Shanahan the Wrecking Ball Review

Hello everyone, Shanahan has long been my favorite card in this game and after using him for 100+ games I thought I'd give a review.

Line: Shanahan - Richards - Mov McDavid

Synergies Active that apply to Shanahan: WW, OJ, 1T, CG, B, TW

Stats: His stats along with just about everyone on my team were reset for me but prior to the reset he was around 80gp with about 75-76 points 35GP - 18G - 17A - 35P

Skating: 9/10 Played about 90 games before activating TW but with TW active I would rate this 9.5/10. With base ratings of 91/91/91/94 for Acceleration/Agility/Endurance/Speed and 94/96/93/97 with TW and CG he's a little slow to get up to speed but once he does he can beat out a lot of defenders. He's not a zippy type player and is more about using his body size and strength (which I will cover later in the Checking section) in addition to his speed to be a very effective forward. He will sprint but don't expect Bure or Sullivan-like quickness due to his size.

Shooting: 10/10 This guy puts the biscuit in the basket. Whenever he's open, get the puck to him and he will put it home. One-timer, wrister, or clapper it doesn't matter he'll get it in the net. He has base stats 94/94/95/95 for SSA/SSP/WSA/WSP and with WW, 1T, OJ, and B he has 99/99/98/98 which is absolutely represented with his ability to shoot the puck through the tiniest shooting lanes/gaps between the goalie. His shot is my favorite right handed shot in the game, and I've scored 2 hat tricks in my last 4 games with him. Seriously, he wins games single-handedly.

Hands: 9.5/10 Here's the thing with Shanahan: he's not your patty kane spin-o-rama barrel roll around players type of guy. He has 90/95/92/96 base stats for Deking/Hand-eye/Passing/Puck Control so he's not going to pull off silky dekes. Shanahan's real shine is that he's an absolute puck hog, it's pretty tough to get the puck out of his mits. He's more of a carry the puck and snipe type player, again I'll cover this in the Checking section of this review. Shanny can pass the puck pretty well and can find the open man more often than not in a playmaker role.

Checking: 10/10 LOL Shanahan absolutely crushes other players. Seriously, if your opponent has the puck give 'em the Shanny Smash, grab that puck and snipe it top cheese. Shanahan is excellent at forechecking, he's 6'3'' and 220lbs, and his stats are 95/95/95/96 for Balance/Aggression/Body Checking/Strength respectively. You have to use Shanahn's size and ability to not lose the puck to make plays with him. He will demolish anyone with the puck if you can line up a nice check and you'll be able to get a perfect breakaway. I will warn you, he only is rated 80 for discipline and he takes a good bit of high-elbowing, cross checking, and occasionally tripping penalties if you aren't careful. He has 25 penalty minutes for me in 35 games.

Defense: 9/10 Shanahan is pretty good at defense. He's rated 94/93/94 for Def. Awareness/Shot Blocking/Stick Checking and is really good at positioning himself between the net and the attacking forward. Again, his low discipline can get you some high sticking calls when trying to stick lift but his poke check is pretty solid.

Overall Shanahan is an outstanding card. He is my favorite player to use at LW in the game and he has sniped about 10-15 hat tricks in the 100 games I've used him. PICK THIS CARD UP, you will not be disappointed. He is a power forward in the truest sense, use his body effectively, find some open ice and rip it towards the net. I know some users on here suggest him at D, I personally have never tried this but I can see how it might open up some space for him to pick corners more often. On PS4 I usually see him around the 220k range and for his play this is a steal.

I hope this review is helpful, I have a lot more players on my team I would like to review and I will have them coming soon, with Steve Sullivan coming next.