Colin Shields MBE (born 27 January 1980) is a former Scottish professional ice hockey forward who played most of his career in the United Kingdom's Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). He is the EIHL's all-time leading point scorer.[1]

Colin Shields
MBE
Born (1980-01-27) 27 January 1980 (age 44)
Glasgow, Scotland
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 189 lb (86 kg; 13 st 7 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for EIHL
Belfast Giants
Newcastle Vipers
Sheffield Steelers
ECHL
Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies
Greenville Grrrowl
Idaho Steelheads
Fresno Falcons
Ligue Magnus
Pingouins de Morzine-Avoriaz
National team  Great Britain
NHL draft 195th overall, 2000
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 2004–2019

Playing career

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Amateur

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Shields started his career in North America and played for Cleveland Jr. Barons in the NAHL for two seasons, 1998–2000. Shields was a sixth-round pick for the Philadelphia Flyers in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. Shields opted to attend and play for the University of Maine for three seasons, finishing as the top scorer for the 2003–04 season.

Professional

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For the 2004–05 season Shields was split between the San Diego Gulls, Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and Greenville Grrrowl of the ECHL, tallying 35 points in 62 games. For 2005–06, Shields moved back to his native United Kingdom for a spell with the Belfast Giants of the EIHL, where he played alongside former NHL star Theoren Fleury. 2006–07 saw a return to the ECHL, with 43 points in 57 games for the Fresno Falcons and Idaho Steelheads. Shields had a career year in 2007–08 for the Newcastle Vipers of the EIHL, scoring 73 points in 57 games. This led to a two-year contract with the Belfast Giants. Shields served as captain of the Giants, replacing George Awada, who was ruled out with injury.

On 7 April 2011, it was announced that Shields had left the Giants to sign for Morzine-Avoriaz in France.

On 22 March 2012, it was announced that Shields had signed to play the 2012–13 season for the Sheffield Steelers in the EIHL.

Retirement and life after hockey

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He announced his retirement effective from the end of the 2018–19 season on 26 March 2019.[1]

In November 2021, Shields was inducted into the Ice Hockey UK Hall of Fame.[2]

Ahead of the 2022-23 Elite League season, Shields was announced as a new addition to the Premier Sports broadcast team - alongside Aaron Murphy, Paul Adey and Angela Taylor.[3]

Shields was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2023 Birthday Honours for services to ice hockey.[4]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1997–98 Kitchener Dutchmen MWJHL
1998–99 Cleveland Jr. Barons NAHL 55 30 30 60 44
1999–2000 Cleveland Jr. Barons NAHL 55 46 49 95 40 3 1 3 4 2
2001–02 University of Maine HE 42 29 17 46 39
2002–03 University of Maine HE 34 14 13 27 18
2003–04 University of Maine HE 44 18 26 44 40
2004–05 San Diego Gulls ECHL 34 3 11 14 10
2004–05 Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies ECHL 19 6 12 18 4
2004–05 Greenville Grrrowl ECHL 9 0 3 3 2
2005–06 Belfast Giants EIHL 27 10 27 37 22 7 1 5 6 6
2006–07 Fresno Falcons ECHL 24 7 7 14 22
2006–07 Idaho Steelheads ECHL 33 9 20 29 10
2007–08 Newcastle Vipers EIHL 47 30 31 61 18 3 1 3 4 4
2008–09 Belfast Giants EIHL 54 29 41 70 12 2 1 1 2 0
2009–10 Belfast Giants EIHL 56 34 63 97 65 4 1 4 5 0
2010–11 Belfast Giants EIHL 54 18 48 66 34 3 0 1 1 0
2011–12 Pingouins de Morzine–Avoriaz FRA 26 6 9 15 10 5 1 3 4 4
2012–13 Sheffield Steelers EIHL 22 8 14 22 26
2012–13 Belfast Giants EIHL 20 6 15 21 6 4 2 2 4 0
2013–14 Belfast Giants EIHL 52 15 35 50 6 4 3 2 5 0
2014–15 Belfast Giants EIHL 51 13 26 39 14 4 1 4 5 0
2015–16 Belfast Giants EIHL 41 13 11 24 8 2 1 0 1 0
2016–17 Belfast Giants EIHL 52 26 23 49 23 3 0 2 2 0
2017–18 Belfast Giants EIHL 51 27 28 55 4 2 1 2 3 0
2018–19 Belfast Giants EIHL 32 5 7 12 6 4 1 1 2 0
ECHL totals 119 25 53 78 48
EIHL totals 559 234 369 603 244 42 13 27 40 10

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1997 Great Britain WJC C 4 1 0 1 8
1998 Great Britain WJC C
2000 Great Britain WJC C 4 4 5 9 4
2001 Great Britain WC D1 5 6 2 8 4
2002 Great Britain WC D1 5 2 3 5 4
2003 Great Britain WC D1 5 4 0 4 2
2004 Great Britain WC D1 5 0 2 2 6
2005 Great Britain WC D1 4 2 2 4 6
2006 Great Britain WC D1 5 4 0 4 10
2009 Great Britain OGQ 3 1 1 2 0
2009 Great Britain WC D1 5 2 4 6 14
2010 Great Britain WC D1 5 0 1 1 2
2011 Great Britain WC D1 3 1 2 3 0
2012 Great Britain WC D1A 5 3 5 8 0
2013 Great Britain OGQ 6 1 5 6 6
2013 Great Britain WC D1A 5 1 0 1 2
2014 Great Britain WC D1B 5 5 1 6 0
2015 Great Britain WC D1B 5 0 2 2 0
2016 Great Britain OGQ 3 2 3 5 0
2016 Great Britain WC D1B 5 3 1 4 4
2017 Great Britain WC D1B 5 4 4 8 2
2018 Great Britain WC D1A 5 1 2 3 0
2019 Great Britain WC 6 0 0 0 4
Junior totals 8 5 5 10 12
Senior totals 95 42 40 82 66

Awards and honours

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Award Year
All-Hockey East Rookie Team 2001–02
All-Hockey East Second Team 2003–04
AHCA East Second-Team All-American 2003–04
Hockey East All-Tournament Team 2004 [5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "A Message From Colin Shields..." Belfast Giants. 26 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
  2. ^ @sheds19 (16 November 2021). "Very honoured to be inducted into the @IceHockeyUK Hockey Hall of Fame. Many thanks to Jim Graves and everyone from…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  3. ^ "Elite League Fixture Announcement". Premier Sports. 16 September 2022.
  4. ^ "No. 64082". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2023. p. B24.
  5. ^ "2013-14 Hockey East Media Guide". Hockey East. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
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