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| Gregg Sheppard | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1949-04-23)April 23, 1949 (age 76) North Battleford,Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) | ||
| Weight | 160 lb (73 kg; 11 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| Playing career | 1972–1982 | ||
Gregory Wayne Sheppard (born April 23, 1949) is a Canadian former professionalice hockey forward[1] who most notably played for theBoston Bruins of theNational Hockey League. He played in threeStanley Cup Finals with the Bruins (1974, 1977, 1978).
Sheppard was born inNorth Battleford,Saskatchewan. Playing in the waning days of the period where teenagers were signed to junior league contracts by NHL teams, Sheppard played his junior hockey for theEstevan Bruins of theWestern Hockey League, competing for theMemorial Cup in two seasons and being the star of his team's Memorial Cup drive in 1968. In1969 Sheppard began a three-year pro apprenticeship with theOklahoma City Blazers of theCentral Hockey League, becoming a Second Team All-Star in 1971. The following season, he was named the league's most valuable player and remains the all-time leading career scorer of the franchise.
Joining the defendingStanley Cup champion Bruins in1972 as a result of the parent club losing players to expansion and the newWorld Hockey Association, Sheppard – showing both scoring prowess and exemplary defensive and penalty killing skills – had a fine rookie season, finishing sixth in balloting for rookie of the year honors. The following season Sheppard made his true mark in the playoffs, scoring eleven goals in sixteen playoff games as the Bruins went to the Cup finals.
He was a mainstay in Boston for six seasons in all, scoring thirty or more goals three straight years—and only a serious injury costing him much of the1978 season cost him a fourth—as well as proving himself as one of the league's premier faceoff men and penalty killers. He was named to play in the All-Star Game in 1976, during which he won the Bruins' Seventh Player Award as the team's unsung hero and the Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy for the player judged best in home games. His best statistical season was1975, in which he scored 78 points and finished with a plus/minus rating of +45.
Before the1978–79 season began, Sheppard was dealt to thePittsburgh Penguins in a three-way deal. At first holding out due to dissatisfaction at the deal, he eventually joined the team in late November 1978, although his days as a scorer were behind him. He played four seasons in all for Pittsburgh before retiring in 1982.
Sheppard played in 657 NHL games in all over ten seasons, finishing with 205 goals and 293 assists for 498 points. A notably clean player for some rough teams, he finished with 243 penalty minutes.
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.[2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1965–66 | North Battleford North Stars | SAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Estevan Bruins | SJHL | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1965–66 | Estevan Bruins | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1966–67 | Estevan Bruins | CMJHL | 52 | 44 | 24 | 68 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 4 | ||
| 1967–68 | Estevan Bruins | WCJHL | 58 | 35 | 46 | 81 | 68 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 20 | 6 | ||
| 1967–68 | Estevan Bruins | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 18 | ||
| 1968–69 | Estevan Bruins | WCJHL | 54 | 42 | 42 | 84 | 33 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 0 | ||
| 1968–69 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 65 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | WHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 68 | 25 | 50 | 75 | 45 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 5 | ||
| 1971–72 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 72 | 41 | 52 | 93 | 43 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 | ||
| 1972–73 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 64 | 24 | 26 | 50 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1972–73 | Boston Braves | AHL | 8 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 75 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 21 | 16 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 4 | ||
| 1974–75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 76 | 30 | 48 | 78 | 19 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 1975–76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 31 | 43 | 74 | 28 | 12 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 6 | ||
| 1976–77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 77 | 31 | 36 | 67 | 20 | 14 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 8 | ||
| 1977–78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 54 | 23 | 36 | 59 | 24 | 15 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 6 | ||
| 1978–79 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 60 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1980–81 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 47 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 49 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 58 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| CHL totals | 209 | 92 | 131 | 223 | 107 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 9 | ||||
| NHL totals | 657 | 205 | 293 | 498 | 243 | 82 | 32 | 40 | 72 | 31 | ||||
| Preceded by | CHL Most Valuable Player Award 1971–72 | Succeeded by |