Grizzlies Shore Up Blueline with Return of Shearer

Defenseman James Shearer is back with the Utah Grizzlies, signing with the club for the upcoming 2024-25 season.

The Brandon, Manitoba native is returning to where his professional hockey career started, making his debut with Utah and scoring his first pro goal on March 18, 2022 at Idaho against the Steelheads.

In 13 regular season games in the 2021-22 season, Shearer scored 11 points (3-8-11). He also appeared in 7 games in the 2022 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Shearer was one of Utah’s most dependable defensemen in the 2022-23 season, scoring 23 points (6-17-23) in 54 games. In 80 career ECHL regular season games with the Grizzlies, Shearer has 9 goals and 25 assists.

Shearer spent last season with Coventry of the EIHL, totaling 13 points (2-11-13) in 39 games.

The 27-year-old Shearer was the captain of his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL in the 2017-18 season. He played with Brandon for three seasons from 2015-18 and was a member of the 2016 WHL championship Wheat Kings squad and played alongside former Grizzlies forwards Tim McGauley and Ty Lewis.

Related: Fairbrother Looks to Bring Physical Presence to Grizzlies Blueline

In college, Shearer played at the University of Calgary (USports) for three seasons, scoring 32 points (11-21-32) and had a combined +31 rating. He was named to Canada West’s All-Rookie Team in 2018-19.

Even though he still had a year of USports eligibility left, Shearer decided to turn pro, and hasn’t looked back. Now, the Grizzlies are counting on his strong work ethic and dependability to carry them to a successful 2024-25 campaign.

As of September 9, Grizzlies announced signings for the 2024-25 season include: Forwards Aaron Aragon, Craig Armstrong, Dylan Fitze, Cole Gallant, Jack Jacome, Luke Manning, Mick Messner, Max Neill, Blake Wells and defensemen Kabore Dunn, Gianni Fairbrother, Chase Hartje, Kyle Pow and James Shearer.