Playing career

Thornton played minor hockey for his hometown Oshawa Minor Generals of the OMHA's Eastern AAA League. He was drafted in the 9th round (145th overall) by the Peterborough Petes in the 1995 OHL Priority Selection.

He was drafted into the NHL by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1997, 190th overall. Thornton never played for Toronto and was traded to the Anaheim Ducks during the 2001-02 season.

On July 1, 2007, he signed a three-year, 1.5 million dollar, deal with the Boston Bruins. The Bruins used Thornton in a very limited role as an enforcer, being that he was never able to accrue many points during an NHL season. With Thornton kept to a minimum amount of ice-time, the Bruins won their conference in 2009, and in 2011, the Bruins won the Stanley Cup.

At the end of the 2013-2014 season, a season during which Thornton was suspended for the Thornton-Orpik Incident, the Bruins organization informed Thornton that they would not be resigning him, ending his career in Boston. He later managed to sign to a two-year contract with the Florida Panthers, who were the second to last place team in the NHL at the time. During his first season with the Panthers, Thornton experienced his worst season in 10 years, accruing only 5 points during the entire NHL season.

Brooks Orpik Incident

On December 7, 2013, Brooks Orpik hit Boston Bruins forward Loui Eriksson, resulting in a concussion to the latter. Thornton took exception to the hit, and followed by slew-footing Orpik. After Orpik fell on his back due to the slew-foot, Thornton delivered a series of punches to Orpik, rendering him unconscious. Thornton was suspended for 15 games for the incident.

Personal life

On October 2, 2010, he and the Boston Bruins played an exhibition game against the Belfast Giants in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Thornton founded the Thornton Foundation in 2013 http://www.thorntonfoundation.org and is dedicated to helping find cures for diseases close to Shawn's heart, specifically, Parkinson's and cancer. The Foundation will work towards this mission by raising awareness, funding innovative research and helping to relieve the burden and improve the quality of life for patients and their families.

Thornton is a cousin of Bill Greer of the Toronto Rock (NLL), Zack Greer of the Saskatchewan Rush (NLL) and Denver Outlaws (MLL), and Chris Brunt of West Bromwich Albion (Premier League).

Thornton is a part-owner of a restaurant in Pembroke, Massachusetts named Turner's Yard. One of Thornton's partners in the venture is retired Major League Baseball pitcher Tim Wakefield.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994-95	Oshawa Kiwanis	OMHA		43	8	19	28	113		—	—	—	—	—
1995-96	Peterborough Petes	OHL		63	4	10	14	192		24	3	0	3	25
1996-97	Peterborough Petes	OHL		61	19	10	29	204		11	2	4	6	20
1997-98	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		59	0	3	3	225		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		78	8	11	19	354		5	0	0	0	9
1999-00	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		60	4	12	16	316		—	—	—	—	—
2000-01	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		79	5	12	17	320		3	1	2	3	2
2001-02	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		70	8	14	22	281		4	0	0	0	4
2002-03	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		50	11	2	13	213		9	0	2	2	28
2002-03	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		13	1	1	2	31		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		64	6	11	17	259		8	1	1	2	6
2003-04	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		8	1	0	1	23		—	—	—	—	—
2004-05	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		71	5	9	14	263		6	0	0	0	8
2005-06	Norfolk Admirals	AHL		59	10	22	32	192		4	0	0	0	35
2005-06	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		10	0	0	0	16		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	Portland Pirates	AHL		15	4	4	8	55		—	—	—	—	—
2006-07	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		48	2	7	9	88		15	0	0	0	19
2007-08	Boston Bruins	NHL		58	4	3	7	74		7	0	0	0	6
2008-09	Boston Bruins	NHL		79	6	5	11	123		10	1	0	1	6
2009-10	Boston Bruins	NHL		74	1	9	10	141		12	0	0	0	4
2010-11	Boston Bruins	NHL		79	10	10	20	122		18	0	1	1	24
2011-12	Boston Bruins	NHL		81	5	8	13	154		5	0	0	0	0
2012-13	Boston Bruins	NHL		45	3	4	7	60		22	0	4	4	18
2013-14	Boston Bruins	NHL		64	5	3	8	74		12	0	1	1	4
2014-15	Florida Panthers	NHL		46	1	4	5	50		—	—	—	—	—
2015-16	Florida Panthers	NHL		50	1	4	5	80		4	0	0	0	2
NHL totals				655	40	58	98	1036		105	1	6	7	83

[ Source: Wikipedia ]