Ryan Shannon Making His Case To Stay in the NHL

There's no question that Senators forward Ryan Shannon has thrived under rookie-coach Cory Clouston.

In 26 games in the Nation's Capital this season, Shannon has registered six goals and 14 points on a team that has been struggling on offense. The new line of Shannon, Mike Fisher and Nick Foligno have formed a trio that brings speed and hard work to the table every shift.

However, there is one question—what does Shannon have to do to prove that he belongs in the National Hockey League?

The un-drafted native of Darien, CT, enjoyed four stellar years playing for Hockey East power Boston College of the NCAA. He was then signed to a contract by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2005 after picking up 150 points in 154 games with the Eagles.

Since breaking onto the pro scene in 2004-05 with a late-season stint with Cincinnati of the AHL Shannon has been able to keep up with the opposition in regards to his speed. In his first full season in the minors he tallied 86 points in 71 contests, putting him among the top of AHL scoring.

The following season he was granted a promotion as he was called up by the Anaheim Ducks. He 53 games with the Ducks and picked up 11 points while playing limited minutes on the fourth line. Shannon was also in the lineup for 11 playoff games and earned a Stanley Cup ring in the process.

Now that we've glanced at Shannon's past, here's what we know about the present: He's quick, he's smart, and he has been able to utilize his lack of size to his advantage. He goes undetected on the ice and has a knack to getting into position to score.

The scouting report on Shannon has been the lack of his defensive awareness. He is current a minus-five so far in his brief career and will need to play better on the other side of the puck to be successful in the NHL.

It's easy to see that he has played most of his NHL games on the fourth line, yet still has the ability to produce offensively. What catches the attention of a statistician is that in his last two seasons he has scored 11 goals on 76 shots. This proves that Shannon can score goals while playing ten minutes or less in a game.

Looking back to the shot-tracker, he is shooting at just under 15 per cent. If he were to take 200 shots in a season the math would show that he would score approximately 30 times.

There's no telling that this what will happen, but wouldn't it give a coach an incentive to give him a chance? Any player or coach will tell you that you can't teach offense. It is either a gift that you have or a skill you don't possess.

In Shannon's case he is gifted, and his defensive game is slowly improving. If Clouston can keep up his work with the Sens there is no reason that Shannon can't fully adapt to the NHL style and potentially be a top-six forward in the future.

Luckily for both sides there's nowhere else in the league that he would rather play. He's stated numerous times he wants to remain a Senator.

And in his own words, he is "cheap, cheap labour" in these tough economic times.