Shane Churla

Shane Churla (born June 24, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted in the sixth round, 110th overall, by the Hartford Whalers in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. He is currently the director of amateur scouting for the Florida Panthers.[1]

Shane Churla
Born (1965-06-24) June 24, 1965
Fernie, British Columbia, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Hartford Whalers
Calgary Flames
Minnesota North Stars
Dallas Stars
Los Angeles Kings
New York Rangers
NHL Draft 110th overall, 1985
Hartford Whalers
Playing career 1985–1997

Playing career

After playing two seasons in the Western Hockey League with the Medicine Hat Tigers, Churla made his professional debut with the AHL's Binghamton Whalers in the 1985–86 season. He made his NHL debut with Hartford in the 1986–87 season, appearing in 20 games. After dressing for two more games with Hartford in the 1987–88 season, he was traded to the Calgary Flames in a multi-player deal.

During the 1988–89 season, the Flames traded Churla to the Minnesota North Stars. He was one of the players selected from the North Stars by the San Jose Sharks in the 1991 NHL Dispersal Draft; however, he was traded back to the North Stars only days later for Kelly Kisio.

Churla remained with the Stars franchise as it moved south to become the Dallas Stars. In the 1995–96 season, Churla moved from Dallas to the Los Angeles Kings, and then again to the New York Rangers. He retired as a Ranger after the 1996–97 season.

In his NHL career, Churla appeared in 488 games. He scored 26 goals and added 45 assists. He also appeared in 78 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring five goals and tallying seven assists. Churla was considered a top enforcer in the NHL. He and Basil McRae were a formidable duo on the Minnesota North Stars at the end of the 1980s. He tallied 2,301 penalty minutes in his NHL career.

Churla is perhaps best remembered for receiving one of the most vicious elbows in NHL history during the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs, courtesy of Pavel Bure.[2] The elbow was dubbed by Don Cherry as "the mother of all elbows."[3] He was once described by Hartford Whalers General Manager Emile Francis as "having the guts of a slaughter house".

Churla is currently (2022) the highest average penalty minute per game played record holder by any nhl player who played more than 100 games. (Source: records.nhl.com)

Post-retirement

After retirement, Churla continued working in the hockey industry. In 2005, he became a scout for the Dallas Stars, identifying and evaluating draft-eligible players. In 2013, he moved to the Montreal Canadiens in a similar capacity [4] and eventually became the director of amateur scouting. After 7 years in Montreal, Churla left to join the Florida Panthers as their director of amateur scouting.[1]

Personal life

Churla is the cousin of former National Football League quarterback Mark Rypien.[5]

Churla's younger brother, Russ, also played in the WHL for one season, but has since retired.

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1983–84 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 48 3 7 10 115 14 1 5 6 41
1984–85 Medicine Hat Tigers WHL 70 14 20 34 370 9 1 0 1 55
1985–86 Binghamton Whalers AHL 52 4 10 14 306 3 0 0 0 22
1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 20 0 1 1 78 2 0 0 0 42
1986–87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 24 1 5 6 249 — — — — —
1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 2 0 0 0 14 — — — — —
1987–88 Binghamton Whalers AHL 25 5 8 13 168 — — — — —
1987–88 Calgary Flames NHL 29 1 5 6 132 7 0 1 1 17
1988–89 Calgary Flames NHL 5 0 0 0 25 — — — — —
1988–89 Salt Lake Golden Eagles IHL 32 3 13 16 278 — — — — —
1988–89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 13 1 0 1 54 — — — — —
1989–90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 52 2 3 5 292 7 0 0 0 44
1990–91 Minnesota North Stars NHL 40 2 2 4 286 22 2 1 3 90
1991–92 Minnesota North Stars NHL 57 4 1 5 278 — — — — —
1992–93 Minnesota North Stars NHL 73 5 16 21 286 — — — — —
1993–94 Dallas Stars NHL 69 6 7 13 333 9 1 3 4 35
1994–95 Dallas Stars NHL 27 1 3 4 186 5 0 0 0 20
1995–96 Dallas Stars NHL 34 3 4 7 168 — — — — —
1995–96 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 1 2 3 37 — — — — —
1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 10 0 0 0 26 11 2 2 4 14
1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 45 0 1 1 106 15 0 0 0 20
NHL totals 488 26 45 71 2,301 78 5 7 12 282

See also

References
  1. "Panthers name Shane Churla as club's new director of amateur scouting".
  2. Brough, Jason (November 8, 2012). "How long would Bure have been suspended for elbowing Churla if it happened in the 2012 playoffs?". nbcsports.com. Retrieved June 12, 2018.
  3. Mighton, Stephen (July 18, 2016). "Top 15 Biggest NHL Goons Of All Time". thesportster.com. Retrieved June 12, 2018. Shane Churla may be better remembered for the elbow he received from Pavel Bure, to which Don Cherry dubbed "the mother of all elbows".
  4. "Ex-Stars enforcer Churla joining Montreal as scout". The Jamestown Sun. 23 May 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
  5. Molnari, David (26 December 1993). "Everything Is Relative - Or So It Seems". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
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