Shawn Heins
Shawn Joseph Heins ( born December 24, 1973 in Eganville, Ontario ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who was most recently at Fribourg- Gottéron in the Swiss National League A under contract. In the National Hockey League, he was active for the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers, as well as in the German Ice Hockey League for the polar bear Berlin and Hannover Scorpions.
Career
Heins played for two years from 1991 to 1993 in the Ontario Hockey League with the Peterborough Petes and Windsor Spitfires. Since he was drafted by the end of the season 1992/93 by any franchise in the National Hockey League, the defender made two more years with the Renfrew Timberwolves in the second Canadian Junior Division.
For the 1995/96 season Heins joined then finally turned professional and played for the Mobile Mysticks in the East Coast Hockey League, brought him before the San Jose Sharks at the end of the 1996 /97 contract signature. This initially put him in the International Hockey League with the Kansas City Blades, where he reached 50 points in his first full season. After he had spent large parts of the 1998/99 season with the Canadian national team, he came to his first five NHL inserts at the Sharks.
During the Millennium season, the Canadians won the place of the often cut from the squad, seventh defender, which he held until the game 2002 /03 in, although lengthy injury threw him back again and again. In February 2003, the Sharks gave him off in a transfer business to the Pittsburgh Penguins. There Heins finished the season, before joining as a free agent with the Atlanta Thrashers in the summer.
In the attempt to send him to the American Hockey League, as Heins could fight no place in the NHL strain squad in training camp, the New York Rangers selected from the defenders of the waiver list. The Thrashers were able to transfer rights to acquire him four days later by the Waiver Draft back and put him in the episode mainly for the Chicago Wolves in the AHL one.
After the 2003/ 04 season Heins left the North American continent to Europe and signed a contract with the Berlin Polar Bears of the DEL. At the end of the season 2004 /05 he won with the team the national title. Despite the biggest success of his career, he left the polar bears and spent a year with the league rivals Hannover Scorpions. From the 2006/07 season he played for Fribourg- Gottéron in the Swiss National League A, where he was between 2007 and 2010 Team Captain.
In April 2013 Heins received after an injury a new contract at Fribourg and initially returned to Florida to fully recover.
Heins held until 3 December 2006 record for the hardest slapshot ever at 106 mph ( 170.6 kmh ), before he was replaced by Chad Kilger.