Shaun Heshka
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Shaun Heshka (born July 30, 1985) is a
Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
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 currently plays for Rauman Lukko of the Finnish
Liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
.


Playing career

Heshka played his junior years for the
Everett Silvertips The Everett Silvertips are an American major junior ice hockey team currently members of the U.S. Division in the Western Conference of the Western Hockey League (WHL). The team is based in Everett, Washington, and joined the WHL as an expansio ...
of the Western Hockey League (WHL). After completing his time with the Silvertips, Heshka was signed by the
Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
to a three-year entry level contract on July 24, 2006. In his professional debut season in 2006–07, Heshka played with the Canucks affiliates, the
Manitoba Moose The Manitoba Moose are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a member of the American Hockey League (AHL). The team plays its home games at Canada Life Centre, the home arena of its parent club, Winnipeg Jets ...
and the
Victoria Salmon Kings The Victoria Salmon Kings were a professional ice hockey team based in Victoria, British Columbia, and members of the ECHL. The team debuted in the 2004–05 season and folded after the 2010–11 season. The Chilliwack Bruins of the major junio ...
. Following two productive seasons with the Moose in the
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
, Heshka's rights were traded by the Canucks to the
Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...
at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft on June 27, 2009. On July 3, 2010, Heshka signed a one-year contract to remain with the Coyotes. Shaun was initially assigned to the Coyotes' AHL affiliate, the
San Antonio Rampage The San Antonio Rampage were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League based in San Antonio, Texas. The Rampage was primarily owned by Spurs Sports & Entertainment throughout the team's existence. In 2020, the franchise was sold ...
, to start the 2009–10 season. After leading the Rampage defence in scoring, Heshka received his first callup from the Coyotes on November 6, 2009. He made his NHL debut the following night, in a tight game with the
Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division, and play their home games at Honda Center. ...
on November 7. On November 12, Heshka scored his first career NHL point, an assist on a
Paul Bissonnette Paul Albert Bissonnette (born March 11, 1985), nicknamed "Biz Nasty", is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Phoenix Coyotes. Bissonnette is currently ...
goal, in a 4-2 defeat to the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
. After 8 games and 2 assists with the Coyotes, he was then reassigned to the Rampage after a number of Coyotes players returned from injuries. Unable to reach an agreement or be traded, Heshka was forced to play overseas. He signed with
EC Red Bull Salzburg EC Red Bull Salzburg is a professional ice hockey team based in Salzburg, Austria, that currently plays in the ICE Hockey League. The club play their home games at the Eisarena Salzburg. History The history of ice hockey in Salzburg at the highe ...
on September 6, 2010. The 25-year-old remained a restricted free agent throughout the 2010–11 season with the Coyotes. He went on to play a critical defensive role in the Red Bulls' spectacular 2011 season, securing his position as a team leader in the overtime championship win in game 7 of the series final. On November 15, 2012, Heshka signed a two-year contract with
Porin Ässät Porin may refer to: * Porin (protein), a transmembrane protein * ''Porin'' (opera), a Croatian grand opera, first performed in 1897 * Porin (music award) Porin is a Croatian music award founded by Croatian Phonographic Association, Croatian Mus ...
of the Finnish
SM-liiga The SM-liiga (marketed as just Liiga from 2013 on), (Finnish for ''League'') colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. It is one of the six founding leagu ...
. In the 2012–13 season on April 24, 2013, Heshka won the Finnish Elite League championship with Porin Ässät. He was named to the SM-liiga Allstar team as well as being named the best defenseman in the league (Pekka Rautakallio Award). On June 18, 2013, Heshka departed Ässät on a mutual release and signed a two-year contract with
Ak Bars Kazan Hockey Club Ak Bars (russian: Ак Барс, tt-Cyrl, Ак Барс, en, Snow Leopard), also known as Ak Bars Kazan, is a Russian professional ice hockey team based in Kazan. They are members of the Kharlamov Division of the Kontinental Hockey ...
of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. He led the team's defence in scoring and was named to the starting lineup of the KHL Allstar Game for Team East held in Bratalsava. In the midst of his second season with the club under a new head coach in 2014–15, Heshka was traded to
Admiral Vladivostok Hockey Club Admiral, Also Known as The Admiral Vladivostok, (russian: Хоккейный клуб Адмирал)are a professional ice hockey team based in Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai, Russia. They are members of the Chernyshev Division of t ...
on October 31, 2014. After playing out the season with Vladivostok, Heshka left the KHL to sign a one-year contract in Sweden with Modo Hockey of the SHL on May 28, 2015.


Personal life

Heshka is married to Laura, and they reside with their children in Winnipeg, Manitoba during the offseason.


Career statistics


Awards and honours


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heshka, Shaun 1985 births Living people Admiral Vladivostok players Ak Bars Kazan players Ässät players Binghamton Senators players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Canadian people of Ukrainian descent EC Red Bull Salzburg players Everett Silvertips players Sportspeople from Melville, Saskatchewan Manitoba Moose players Melville Millionaires players Modo Hockey players Peoria Rivermen (AHL) players Phoenix Coyotes players San Antonio Rampage players Undrafted National Hockey League players Victoria Salmon Kings players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Oulun Kärpät players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Austria Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Finland Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Sweden