The Coors Belfast Giants have late this evening announced the signing of Scottish forward Colin Shields. The 25 year old centre, originally from Glasgow, will arrive to train with the team ahead of this weekends clashes with the Coventry Blaze.
Shields was drafted in 2000 by the Philadelphia Flyers, #195 overall. He then spent 3 years at the University of Maine playing with their NCAA team, putting up very respectable numbers, 117 points in 120 games.
Last season saw Colin playing in the ECHL with the San Diego Gulls, Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies and Greenville Growl, ending up playing 62 games and grabbing 35 points. While he may have bounced around several teams in the East Coast league last season, for the past six years Shields has been a Team GB regular notching up 32 points from 28 games.
The timely arrival of Shields will hopefully cover for the loss of the in-form Curtis Huppe, Shields being the natural centre that the coach had been looking for. And it appears to have also given player/coach Ed Courtenay more time to delay taking up the coaching duties full time behind the bench, as he has for the time being, also postponed the decision as to whether he does decide to de-register or cut a player.
| P | TEAM | GP | W(OT) | L(OT) | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giants | 54 | 46(0) | 5(3) | 95 |
| 2 | Steelers | 54 | 41(0) | 11(2) | 84 |
| 3 | Panthers | 54 | 38(0) | 12(4) | 80 |
| 4 | Devils | 54 | 32(0) | 12(10) | 74 |
| 5 | Blaze | 54 | 32(0) | 20(2) | 66 |
| 6 | Clan | 54 | 31(0) | 19(4) | 66 |
| 7 | Stingrays | 54 | 16(0) | 34(4) | 36 |
| 8 | Stars | 54 | 13(0) | 35(6) | 32 |
| 9 | Capitals | 54 | 13(0) | 37(4) | 30 |
| 10 | Flyers | 54 | 8(0) | 40(6) | 22 |
| Points | Robert Dowd | 78 |
|---|---|---|
| Goals | Robert Dowd | 40 |
| Assists | Craig Peacock | 49 |
| PIM | Adam Keefe | 247 |