College

Shannon was raised in Darien, Connecticut, and he played youth hockey with the Darien Youth Hockey Association (DYHA).^{[citation needed]} He played in the 1996 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Connecticut Yankees minor ice hockey team.^[2]

After four years of high school hockey at The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, Shannon began college hockey with Boston College in 2001–02. In his freshman year, he received the team's Bernie Burke Award as top rookie after recording 25 points in 38 games. In his senior year, Boston captured the Hockey East championship (The Lamoriello Trophy) and Shannon was named to the Hockey East All-Conference First Team and the All-American East Second Team for the second consecutive season. Scoring 45 points, he earned team MVP honors with two other teammates.^[3] Internationally, Shannon represented the U.S. at the 2003 World Junior Championships in his sophomore year.^{[citation needed]}

Professional

Undrafted, Shannon was signed as a free agent by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on April 3, 2005. He played for their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Portland Pirates, in 2005–06 and immediately began an eight-game scoring streak to begin the season.^[4] Midway through the season, he participated in the 2006 AHL All-Star Classic for Planet USA and won the fastest skater competition.^[5] Finishing his AHL rookie campaign with 86 points in 71 games — ninth overall in league scoring and second among rookies to Patrick O'Sullivan — he was named to the All-Rookie Team.^[4] Shannon added 22 points in 19 playoff games as Portland was eliminated in the seventh game of the Calder Cup semi-finals.^{[citation needed]}

The following season, Shannon made his NHL debut, cracking the Ducks' 2006–07 roster. He scored his first NHL goal on October 22, 2006 in a shootout win against the Los Angeles Kings,^[6] finishing his NHL rookie season with 11 points in 53 games. He then dressed for 11 playoff games as part of the Ducks' 2007 Stanley Cup-winning squad.^[7]

That summer, Shannon was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on June 23, 2007, in exchange for Jason King and a conditional pick in 2009.^[8] He made the Canucks' roster out of training camp, but was sent down to the Manitoba Moose of the AHL after several games. Shannon was later called up and played 27 games total for the Canucks in 2007–08, recording 13 points. On July 23, 2008, it was announced that Shannon had re-signed with the Canucks.^[9]

A little more than a month later, on September 2, Shannon was traded to the Ottawa Senators for defenseman Lawrence Nycholat.^[10]

Shannon started the 2008–09 season in the minors with the Binghamton Senators. When Binghamton's coach, Cory Clouston, was elevated to the Ottawa job, he promoted Shannon to the Senators. He scored NHL career-highs in goals, assists and points in only 35 games and was re-signed immediately after the season to a one-year, one-way contract to stay with Ottawa for 2009–10.^[11]

On July 7, 2011, Shannon signed a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning as an unrestricted free agent. Shannon remained with the Lightning for the duration of the 2011–12 season, although failed to establish a regular role with the team, scoring 12 points in 45 games.^{[citation needed]}

On May 22, 2012, without the offer of a new contract with the Lightning before free agency, Shannon signed a three-year deal with Swiss NLA team, ZSC Lions.^[12] He won the Swiss championship with the Lions in 2014. In January 2015, he inked a new deal with the Lions, that will keep him in Zurich until the end of the 2016-17 season.^[13]

Regular season and playoffs

International