St. John’s, NL — Defenseman Derek Sheppard has been returned to the Florida Everblades from the American Hockey League’s Charlotte Checkers, Everblades head coach Brad Ralph announced Friday.
Sheppard was called up to Charlotte on April 3 and played four regular season games and six postseason games for the Checkers in his second AHL stint of the season.
A six-foot, 215-pound defenseman, Sheppard scored his first career AHL goal in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Finals in a 4-1 win over the Hersey Bears. He finished the regular season with one assist and 24 penalty minutes in 10 games with the Checkers.
Sheppard, 24, was named to the ECHL’s All-Rookie Team and the All-ECHL Second Team following a standout first full season in the league. The Ajax, Ontario, native was tied for the league lead among rookie defensemen with 14 goals and was third among rookie defensemen with 40 points (14g-26a) in the regular season. His 40-point season was the highest scoring regular season by a rookie defenseman in Everblades franchise history.
Sheppard was added to the ‘Blades roster at the end of the 2017-18 campaign. He logged ice time in 10 games in the regular season and scored seven points (4g-3a), while he put up one assist in 17 playoff games in the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Before joining the Everblades, Sheppard played four seasons with York University (USports) from 2014-18. He scored at least 19 points in each season, including a career-high 32 points (12g-20a) as a junior in 2016-17, and finished with 100 points (33g-67a) in 111 career games with the Lions.
Florida is set to battle the Newfoundland Growlers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Friday at 5:30 p.m. ET. The Growlers lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1.
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