Shaun Heshka

Shaun Heshka (born July 30, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, who currently plays for Rauman Lukko of the Finnish Liiga.

Playing career Heshka played his junior years for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League (WHL). After completing his time with the Silvertips, Heshka was signed by the Vancouver Canucks 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 and the Victoria Salmon Kings. Following two productive seasons with the Moose in the American Hockey League, Heshka's rights were traded by the Canucks to the Phoenix Coyotes 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, 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 on November 7. On November 12, Heshka scored his first career NHL point, an assist on a Paul Bissonnette goal, in a 4-2 defeat to the Montreal Canadiens. 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 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 of the Finnish SM-liiga. 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 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 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 Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 2001–02 Tisdale Trojans AAA SMHL 41 7 23 30 44 — — — — — 2002–03 Melville Millionaires SJHL 53 6 14 20 53 — — — — — 2003–04 Everett Silvertips WHL 66 3 7 10 25 21 0 2 2 8 2004–05 Everett Silvertips WHL 72 12 26 38 21 11 2 0 2 6 2005–06 Everett Silvertips WHL 66 10 49 59 91 14 3 10 13 10 2006–07 Manitoba Moose AHL 57 2 4 6 14 7 0 0 0 8 2006–07 Victoria Salmon Kings ECHL 3 0 1 1 4 — — — — — 2007–08 Manitoba Moose AHL 77 9 21 30 59 6 0 1 1 4 2008–09 Manitoba Moose AHL 77 3 23 26 25 22 0 5 5 12 2009–10 San Antonio Rampage AHL 73 7 26 33 34 — — — — — 2009–10 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 8 0 2 2 4 — — — — — 2010–11 EC Red Bull Salzburg EBEL 50 6 18 24 32 18 3 7 10 14 2011–12 Binghamton Senators AHL 10 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 2011–12 Peoria Rivermen AHL 60 4 14 18 12 — — — — — 2012–13 Ässät SM-l 60 8 23 31 26 16 1 7 8 6 2013–14 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 54 8 22 30 34 6 1 2 3 2 2014–15 Ak Bars Kazan KHL 22 1 5 6 8 — — — — — 2014–15 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 35 2 11 13 14 — — — — — 2015–16 MODO Hockey SHL 50 1 9 10 14 — — — — — 2016–17 Kärpät Liiga 58 8 24 32 24 2 0 0 0 2 2017–18 Kärpät Liiga 52 10 18 28 57 18 4 5 9 8 2018–19 Kärpät Liiga 52 8 20 28 20 17 1 5 6 6 2019–20 Kärpät Liiga 51 5 24 29 10 — — — — — 2020–21 Kärpät Liiga 41 2 16 18 16 5 0 3 3 4 AHL totals 354 25 89 114 150 35 0 6 6 24 NHL totals 8 0 2 2 4 — — — — — Liiga totals 314 41 125 166 153 58 6 20 26 26

Awards and honours Award Year WHL West First All-Star Team 2006