Shaun Van Allen

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
team = Retired
played_for = Edmonton Oilers
Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Ottawa Senators
Dallas Stars
Montreal Canadiens
league = NHL
position = Centre
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 1
weight_lb = 210
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1967|8|29|mf=y
birth_place = Shaunavon, SK, CAN
draft = 105th overall
draft_year = 1987
draft_team = Edmonton Oilers
career_start = 1987
career_end = 2004

Shaun Van Allen (born August 29, 1967 in Shaunavon, Saskatchewan) is a retired professional hockey player who played in the NHL from 1991 to 2004.

Professional career

Van Allen was drafted 105th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Edmonton Oilers after a standout junior hockey career with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League. He spent five seasons in the Oilers system with the Milwaukee Admirals, Nova Scotia Oilers, and Cape Breton Oilers but failed to catch on with the big club in Edmonton who were extremely deep in talent at the time. While in Cape Breton, Van Allen enjoyed much personal and team success. It was there that he met his wife, and in 1991-92 he won the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as the American Hockey League's leading scorer. In the 1992-93 season, Cape Breton, led by Van Allen, captured the Calder Cup title as American Hockey League Champions.

Once the 1992-93 season had concluded, the abundance of talent in Edmonton led to his release by the Oilers, although he was not out of work for long. In July of 1993 Van Allen signed as a free agent with the expansion Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and quickly became an NHL regular until his retirement in 2005. He spent three seasons in Anaheim and became a versatile forward, able to contribute on the score sheet as well as kill penalties.

On October 1, 1996, Van Allen was acquired by the emerging powerhouse Ottawa Senators along with defenceman Jason York, and began perhaps his most successful period in the NHL. He spent four productive seasons in Ottawa before unrestricted free agency led him to the Dallas Stars, with whom he signed a two year contract with in July of 2000. He spent parts of two seasons in Dallas before he was acquired by the Montreal Canadiens in the early stages of the 2001-02 season. After completing the 2001-02 season with Montreal, Van Allen returned to his former team, the Ottawa Senators, as a free agent. He was a regular in the Ottawa lineup in a defensive role until the beginning of the 2004-05 season, when the 2004–05 NHL lockout wiped the season out entirely. Van Allen announced his retirement as an NHL player in 2005.

Other

Van Allen is currently the "Director of Player Evaluation" for the Ottawa Senators, where he is responsible for evaluating all players within the organization, including professional and minor league players, prospects, draft choices, college and junior players. He divides his time between Ottawa and Marion Bridge, Nova Scotia, where he resides during the off-season with his wife and children. He can also be heard on Team1200 radio broadcasts of Ottawa Senators games, to which he contributes commentary during pre and post-game shows. As of September 2008, Van Allen has appeared on Rogers TV broadcasts of Senators' games in Ottawa.

Though sometimes mistakenly listed as Calgary, Alberta Van Allen's birthplace was actually Shaunavon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

External links

*hockeydb|5886