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Shawn Thornton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the fictional character named Sean Thornton, see The Quiet Man.
Not to be confused with the footballer Sean Thornton.
Shawn Thornton
Thornton in January 2019
Born (1977-07-23) July 23, 1977 (age 47)
Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Right
Played for Chicago Blackhawks
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
Florida Panthers
NHL draft 190th overall, 1997
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1997–2017

Shawn Thornton (born July 23, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player of the National Hockey League (NHL). An enforcer throughout his career, he won two Stanley Cups with the Anaheim Ducks (2007) and the Boston Bruins (2011). After retiring, he won another Stanley Cup as an executive with the Florida Panthers (2024).

Playing career

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Thornton in a fight with Wade Brookbank in January 2008

Amateur

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Thornton played minor hockey for his hometown Oshawa Minor Generals of the OMHA's Eastern AAA League. He was drafted in the 9th round (145th overall) by the Peterborough Petes in the 1995 OHL Priority Selection.

Professional

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Chicago Blackhawks/Anaheim Ducks

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Thornton in February 2015 with the Florida Panthers

Thornton attempted to be drafted in the 1996 NHL draft but was not selected by any team. He was then drafted into the NHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1997, 190th overall, Thornton never played for Toronto and was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2001–02 season. After six seasons back and forth between the NHL and AHL between the Chicago and Anaheim Ducks franchises, Thornton won his first career Stanley Cup in his final season with the Ducks in 2006–07.

Boston Bruins

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On July 1, 2007, Thornton signed a three-year, 1.5 million dollar, deal with the Boston Bruins.[1] During a seven-year tenure in Boston, Thornton won his second career Stanley Cup during the 2010–11 season in which he also tallied career high numbers in goals (10), assists (10), points (20) and +/– (8).

Florida Panthers

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At the end of the 2013–14 season, the Bruins organization informed Thornton that they would not be re-signing him, ending his career in Boston.[2] That summer, he signed a two-year contract with the Florida Panthers.[3] At the end of his contract, he re-signed with Florida for one year.

On April 6, 2017, Thornton announced that he would be retiring at the end of the season and played his final game on April 8. During the announcement of his retirement, he revealed that he would be joining the Panthers' front office in a business related position after the conclusion of his playing career.[4]

Brooks Orpik incident

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On December 7, 2013, Thornton tried to goad Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik into fighting after Orpik delivered a borderline hit on Boston’s Loui Eriksson early in the first period. Orpik rebuffed Thornton’s invitation and at 11:06 of the first period, after a whistle due to Penguins winger James Neal kneeing Bruins winger Brad Marchand in the head, Thornton approached a thicket of players from both teams, slew-footed Orpik from behind and, while Orpik was on the ice, punched him at least twice. Six days later, he received his suspension after an in-person hearing with the league’s department of player safety. He appealed the suspension and had a hearing that Friday with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, who did not immediately announce a decision. On December 14, 2013, Thornton was suspended for fifteen games.[5] Thornton, who was emotional after the game, contacted Orpik directly to apologize. Orpik conveyed forgiveness and understanding. Thornton and Orpik, who are friends, were part of a group of players who had worked out together in the offseason and during the NHL lockout.[6]

Personal life

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Thornton founded the Thornton Foundation in 2013, which among other things, funds research into finding cures for Parkinson's disease and cancer.[7]

Thornton is a cousin of professional lacrosse players Zack and Bill Greer. Zack plays for the San Diego Seals of the National Lacrosse League (NLL), while Bill has retired and works for the Seals as an assistant coach.[8] Thornton is also the cousin of footballer Chris Brunt, who represented the Northern Ireland national team [9] and most recently played for Bristol City F.C. of the EFL Championship.[10]

Thornton was a part-owner of a restaurant in Pembroke, Massachusetts named Turner's Yard, which closed in 2014. Former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield was also a member of the owner's group.

Thornton made a cameo in the 2012 film Ted as an audience member at a Norah Jones concert.[11][12] Thornton also featured on season 3 of Kitchen Nightmares in 2011.

Thornton's autobiography Shawn Thornton: Fighting My Way to the Top was released in November 2021.

Career statistics

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95 Oshawa Kiwanis AAA OMHA 43 8 19 28 113 — — — — —
1995–96 Peterborough Petes OHL 63 4 10 14 192 24 3 0 3 25
1996–97 Peterborough Petes OHL 61 19 10 29 204 11 2 4 6 20
1997–98 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 59 0 3 3 225 — — — — —
1998–99 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 78 8 11 19 354 5 0 0 0 9
1999–00 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 60 4 12 16 316 — — — — —
2000–01 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 79 5 12 17 320 3 1 2 3 2
2001–02 Norfolk Admirals AHL 70 8 14 22 281 4 0 0 0 4
2002–03 Norfolk Admirals AHL 50 11 2 13 213 9 0 2 2 28
2002–03 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 13 1 1 2 31 — — — — —
2003–04 Norfolk Admirals AHL 64 6 11 17 259 8 1 1 2 6
2003–04 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 8 1 0 1 23 — — — — —
2004–05 Norfolk Admirals AHL 71 5 9 14 263 6 0 0 0 8
2005–06 Norfolk Admirals AHL 59 10 22 32 192 4 0 0 0 35
2005–06 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 10 0 0 0 16 — — — — —
2006–07 Portland Pirates AHL 15 4 4 8 55 — — — — —
2006–07 Anaheim Ducks NHL 48 2 7 9 88 15 0 0 0 19
2007–08 Boston Bruins NHL 58 4 3 7 74 7 0 0 0 6
2008–09 Boston Bruins NHL 79 6 5 11 123 10 1 0 1 6
2009–10 Boston Bruins NHL 74 1 9 10 141 12 0 0 0 4
2010–11 Boston Bruins NHL 79 10 10 20 122 18 0 1 1 24
2011–12 Boston Bruins NHL 81 5 8 13 154 5 0 0 0 0
2012–13 Boston Bruins NHL 45 3 4 7 60 22 0 4 4 18
2013–14 Boston Bruins NHL 64 5 3 8 74 12 0 1 1 4
2014–15 Florida Panthers NHL 46 1 4 5 50 — — — — —
2015–16 Florida Panthers NHL 50 1 4 5 80 4 0 0 0 2
2016–17 Florida Panthers NHL 50 2 2 4 67 — — — — —
NHL totals 705 42 60 102 1103 105 1 6 7 83
AHL totals 605 61 100 161 2478 39 2 6 8 92

Awards and honours

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Award Year
NHL
Stanley Cup (Anaheim Ducks) 2007
Stanley Cup (Boston Bruins) 2011
Stanley Cup (Florida Panthers, as executive) 2024
Boston Bruins
Eddie Shore Award 2011

References

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  1. ^ "Bruins sign Shawn Thornton". Boston Bruins. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  2. ^ "Bruins announce Thornton not returning". National Hockey League. 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  3. ^ "Florida Panthers active on day one of free agency". Florida Panthers. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  4. ^ Richards, George (April 6, 2017). "It's last call for Shawn Thornton as final NHL games beckon". Miami Herald. Miami Herald. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  5. ^ "Penguins' Orpik shows forgiveness to Thornton".
  6. ^ "Brooks Orpik: Apologetic Shawn Thornton 'A Pretty Good Friend'". 2013-12-20.
  7. ^ "Shawn Thornton Foundation". The Shawn Thornton Foundation. 2016-09-14. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  8. ^ "San Diego Seals Name Josh Sanderson and Bill Greer Assistant Coaches". Inside Lacrosse. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
  9. ^ "Brunt retires from Northern Ireland duty". BBC Sport.
  10. ^ Hanna, Gareth. "Chris Brunt released by Bristol City as injury woe threatens to end ex-Northern Ireland star's career". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  11. ^ Bruno, Amanda (3 July 2012). "Boston Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton makes cameo appearance in movie 'Ted'". MassLive Media. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
  12. ^ "Shawn Thornton". IMDb.
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