Steve Shields (ice hockey)

Steve Shields
Born	July 19, 1972 (1972-07-19) North Bay, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Buffalo Sabres San Jose Sharks Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Boston Bruins Florida Panthers Atlanta Thrashers
NHL Draft	101st overall, 1991 Buffalo Sabres
Playing career	1994–2006

Steven Charles Shields (born July 19, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender.

Playing career

Shields grew up in North Bay, Ontario playing minor hockey until Bantam with the local Athletics AA program of the NOHA. At age 16, Shields moved to southern Ontario to play for the St. Marys Lincolns Jr.B. club of the OHA before accepting a scholarship to U. Michigan.

Shields was drafted in the fifth round (#101 overall) in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres out of the University of Michigan. Shields could be best classified as a journeyman NHL goaltender over his tenure. In his NHL career, Shields would play for the Buffalo Sabres, the San Jose Sharks, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, the Boston Bruins, the Florida Panthers, and the Atlanta Thrashers. Shields has recently been playing in the NESHL as a center for Mutiny. Mutiny is a B division team out of the Metro Boston league. In the summer of 2011, Steve was on the market to resume his goalie career. His agent offered Steve, to the Swedish third tier team Asplöven HC. Asplöven declined the offer, stating they were looking for a younger goaltender. He is currently a Volunteer Goalie Coach for Michigan Technological University a D1 program located in Houghton, Michigan.

1996 AHL Calder Cup Champion Goaltender

After starting the season with only a .500 record, the Rochester Americans (AHL)rallied late in the season to go on and win the Calder Cup in game seven defeating the Portland Pirates 2-1. Steve Shields was the goaltender, John Tortorella was the coach and Dixon Ward was named MVP.

1997 Playoffs

One of his career highlights was during the 1997 playoffs, when Dominik Hašek was injured. Hašek had been the team MVP and the league's best goalie during the regular season and he had been considered crucial to the Sabres' playoff hopes. With Hašek leaving in the midst of game three of the first round, Shields was forced to step in but he helped the Sabres to rally and defeat the Ottawa Senators.

Shields then played the second round series against the Philadelphia Flyers, as Hašek was suspended for three games after an altercation with reporter Jim Kelley. Hašek was set to return in game four with the team down by three games in the series, but he told the Sabres' coaching staff he felt a twinge in his knee and left the ice after the pregame skate. Shields turned in another season-saving performance as Buffalo staved off the almost inevitable sweeping elimination with a win. Again before the fifth game, Hašek declared himself unfit to play and Shields would finish the series with Buffalo losing 6–3 and being eliminated.

1999–2000 Season

Shields's best season was in the 1999–2000 season, when he played in 67 games for the San Jose Sharks while posting respectable goaltending numbers for the team (27 wins, 30 losses, four shutouts, a 2.56 GAA, and a .911 save percentage). San Jose made it to the second round of the playoffs of that year.

Goalie mask design

Shields had a notable goalie mask which was designed while he was a member of the Boston Bruins. Shields's mask was a tribute to former Bruins goalie Gerry Cheevers famed "stitch mask". He continued wearing the stitch mask after he was traded to the Florida Panthers and signed with the Atlanta Thrashers.

External links

• Steve Shields's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Steve Shields's biography at Legends of Hockey