John Allan Shields (May 10, 1907 - September 24, 1975) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played eleven seasons in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

for the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, Philadelphia Quakers,

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

, Montreal Maroons and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

between 1927 and 1938.

Playing career

During the

1934–35 NHL season The 1934–35 NHL season was the 18th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nine teams each played 48 games. The Montreal Maroons were the Stanley Cup winners as they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs in three games in the Stanley Cup Finals. ...

Shields won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Championship with the Montreal Maroons.

Awards and achievements

Shields played in the longest game in NHL history: Montreal Maroons vs. Detroit Red Wings, March 1936. In 1934 he was selected to the first NHL All-Star team ever assembled. In 1930/31 he along with

Syd Howe Sydney Harris Howe (September 18, 1911 – May 20, 1976) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Howe played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Quakers, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Eagl ...

and

Wally Kilrea Walter Charles Kilrea (February 18, 1909 – July 3, 1992) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 9 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Philadelphia Quakers, New York Americans, Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons ...

were loaned from Ottawa to the Philadelphia Quakers to help liven up the team and attract more Quaker fans. Philly was in bad financial shape at the time and needed greater attendance to survive. With the assistance of Shields and company their games became "quite exciting", culminating with a Christmas Day game when the entire Philadelphia police force were called to quell a near riot. With the onset of the Depression, the team folded the following year. The Quakers set another near NHL record for games lost, however they were one of the more "lively" teams of the time. On a couple of occasions during his career, he had to fill in as a goalie. In those days no spare goalie was available and if the one and only was injured during a game one of the players had to fill-in. He played in the American Hockey League (the primary farm teams of the NHL) for the Washington Lions, Buffalo Bisons and the New Haven Eagles from 1938 to 1942. He served as playing coach for Washington and then enlisted in the RCAF. Shields was selected to All-Star teams twice during his AHL career During his service in the airforce he was playing coach for the RCAF Sabres stationed in Arnprior, Ontario. After the war, "Big Pete" went on to Referee in the AHL from 1946 to 1948 and then hung up his skates permanently. He played a total of 457 game in professional hockey in the days when bus and train were the only means of transport. Shields was reported in the media at the time, as "a clean, rugged player" and "one of the most valuable defensemen in the entire league". King Clancy who was best man at Shields' wedding, had nothing but praise for his ability as a defenseman.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Allan 1907 births 1975 deaths Boston Bruins players Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey people from Ottawa Montreal Maroons players New Haven Eagles players New York Americans players Ottawa Senators (1917) players Ottawa Senators (original) players Philadelphia Quakers (NHL) players Stanley Cup champions St. Louis Flyers (AHA) players Washington Lions players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States