The aspect of Shaun’s game that has grown on me this year is his ability to keep his feet moving and create secondary effort chances. Shaun does have some aspects to tweak in his skating stride which would give him better explosivity out of his turns or fuller pushes through his blades but he makes up for it with quick adjustments, reaction timing, and that second effort. While under pressure as a puck carrier, I’ve seen him make well-timed slip passes through defenders feet, behind the back passes into the slot, and sharp cuts off the cycle to his forehand to shake defensive coverage. That well rounded approach is why he scores on the PP, the PK, and looks like he can be an adaptable linemate to lots of different stylistic players due to his IQ and effort.

The aspect of Shaun’s game that has grown on me this year is his ability to keep his feet moving and create secondary effort chances. Shaun does have some aspects to tweak in his skating stride which would give him better explosivity out of his turns or fuller pushes through his blades but he makes up for it with quick adjustments, reaction timing, and that second effort. While under pressure as a puck carrier, I’ve seen him make well-timed slip passes through defenders feet, behind the back passes into the slot, and sharp cuts off the cycle to his forehand to shake defensive coverage. That well rounded approach is why he scores on the PP, the PK, and looks like he can be an adaptable linemate to lots of different stylistic players due to his IQ and effort.

The well-rounded and smart attributes of Shaun’s game came out in spurts in the games I watched. Against Calgary, he showed off his net front abilities by redirecting a goal off a gorgeous set up play from the wing and he was active and able to cause a few disruptions and turnovers in the offensive zone. Shaun uses his reads and anticipation in his forechecking where he maybe lacks a touch of pacing compared to defenders like Kilfoil. In the BWC game, Shaun was able to find spots for turnovers and establish inside positioning when he was first to pucks down low. He protects the puck before passing lanes open up. He was able to bother smart defenders like Revel and be a pest on a forecheck and backcheck. His puck touches were smart in both whether they were drop passes, one-touch passes, or quick reaction pulls in high traffic before making lateral plays. He was also gearing to quietly drift into prime one-timer positions off puck. While Yale didn’t have the tournament they hoped for, I thought Shaun was really solid.