Sheldon Souray

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sheldon Souray
Souray with the Edmonton Oilers
Born (1976-07-13) July 13, 1976 (age 47)
Elk Point, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 237 lb (108 kg; 16 st 13 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
Montreal Canadiens
Edmonton Oilers
Hershey Bears
Dallas Stars
Anaheim Ducks
National team  Canada
NHL draft 71st overall, 1994
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1995–2013

Sheldon Souray (born July 13, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and Anaheim Ducks. He was best known for his heavy slapshot, once setting a previous unofficial NHL record for the hardest recorded shot at the Oilers' 2009 Skills Competition.[1]

Playing career

New Jersey Devils (1997–2000)

Before playing in the NHL, Sheldon was a member of the

1994 NHL Entry Draft in the third round, 71st overall, by the New Jersey Devils. Souray reported to his second Devils training camp overweight and out-of-shape, prompting general manager Lou Lamoriello called him embarrassing, and that he would never play for the team if it happened again. Souray credits Lamoriello for calling him out, and says it was exactly what he needed to succeed at such a high level.[2] He made his NHL debut in the 1997–98 season. He finished his rookie season with modest scoring totals of three goals and ten points in 60 games, but most importantly established that he was capable of being an NHL regular. He scored his first NHL goal on a powerful slapshot late in a December 16, 1997, game against the rival New York Rangers to break a 3–3 tie late in the third period and send the Devils to a 4–3 win.[3] Souray played in New Jersey from 1997 to midway through the 1999–2000 season, earning a reputation as a big, steady, physical defender with a mean streak and a hard shot. However, with the Devils preparing to make their Stanley Cup run late in the 1999–2000 season and believing they needed more offence from the blue line, Souray was traded to the Montreal Canadiens on March 1, 2000, in exchange for Vladimir Malakhov
.

Montreal Canadiens (2000–2007)

Souray's uniform on display at the Canadian Museum of History.

Souray's offence began to improve following his trade to the Canadiens. At the time of his trade from the Devils, he had just eight points, all assists. He finished with three goals in 19 games as a Canadien to tie his career best for goals in a season, and establish a new career best for points (11) in 71 combined games. More importantly, he began using his dangerous shot more often once he arrived in Montreal. In 2000–01, injuries limited him to just 52 games, 19 less than the previous year, but Souray still managed to match his previous season's career bests in goals (3), assists (8) and points. He got off to a good start in 2001–02, threatening to surpass his previous offensive highs, as he tallied three goals and five assists in just 34 games while fighting through an injury-plagued campaign. 2001–02 also saw him record his first career power play goal, as the Canadiens began to realize the value of having a player on the point who could consistently shoot the puck as hard as Souray. However, he suffered a wrist injury that plagued him throughout the year, and though he would play through it much of the season, Souray would eventually shut it down at the end of the season.

The severity of the wrist injury kept him out the entire

2005 IIHF World Championships
. Due to the lockout, this tournament featured a much higher percentage than usual of NHL players, of which Souray was one.

Souray returned from the lockout to post a successful

NHL All-Star Game that season, this time as a starter, and posted the second-hardest slapshot at the Skills Competition with a 100.0 mph shot, finishing as runner-up to event winner Zdeno Chára (100.4 mph). It was a banner year for Souray, as he led all NHL defencemen in goals and finished third in points, behind only Scott Niedermayer and Sergei Gonchar
. Entering into the 2007 off-season, it was clear that Souray would be one of the top available defencemen as an unrestricted free agent.

Edmonton Oilers (2007–2011)

In the off-season, Souray became an unrestricted free agent and, on July 12, 2007, he signed a five-year, $27 million contract with the

2012 All-Star Game beat Souray's blast and set the official record.[5] Souray also earned a humorous nickname during his strong 2008–09 season, when during the third period of a 5–2 victory over the Dallas Stars
on December 3, 2008, the Stars' broadcast team referred to Souray as the "Studly Wonderbomb" as a recognition of his slapshot's prowess.

In

NHL trade deadline, the Oilers once again placed Souray on waivers in a second attempt to unload his salary. However, NHL teams still had the same concerns about Souray's high salary and injury risk, so he cleared waivers a second time and remained under contract to Edmonton as relations between Souray and the Edmonton camp remained testy at best.[9]
Finally, in the summer of 2011, Edmonton bought-out the fifth and final year of Souray's contract. This allowed Souray to become a free agent and again pursue playing at the NHL level with another team.

Dallas Stars (2011–2012)

After becoming a free agent, Souray was signed by the Dallas Stars on July 1, 2011, to a one-year contract.[10] Having recovered from his injuries, Souray made a successful comeback with the Stars, taking on more of a defensive role than in the recent past, particularly at even strength. However, he continued to still see plenty of ice time on the power play, where his slapshot could wreak havoc for opposing goaltenders, and was encouraged to use his shot as before. The Stars, meanwhile, while recognizing Souray's physical style, also openly declared that in order to preserve his health, they did not want him fighting very often, although they did not go so far as to dictate directly for him to never do so.[11] On November 4, 2011, Souray reached a milestone when he scored the 100th NHL goal of his career in a 7–6 win over the Colorado Avalanche.[12] Fittingly, it was a power play goal scored with a slapshot. Souray earned the respect of fans, teammates and local media in Dallas very quickly for his physical style of play and booming shot, and restored some of the goodwill that had been lost due to his spat with the Oilers.[13] Most importantly, Souray was regularly healthy again. Despite missing a handful of games after sustaining an ankle injury blocking a shot in a December 23, 2011, win over the Nashville Predators, he had returned to the Dallas lineup by early January and was again a contributing member of their blueline corps. He finished the 2011–12 season with six goals, 15 assists and 21 points in 64 games.

Anaheim Ducks (2012–2013)

On July 1, 2012, Souray signed a three-year, $11 million contract with the

2005–06 that he was part of the Stanley Cup playoffs.[16] His final point of the regular season, an assist in a 3–2 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 17, 2013, was also a personal milestone for Souray, his 300th career NHL point. By January 2014, Souray was placed on the injured reserve list with a shoulder/wrist injury. He appeared on their roster until he announced his retirement on June 30, 2015 after two years of being an unrestricted free agent.[17]

Awards

Records

  • NHL record for most single-season power-play goals by a defenceman, 19, in 2006–07 (surpassed Denis Potvin and Adrian Aucoin — 18);
  • Edmonton Oilers team record for fastest two goals ever scored in a regular season game: span of seven seconds (shared with Aleš Hemský);
  • Montreal Canadiens team record for most points by a defenceman in one game, with six (one goal and five assists).

Personal life

Souray was born in

Métis heritage.[18]

Souray was married to former Baywatch actress Angelica Bridges from 2002 to 2007. They have two daughters.

In August 2020, Souray got engaged to Tess Annique. They got married September 12, 2021 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.[19] Annique and Souray currently reside in Las Vegas.[20]

Souray is co-owner, along with former NHL goaltender Martin Brodeur and Montreal restaurateur Andrea Dell'Orefice, of a Rivière-des-Prairies pizzeria.[21]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

   
Regular season
   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1992–93 Fort Saskatchewan Traders AJHL 35 0 3 3 116 — — — — —
1992–93 Tri-City Americans WHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1993–94 Tri-City Americans WHL 42 3 6 9 122 — — — — —
1994–95 Tri-City Americans WHL 40 2 24 26 140 — — — — —
1994–95 Prince George Cougars WHL 11 2 3 5 23 — — — — —
1994–95 Albany River Rats AHL 7 0 2 2 8 — — — — —
1995–96 Prince George Cougars WHL 32 9 18 27 91 — — — — —
1995–96 Kelowna Rockets WHL 27 7 20 27 94 6 0 5 5 2
1995–96 Albany River Rats AHL 6 0 2 2 12 4 0 1 1 4
1996–97 Albany River Rats AHL 70 2 11 13 160 16 2 3 5 47
1997–98 Albany River Rats AHL 6 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
1997–98 New Jersey Devils
NHL
 60 3 7 10 85 3 0 1 1 2
1998–99 New Jersey Devils NHL 70 1 7 8 110 2 0 1 1 0
1999–2000 New Jersey Devils NHL 52 0 8 8 70 — — — — —
1999–2000 Montreal Canadiens NHL 19 3 0 3 44 — — — — —
2000–01 Montreal Canadiens NHL 52 3 8 11 95 — — — — —
2001–02 Montreal Canadiens NHL 34 3 5 8 62 12 0 1 1 16
2003–04 Montreal Canadiens NHL 63 15 20 35 104 11 0 2 2 39
2004–05
Färjestads BK
 SEL 39 9 8 17 117 15 1 6 7 77
2005–06 Montreal Canadiens NHL 75 12 27 39 116 6 3 2 5 8
2006–07 Montreal Canadiens NHL 81 26 38 64 135 — — — — —
2007–08 Edmonton Oilers NHL 26 3 7 10 36 — — — — —
2008–09 Edmonton Oilers NHL 81 23 30 53 98 — — — — —
2009–10 Edmonton Oilers NHL 37 4 9 13 65 — — — — —
2010–11 Hershey Bears AHL 40 4 15 19 85 6 1 1 2 16
2011–12 Dallas Stars NHL 64 6 15 21 73 — — — — —
2012–13 Anaheim Ducks NHL 44 7 10 17 52 6 0 1 1 4
NHL totals 758 109 191 300 1145 40 3 8 11 69

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2005
 Canada WC 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 9 1 1 2 6
Senior totals 9 1 1 2 6

References

  1. ^ a b "Surprise winner in skills test". Faceoff. 2009-01-05. Retrieved 2009-04-13.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Souray, Sheldon (July 10, 2015). "The Wannabe". The Players' Tribune. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
  3. ^ "1997-98 Sheldon Souray's First NHL Goal". Sportschannel NY/FSNY/MSG. Archived from the original on 2017-04-07. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  4. ^ "Canadiens Shootout deke of the Year/Souray owns Raycroft". RDS. Archived from the original on 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  5. ^ Allen, Kevin (2009-01-25). "Chara's record shot caps NHL's Saturday All-Star festivities". Faceoff. Archived from the original on 2009-03-20. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  6. ^ Spector, Mark (2010-04-12). "Exclusive: Sheldon Souray asks to be traded". Sportsnet.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-01-15. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  7. ^ "Quinn on Souray Request:'Get the hell out'". Sportsnet.ca. 2010-04-13. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  8. ^ "Souray skating, hopes to be able to practice with team soon". Edmonton Journal. 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2009-11-12.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "Veteran defenceman Souray clears waivers; future uncertain". The Sports Network. 2011-02-21. Archived from the original on 2011-02-24. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
  10. ^ "NHL sortable UFA tracker". The Sports Network. 2011-07-01. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2011-07-01.
  11. Montreal Gazette. 2011-11-23. Retrieved 2012-01-31.[permanent dead link
    ]
  12. Yahoo. 2011-11-05. Archived
    from the original on 2011-11-08. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  13. ^ Greg Wyshynski (2011-10-20). "After emancipation from Oilers, Sheldon Souray stars in Dallas". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
  14. ^ "Ducks sign Sheldon Souray to three-year deal". sacbee.com. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-01.[permanent dead link]
  15. ^ "Anaheim Ducks sign free agent defenseman Sheldon Souray". ESPN. 2012-07-01. Archived from the original on 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  16. ^ "Playoffs latest stop on Souray's path back to NHL". Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  17. ^ "Sheldon Souray player profile". The Hockey News. 2015-06-07. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-06-07.
  18. ^ Pattfield (October 2, 2006). "The Sheldon Souray File". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  19. ^ "Exclusive: Model Tess Annique and NHL All-Star Sheldon Souray's Simply Chic, Star-Studded Wedding in Idaho". Brides.
  20. ^ "The Inner Circle with Carrie Doll: Wellness, Sobriety and Understanding Who You Are with Tess Annique on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts.
  21. ^ "Sheldon Souray: Devils Enlist Brodeur as Recruiter". Yahoo. Retrieved 2007-07-09.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sheldon_Souray&oldid=1220187735"