If you'd never heard of Ryan Shea prior to his signing with the Edmonton Oilers, you shouldn't feel too bad about yourself. In spite of being the same age as Connor McDavid, the left shot defenseman has only played a single full season in the National Hockey League. Taken in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL draft by the Chicago Blackhawks, Shea opted to go the college route with the NCAA's Northeastern University.
While the Huskies weren't necessarily a Tier 1 hockey school, the team did well during Shea's time there, capturing three straight "Bean Pot" tournaments. That's remarkable because the school had only won four previous tournaments since its inception in 1952. In his final college seasons, Shea was an Alternate Caption and then the team's Captain during his senior year (shortened by Covid). The pandemic also led to the cancellation of the 2020 Frozen Four, and possibly limited Shea's visibility to NHL scouts, as the Huskies had good odds to receive an invite.
Shea's unique NHL path
Shea signed with the Dallas Stars, though never played a game for the NHL club, instead spending all his time on the blueline of the Texas Stars, and then signing with the Penguins, where he did break through to the big leagues. In limited minutes, he kept his head above water in he first two seasons, but really broke out last year. He had 35 points and was plus 30. That's likely the reason he caught Oilers general manager Stan Bowman's eye.
With Darnell Nurse's departure, there's an opportunity for Shea to play a second pairing role for the Oilers. His resume doesn't necessarily scream that he's cut out for it, but he certainly has a shot. The Oilers paid the UFA premium when they signed Shea, and it's somewhat disheartening to see that they handed him a No Trade clause for the first two years of his deal. If it doesn't work out, they're stuck with him.
If Shea's first year as an Oiler is going to be called a success, he'll need to play sharp minutes on the penalty kill, and at minimum break even 5-on-5. He may be asked to play more than his career high 18:53 per game, because Nurse averaged over 20 minutes a night. Whether that leads to more offense, or more defensive mistakes is a question that we won't have the answer to until the 2026-27 is well under way.
Add us as a preferred source on Google