# Sheldon Souray
**Sheldon Souray** (born 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenseman who played 758 regular-season games in the NHL over 16 professional seasons for the [New Jersey Devils](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-jersey-devils), Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, and [Anaheim Ducks](https://www.edgepedia.org/anaheim-ducks), and was known for one of the hardest slap shots of his era.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) • [2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) A three-time NHL All-Star, he set the single-season record for power-play goals by a defenseman in 2006-07 and won the Hardest Shot event at the 2004 All-Star Skills Competition.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) • [3](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/442048-nhls-hardest-slapshot-5-defensive-gunners-that-give-goalies-grief)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1976, Elk Point, Alberta, Canada; of Métis heritage[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) |
| Size and shot | 6 ft 4 in, 231 lbs, shoots left; 102.2 mph at the 2004 All-Star game, an unofficial 106.7 mph at a 2009 Oilers skills competition[4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) • [2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) |
| Draft | New Jersey Devils, third round, 71st overall, 1994 NHL Entry Draft[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) |
| NHL totals | 758 games, 109 goals, 191 assists, 300 points, 1,145 penalty minutes[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) |
| Peak season | 2006-07 with Montreal: 26 goals, 38 assists, 64 points, all career highs[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) |
| Record | Single-season record for power-play goals by a defenseman, set April 5, 2007[3](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/442048-nhls-hardest-slapshot-5-defensive-gunners-that-give-goalies-grief) |
| All-Star | 2004, 2007 (as a starter), and 2009; won Hardest Shot in 2004[4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) |
## Early life and junior career
Souray was born in Elk Point, Alberta, and is of Métis heritage; some sources, including an NHL media guide, give his birthplace as nearby Fishing Lake, Alberta.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) • [4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) When the Devils drafted him in 1994, he became the franchise's first Métis player.[5](https://data2.archives.ca/e/e448/e011197631.pdf)
He developed in western Canadian hockey, playing for the Fort Saskatchewan Traders of the AJHL and then the Tri-City Americans, Prince George Cougars, and Kelowna Rockets of the [Western Hockey League](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-hockey-league), where he totaled 23 goals, 71 assists, and 470 penalty minutes in 154 regular-season games.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) He also appeared for the Albany River Rats, New Jersey's AHL affiliate, in 1995-96 and 1996-97.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray)
## NHL career
**New Jersey and Montreal.** Souray made his NHL debut on October 17, 1997 with the Devils, the team that drafted him.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) He played three full seasons in New Jersey before joining the Canadiens, where his role grew. On January 10, 2004, he recorded a six-point night (one goal, five assists) in an 8-0 win at Pittsburgh, a Canadiens club record for a defenseman that surpassed the previous five-point marks of Doug Harvey and Lyle Odelein.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) He missed the entire 2002-03 season with a hip injury.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) During the 2004-05 lockout he played for [Färjestad BK](https://www.edgepedia.org/farjestad-bk) in Sweden's Elitserien and represented Canada at the World Championship.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray)
**The 2006-07 breakout.** In his final Montreal season Souray set career highs with 26 goals, 38 assists, and 64 points in 81 games.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) On April 5, 2007, he broke the single-season record for power-play goals by a defenseman, surpassing the mark of 18 shared by Adrian Aucoin and Denis Potvin.[3](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/442048-nhls-hardest-slapshot-5-defensive-gunners-that-give-goalies-grief) The season also exposed a weakness: his minus-28 rating drew sustained criticism of his even-strength play, though analysts of the time judged him a positive special-teams force and a needed physical presence on the blue line.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) • [6](https://oilersnation.com/news/sheldon-souray-is-he-really-the-player-you-think-he-is)
**Edmonton.** Souray signed as a free agent with his home-province [Edmonton Oilers](https://www.edgepedia.org/edmonton-oilers) on July 12, 2007.[4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) Injuries limited him to 26 games in 2007-08, but in 2008-09 he scored 23 goals in 81 games, a total that made him one of only a few Oilers defensemen in 25 years to reach the 15-goal mark in a season.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) • [7](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_document/prd/hqgun5gigtri7cxnnb00.pdf) His Edmonton tenure ended badly. In 2010-11 the Oilers loaned him to the [Hershey Bears](https://www.edgepedia.org/hershey-bears) of the AHL, and in early 2011 they placed him on re-entry waivers, making themselves liable for half of the roughly $4.5 million remaining on his contract through 2011-12; Dallas claimed him.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray) • [8](https://www.ontheforecheck.com/sheldon-souray-nashville-predators/)
**Dallas and Anaheim.** Signed by Dallas on July 1, 2011, Souray played 64 games in 2011-12 with 6 goals, 15 assists, and a plus-11 rating, and a Dallas Morning News profile described the 6-foot-4, 237-pound defenseman as bringing a physical dimension to the Stars and credited his slap shot, clocked around 106 mph, as possibly the hardest in the league.[4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) • [9](https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/stars/2011/11/08/heika-souray-adds-new-dimension-to-stars-with-all-out-style-of-play/) He signed a three-year contract with Anaheim through 2014-15 on July 1, 2012.[4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) In 2012-13, his 14th NHL season, he scored 7-10-17 points with a career-best plus-19 in 44 games, co-led NHL defensemen in plus/minus, and collected his 300th career NHL point on April 17, 2013.[4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) A wrist injury cost him the entire 2013-14 season, and he did not play again, retiring after appearing on Anaheim's 2014-15 roster without a game.[1](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray)
## The slap shot
Souray's shot defined his career. He registered 102.2 mph on the radar gun at the 2004 NHL All-Star game and won the Hardest Shot event at that year's Skills Competition, and he recorded an unofficial 106.7 mph at the Edmonton Oilers' 2009 skills competition, a then-NHL high; Zdeno Chara's official 108.8 mph at the 2012 All-Star Weekend later surpassed it.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) • [4](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf) The shot made him a persistent power-play threat from the point and underpinned his power-play goal record.[3](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/442048-nhls-hardest-slapshot-5-defensive-gunners-that-give-goalies-grief) Across the 2000s decade he ranked among the NHL's top defensemen in production, with 89 goals and 233 points in 449 games in that span.[10](https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/seasons/2000s-nhl-defensemen-stats.html)
## Legacy and life after hockey
An Oilersnation retrospective ranked Souray 91st among all-time Edmonton Oilers and called him, at his peak, one of the league's best defensemen.[11](https://oilersnation.com/news/top-100-edmonton-oilers-no-91-sheldon-souray) After retiring he wrote a 2015 letter to The Players' Tribune describing his journey to the NHL and thanking the teammates, coaches, and idols who shaped it.[2](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/) In later podcast interviews, including a 2024 conversation on the Raw Knuckles Podcast with former NHL enforcer Chris Nilan, he has spoken publicly about life after hockey and sobriety.[12](https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9a4cf9be-b4e4-4501-b071-f59900afaf99/episodes/f25543ae-89b1-4369-8a26-d7266fb6f248/the-sick-podcast---raw-knuckles-with-chris-nilan-97-sheldon-souray-interview-the-raw-knuckles-podcast)
## References
1. [Sheldon Souray, Elite Prospects](https://www.eliteprospects.com/player/4505/sheldon-souray)
2. [Be A Player: Rewind | Sheldon Souray, NHLPA.com](https://www.nhlpa.com/news/be-a-player-rewind-sheldon-souray/)
3. [NHL's Hardest Slapshot: Five Defensive Gunners Who Give Goalies Grief, Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/442048-nhls-hardest-slapshot-5-defensive-gunners-that-give-goalies-grief)
4. [Sheldon Souray #44, Anaheim Ducks media guide biographical card, NHL.com](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/fl_attachment/prd/sj6eddxhnenddr9zwhlz.pdf)
5. [N.J. or NA: The New Jersey Devils' first Métis player Sheldon Souray, Library and Archives Canada](https://data2.archives.ca/e/e448/e011197631.pdf)
6. [Sheldon Souray: Is he really the player you think he is?, Oilersnation](https://oilersnation.com/news/sheldon-souray-is-he-really-the-player-you-think-he-is)
7. [Oilers defencemen 15-goal seasons note, NHL.com media document](https://media.d3.nhle.com/image/private/t_document/prd/hqgun5gigtri7cxnnb00.pdf)
8. [Sheldon Souray on re-entry waivers, On the Forecheck](https://www.ontheforecheck.com/sheldon-souray-nashville-predators/)
9. [Heika: Souray adds new dimension to Stars with all-out style of play, The Dallas Morning News](https://www.dallasnews.com/sports/stars/2011/11/08/heika-souray-adds-new-dimension-to-stars-with-all-out-style-of-play/)
10. [NHL Defensemen Stats in the 2000s, QuantHockey](https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/seasons/2000s-nhl-defensemen-stats.html)
11. [Top 100 Oilers: No. 91 — Sheldon Souray, Oilersnation](https://oilersnation.com/news/top-100-edmonton-oilers-no-91-sheldon-souray)
12. [#97: Sheldon Souray Interview, The Raw Knuckles Podcast](https://music.amazon.ca/podcasts/9a4cf9be-b4e4-4501-b071-f59900afaf99/episodes/f25543ae-89b1-4369-8a26-d7266fb6f248/the-sick-podcast---raw-knuckles-with-chris-nilan-97-sheldon-souray-interview-the-raw-knuckles-podcast)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Hockey and remaining team sports › Ice hockey players and personnel › Defensemen*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license