Shawn Thornton

For the fictional character, see Sean Thornton (The Quiet Man).
Not to be confused with the footballer Sean Thornton.
Shawn Thornton
Born (1977-07-23) July 23, 1977
Oshawa, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 217 lb (98 kg; 15 st 7 lb)
Position Winger
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Florida Panthers
Chicago Blackhawks
Anaheim Ducks
Boston Bruins
NHL Draft 190th overall, 1997
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1997–present

Shawn Thornton (born July 23, 1977) is a Canadian Ice hockey player, currently playing for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Thornton played minor hockey for his hometown Oshawa Minor Generals of the OMHA's Eastern AAA League. He was drafted in the 9th round (145th overall) by the Peterborough Petes in the 1995 OHL Priority Selection.

He then attempted to be drafted into the NHL in 1996, but no team would select him. He then attempted to be drafted again the following year and was drafted into the NHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1997, 190th overall. Being a very late pick, Thornton was never allowed to play for Toronto and was eagerly traded to the Anaheim Ducks during the 2001-02 season.

On July 1, 2007, he signed a three-year, 1.5 million dollar, deal with the Boston Bruins.[1] The Bruins used Thornton in a very limited roll as an enforcer and his career statistics reflect this, being that he was never able to acrue many points during an NHL season. With Thornton kept to a minimum amount of ice-time, the Bruins won their conference in 2009, and in 2011, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

At the end of the 2013-2014 season, a season during which Thornton was suspended for the Thornton-Orpik Incident, the Bruins organization informed Thornton that they would not be resigning him, ending his career in Boston.[2] He later managed to sign to a two-year contract with the Florida Panthers, who were the second to last place team in the NHL at the time.[3] During his first season with the Panthers, Thornton experienced his worst season in 10 years, accruing only 5 points during the entire NHL season.

Shawn Thornton - Brooks Orpik Incident

On December 7, 2013, Thornton assaulted Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik after Orpik's legal hit on Loui Eriksson. Thornton approached Orpik from behind, during a stoppage of play, and assaulted him, punching him in the head several times and knocking him unconscious. Thornton continued punching Orpik in the head after he fell to the ice while unconscious. The assault was so vicious that many writers compared it to one of the worst attacks in NHL history, the Todd Bertuzzi–Steve Moore incident. [4] Orpik sustained a severe concussion and missed several games due to injuries sustained by Thornton's illegal attack.[5] On December 14, 2013, Thornton was suspended for fifteen games. He tried to appeal this decision but the league upheld his full suspension and monetary fine.[6]

Personal life

On October 2, 2010, he and the Boston Bruins played an exhibition game against the Belfast Giants in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Thornton is a cousin of Bill Greer of the Toronto Rock (NLL), Zack Greer of the Saskatchewan Rush (NLL) and Denver Outlaws (MLL), and Chris Brunt of West Bromwich Albion (Premier League).[7][8]

Thornton is a part-owner of a restaurant in Pembroke, Massachusetts named Turner's Yard. One of Thornton's partners in the venture is retired Major League Baseball pitcher Tim Wakefield.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1994–95Oshawa KiwanisOMHA4381928113—————
1995–96Peterborough PetesOHL63410141922430325
1996–97Peterborough PetesOHL611910292041124620
1997–98St. John's Maple LeafsAHL59033225—————
1998–99St. John's Maple LeafsAHL788111935450009
1999–00St. John's Maple LeafsAHL6041216316—————
2000–01St. John's Maple LeafsAHL795121732031232
2001–02Norfolk AdmiralsAHL708142228140004
2002–03Norfolk AdmiralsAHL5011213213902228
2002–03Chicago BlackhawksNHL1311231—————
2003–04Norfolk AdmiralsAHL646111725981126
2003–04Chicago BlackhawksNHL810123—————
2004–05Norfolk AdmiralsAHL71591426360008
2005–06Norfolk AdmiralsAHL59102232192400035
2005–06Chicago BlackhawksNHL1000016—————
2006–07Portland PiratesAHL1544855—————
2006–07Anaheim DucksNHL48279881500019
2007–08Boston BruinsNHL584377470006
2008–09Boston BruinsNHL796511123101016
2009–10Boston BruinsNHL741910141120004
2010–11Boston BruinsNHL791010201221801124
2011–12Boston BruinsNHL81581315450000
2012–13Boston BruinsNHL45347602204418
2013–14Boston BruinsNHL6453874120114
2014–15Florida PanthersNHL4614550—————
NHL totals 605 39 54 93 956 101 1 6 7 81

References

  1. ↑ "Bruins sign Shawn Thornton". Boston Bruins. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-07-01.
  2. ↑ "Bruins announce Thornton not returning". National Hockey League. 2014-06-16. Retrieved 2014-06-16.
  3. ↑ "Florida Panthers active on day one of free agency". Florida Panthers. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.
  4. ↑ "Thornton Incident". "The Hockey Writers". 2013-12-08.
  5. ↑ "Thornton-Orpic attack". Boston.com. 2013-12-07. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  6. ↑ Klein, Jeff (2013-12-15). "Breaking the code of justice". New York Times. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  7. ↑ For Dawson, '09 Truly a Career Year
  8. ↑ http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=536946#&navid=nhl-search

External links

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