Final Grade: Kevin Shattenkirk

This report card is a joint effort by Beachie, Sandie, Paul, SlamDunktheFunk and DDC. Stats courtesy of hockey-reference.com and NHL.com

Final Grade: B+

Midseason Grade: A-

Position: D

Vitals: 5'11" / 193 / Age 22 / Shoot Right

Drafted by Colorado, 1^st round (14^th overall) of the 2007 Draft

Departed Avalanche on February 19^th with Chris Stewart and 2^nd round pick for Erik Johnson, Jay McClement and 1^st round pick

MHH Nicknames: Shatty, Ensign Kirk

Linemates:

• Ryan Wilson 16gp 1g 6a 7pt -4
• Matt Hunwick 9gp 1g 2a 3pt -4
• Scott Hannan 8gp 3g 4a 7pt +1
• Kyle Quincey 7gp 2g 7a 9pt Even
• John Michael Liles 2gp 0g 0a 0pt -4
• Jonas Holos 1gp 0g 0a 0pt +1
• Adam Foote 1gp 0g 0a 0pt -1

Avs with Shattenkirk in the lineup: 18-22-6 (.456 pt%), 2.8 GF 3.4 GA

Ice Time (with Avs):

• TTOI 19:50 (4^th)
• EV 16:27 (5^th)
• PK 0:17 (15^th)
• PP 3:05 (3^rd)

Career Highlights: Shattenkirk was named to the Young Guns squad at the 2011 NHL All-Star game

Report: Kevin Shattenkirk was full of surprises in 2011. First, he was a surprise late cut in training camp, losing out in a roster battle to Jonas Holos. Then, he surprised us by struggling offensively in Lake Erie, going scoreless in their first 10 games (his longest NHL scoreless streak is just 9 games). Then, when injuries to Adam Foote, Ryan Wilson and Kyle Cumiskey led to a call-up 12 games into the season, Shattenkirk surprised us by being unexpectedly composed and competent in his own end (something we hadn't seen in camp). Shattenkirk obviously has the offensive chops as the early 9-game scoring streak (longest rookie scoring streak of the year) and 43-point season will attest to. We didn't expect him to be so calm, cool and collected in his own end - whether it was dazzling us with his confident moves behind his blueline or by picking the pocket of the puck carrier. And, for a smallish guy, he wasn't afraid to use the body. Case in point: Defender A played 47 games and had 55 hits and 67 blocked shots while Defender B had 51 hits and 64 blocks in 46 games. Defender A is Adam Foote and Defender B is Shattenkirk. Surprise! Shattenkirk got some early Calder buzz from...well, pretty much just us. That effort fizzled, but he was named to the Young Guns thingamabob at the All-Star game (where, surprise, we learned he uses the same barber as T.J. Hensick). The biggest surprise, of course, is that Shattenkirk was dealt to the Blues - proof positive that not all surprises are good.

Fun Fact: Shattenkirk led all Avalanche blueliners in takeaways, with 33 in 46 games.

The Shattenkirk Drinking Game: Drink for every point Shattenkirk scores with the Blues. Drink twice when he assists on a goal by Chris Stewart Drunk potential: Sad drunk.

What We Said At Midseason: I think he would benefit from keeping his head up along the boards a bit more as he seems to be the beneficiary of too many avoidable hits, but once he has the puck nobody sees the ice better. And he needs to shoot more. Here's hoping he turns it back on and brings the Calder home this summer.

2010 Cap Hit: $1,300,000

2011 Status: In St Louis

Outlook for Next Season: Shattenkirk was going to be one of the Avs' building blocks for the future, but he'll be lending his services to the Blues for the foreseeable future. While we're big fans of Chris Stewart, we can't help but think that losing Shattenkirk is ultimately going to be the pain point of the Johnson deal.

Next Up: Matt Duchene