Steven Charles Shields (born July 19, 1972) 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 hock ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

. During his playing career, which lasted from 1994 to 2006, he played ten 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 ...

with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertain ...

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: * ''Mighty'' (The Planet Smashers album) * ''Mighty'' (Kristene DiMarco album) * ''The Mighty'' (1929 film), a 1929 American action film *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy-drama film * ''The Mighty'' (comics), a DC Comics title *Th ...

, Boston Bruins,

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and initially played their home game ...

, and

Atlanta Thrashers The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League (NHL) on June 25, 1997, and became the League's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 seaso ...

Playing career

Shields grew up in

North Bay, Ontario North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, Ontario, Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing. North Bay developed as a railroad centre, and its airpo ...

, playing minor hockey until bantam level 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 the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. As a collegiate player, Shields became the first goalie in NCAA history to record 100 career victories and was a two-time All American. Shields was drafted in the fifth round (#101 overall) in the

1991 NHL Entry Draft The 1991 NHL Entry Draft was the 29th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 at the Memorial Auditorium in Buffalo, New York. A total of 264 players were drafted. The worst team in the previous 1990–91 season, the Quebec Nordiques, was give ...

by the

out of the

. Shields was a journeyman NHL goaltender over his tenure. In his NHL career, Shields would play for the Buffalo Sabres,

, Boston Bruins,

, and

1996 AHL Calder Cup champion

After starting the season with only a .500 record, the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

rallied late in the season to go on and win the

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curre ...

in game seven defeating the

Portland Pirates The Portland Pirates were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). Their home arena was the Cross Insurance Arena in downtown Portland, Maine. The franchise was previously known as the Baltimore Skipjacks ...

2-1. Steve Shields set an American Hockey League record with 15 playoff victories.

John Tortorella John Francis Tortorella (born June 24, 1958) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He currently serves as the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tortorella was previously the head ...

was the coach.

1997 playoffs

One of his career highlights was during the 1997 playoffs, when

Dominik Hašek Dominik Hašek (, ; born January 29, 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey goaltender who mostly played for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders of all time, Hašek also played for t ...

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 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 member ...

. Shields then played the second round series against the

Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wel ...

, as Hašek was suspended for three games after an altercation with reporter Jim Kelley. A line brawl between the two teams broke out in game one that resulted in a memorable goaltender fight between Shields and the Flyers'

Garth Snow Garth E. Snow (born July 28, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender and former general manager, president and alternate governor of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Drafted by the Quebec Nordi ...

. 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 that year.

Goalie mask design

Shields had a notable

goalie mask A goaltender mask, commonly referred to as a goalie mask, is a mask worn by goaltenders in a variety of sports to protect the head and face from injury from the ball or puck, as they constantly face incoming shots on goal. Some sports requiring t ...

which was designed while he was a member of the Boston Bruins during the 2002-03 season. Shields's mask was a tribute to former Bruins goalie

Gerry Cheevers Gerald Michael "Cheesie" Cheevers (born 7 December 1940) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1961 and 1980. Cheevers is best known for ...

famed "stitch mask". He continued wearing the stitch mask after he was traded to the

, and being signed by the

Coaching career

Shields served under Mel Pearson as a volunteer assistant coach at

Michigan Tech Michigan Technological University (Michigan Tech, MTU, or simply Tech) is a public research university in Houghton, Michigan, founded in 1885 as the Michigan Mining School, the first post-secondary institution in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. ...

for two seasons from 2011 to 2013 before joining the

as a goaltending consultant in the summer of 2013. On May 7, 2015, it was announced that Shields was named a volunteer assistant coach for the

Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey The Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team is the college ice hockey team that represents the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Earning varsity status in 1922, the program has competed in 100 seasons. Between 1959 and 1981, the ...

team.

Career statistics

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shields, Steve 1972 births Living people Atlanta Thrashers players Boston Bruins players Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Chicago Wolves players Florida Panthers coaches Florida Panthers players Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players Ice hockey people from Ontario Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey players Mighty Ducks of Anaheim players Rochester Americans players San Jose Sharks players South Carolina Stingrays players Sportspeople from Toronto Canadian ice hockey coaches AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans