alberta, he was raised in Sylvan Lake, Alberta.
Career
Willis was first selected 56th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft but re-entered the draft and was picked 88th overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 1997. His draft came after playing in the Western Hockey League with the Prince Albert Raiders and Lethbridge Hurricanes.
In his debut full professional season in 1999, Willis earned the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the American Hockey League’s top rookie while playing for the Beast of New Haven. He made his NHL debut with Carolina during the 1998–99 season and achieved his career-best statistics in 2000–01, recording 20 goals and 24 assists.
Carolina qualified for the playoffs in 2001; however, Willis sustained a significant injury from a hit by Scott Stevens that kept him out of the postseason. An additional injury caused by Bryan Marchment further hindered his play, and he was unable to replicate his rookie season scoring levels thereafter.
During the 2005–06 season, Willis competed in Europe with HC Davos in Switzerland and Linköpings HC in Sweden. He returned to North America for the 2006–07 campaign, signing again with Carolina but spent that year with their AHL affiliate, the Albany River Rats.
In 2007, Willis inked a one-year deal with the Nashville Predators but was sidelined for the entire season after sustaining an injury in his first game with their affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals. The following year, he attended a tryout with the Columbus Blue Jackets but was released prior to the season start. He briefly took on a player/coach role with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers before signing a professional try-out contract with the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.
Throughout his NHL tenure, Willis appeared in 174 games, accumulating 31 goals and 43 assists for a total of 74 points.
On September 8, 2011, Willis transitioned into a management role as Youth and Amateur Hockey Coordinator for the Carolina Hurricanes.
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
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 | Tournament | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Canada | WJC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total Junior Statistics | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||