Shaun Patrick Price (born March 24, 1955) is a Canadian former 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 h ...

player who played in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA) for the

Vancouver Blazers The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hocke ...

and 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 ...

(NHL) for the New York Islanders,

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

Early life

Born in Nelson, British Columbia, Price was a highly-touted junior star with the

Saskatoon Blades The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat SaskTe ...

of the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

(WCHL), with 95 points, despite being a defenseman, in the 1973–74 WCHL season. He was a member of the WCHL All-Star Team in 1974.

Career

In the

1974 WHA Amateur Draft The 1974 WHA Amateur Draft was the second amateur draft held by the World Hockey Association. The first two rounds of the draft were conducted in secret in February and only graduating junior players (born in 1954) were eligible for selection. The ...

, Price was drafted first overall by the

. The WHA had trouble holding onto its draft picks, who often went to the more established NHL teams, but the Blazers landed the untested rookie with a contract offer of $1.3 million ($ million today). Price did not meet the Blazers' expectations, with 34 points in the

1974–75 WHA season The 1974–75 WHA season was the third season of the World Hockey Association. Fourteen teams each played 78 games. Regular season The WHA expanded by adding the Indianapolis Racers and Phoenix Roadrunners, and splitting into 3 divisions (Wester ...

, and he went to the NHL after being drafted 11th overall by the New York Islanders in the

1975 NHL Amateur Draft The 1975 NHL Amateur Draft was the 13th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Philadelphia Flyers made the most noise at the draft, trading Bill Clement, Don McLean, and t ...

. Price spent most of that season in the minor leagues, as he learned the professional game. Price became an NHL regular in 1976–77, and played three seasons with the Islanders before he was claimed by the

in the

1979 NHL Expansion Draft The 1979 NHL Expansion Draft was held on June 13, 1979. The draft took place to fill the rosters of the National Hockey League's new teams for the 1979–80 season: the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. These ...

. Despite the original expectation that he should be a scoring defenseman with Vancouver in his rookie season, Price grew to be a balanced professional, playing 726 total NHL games over 13 seasons, scoring 43 goals and having 218 assists before retiring in 1988. After retiring, Price returned to his hometown of Nelson, British Columbia.

Career statistics

References

External links

* 1955 births Canadian ice hockey defencemen Edmonton Oilers players Fredericton Express players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000) players Living people Minnesota North Stars players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players New York Rangers players People from Nelson, British Columbia Pittsburgh Penguins players Quebec Nordiques players Rochester Americans players Saskatoon Blades players Vancouver Blazers draft picks Vancouver Blazers players World Hockey Association first-overall draft picks {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1950s-stub