A.J. Shannon (born June 8, 1980) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

retired

lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...

player, who played for the Philadelphia Wings,

Edmonton Rush The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from 2006 NLL season to 2015. The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 sea ...

, and the Buffalo Bandits in the

National Lacrosse League The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a men's professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL currently has fifteen teams: ten in the United Stat ...

, and the

Boston Cannons The Cannons Lacrosse Club are a professional men's field lacrosse team in the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) . Formerly based in Boston, Massachusetts, they played in Major League Lacrosse (MLL) as the Boston Cannons from their inaugural 2001 sea ...

of the

Major League Lacrosse Major League Lacrosse (MLL) was a men's field lacrosse league in the United States. The league's inaugural season was in 2001. Teams played anywhere from ten to 16 games in a summertime regular season. This was followed by a four-team playoff f ...

College career

While attending the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

, Shannon led the Cavaliers to win the

2003 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship The 2003 NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament was the 33rd annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of men's college lacrosse among its Division I programs, held at the end of the 200 ...

Professional career

Shannon was drafted by the Buffalo Bandits in the first round (6th overall) in the 2003 NLL entry draft. Following the

2004 NLL season The 2004 National Lacrosse League season is the 18th season in the NLL that began on December 26, 2003, with the Arizona Sting hosting the Vancouver Ravens. That game was the Sting's first-ever game and the first event held in the new Glendale A ...

, he was named to the NLL All-Rookie team. He was acquired by the

prior to the

2007 NLL season The 2007 National Lacrosse League season, the 21st in the history of the NLL (including the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League and Major Indoor Lacrosse League years) began on December 30, 2006 and concluded with the championship game on May 12, 2007. ...

. In March of the

2008 NLL season The 2008 National Lacrosse League season, the 22nd in the history of the NLL, began on December 29, 2007, and concluded with the Buffalo Bandits winning the championship game over the Portland LumberJax on May 17, 2008. In an odd coincidence, all ...

, Shannon was traded to the Philadelphia Wings in a series a deals that involved four-teams and six players. Shannon hit his stride in 2008, putting up his best point total since his rookie season. Shannon started with Edmonton, and finished in Philadelphia, scoring 40 points (22G, 18A), while collecting a career high 55 loose balls, helping Philadelphia to secure their first playoff berth since 2001. Shannon's production would decline in 2009 with injuries, and eventually, finished his career in an injury-plagued 2010 season with Buffalo.

Canadian Box career

Shannon is a two-time winner of the Minto Cup, Canada's Junior A Lacrosse National Championship, as a member of the Whitby Warriors in 1997 and 1999.

Statistics

NLL

University of Virginia

References

1980 births Buffalo Bandits players Canadian lacrosse players Edmonton Rush players Lacrosse people from Ontario Living people Major League Lacrosse players Sportspeople from Whitby, Ontario Philadelphia Wings players Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse players {{canada-lacrosse-bio-stub