CANADIANS ABROAD: How a new role is fuelling Jacob Shaffelburg's hot start to 2024
It’s been a good start to 2024 for Jacob Shaffelburg, and he kept that up last weekend, picking up another assist for Nashville despite a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Union.
With that, he’s already up to three goals and four assists for Nashville in all competitions, averaging a goal contribution every 84 minutes he plays.
Therefore, while it’s still early in the campaign, it feels like he’s on pace to best his 2023 numbers, which saw him finish with four goals and seven assists across all competitions.
And it’s not that wild to suggest that. As seen in his performances, his confidence is at an all-time high.
His most recent Nashville showings have shown that, having nabbed assists in back-to-back games, and that’s even extended outside the Nashville environment, as he scored a pretty crucial goal for the CanMNT against Trinidad & Tobago last month to help cement their spot at this year’s Copa América.
GOAL 🇨🇦🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) March 23, 2024
JACOB SHAFFELBURG, THE PRIDE OF NOVA SCOTIA, MAKES IT 2-0 FOR THE #CANMNT AND WE ARE (pretty much) GOING TO THE 2024 COPA AMERICA 😎 pic.twitter.com/4jOY0ecYdD
Along with his style of play, which sees him employ a high-speed game, playing with a smile on his face and having his trademark mullet flash in the wind behind him, it’s been a stretch that has caught the eyes of many, and for good reason.
Seeing that form, however, it leads to an important question - what is fuelling that run? Have there been any interesting changes in Shaffelburg’s game that have led to this run, or is this just a case of him catching fire and riding a hot streak?
When peeling back the hood and looking deeper at his numbers, some interesting things pop up.
To begin, there are Shaffelburg’s goal-scoring numbers, which are certainly the beneficiary of a hot start - despite generating just 0.56 shots and 0.02 xG per 90 minutes, Shaffelburg is scoring 0.28 goals per 90 minutes, after generating 0.18 goals per 90 on an average of 1.51 shots and 0.23 xG per 90 in 2023.
That can be easily explained, to be fair - all three of his goals came from outside of the box, hence the low xG, although it’s interesting to see that he’s shooting far less. To be fair, there’s a stylistic reason for that - with the arrival of striker Sam Surridge last summer, Shaffelburg is playing a lot more as a true wide player after spending a lot of time centrally in 2023. 
And speaking of that change, it led to a big improvement in another area of Shaffelburg’s game - his chance generation. There, he’s taken a big step forward, averaging 0.56 assists on 0.31 xA and 1.12 key passes per 90 in 2024, compared to the 0.18 assists he generated on 0.22 xA and 1.14 key passes per game in 2023.
Yes, you read that correctly - despite generating fewer key passes per game, they’ve been of higher quality as seen in the xA, leading to far more assists.
Yet, that can be explained by two other statistical changes - he’s now dribbling far more, averaging 6.88 dribble attempts per 90 compared to 4.29 in 2023, and is now attempting 5.34 passes into the box per 90 compared to 3.79 in 2023. That shows that while he’s not changed his volume of key passes, they’re of the more dangerous variety, thanks to his ability to drive the ball into the box with his dribbling and crossing.
The goals he’s assisted back that up - he’s doing an excellent job of providing dangerous service into the box, finding his teammates in good scoring positions with his delivery.
It came in a losing effort, but nice to see Jacob Shaffelburg’s strong offensive form continue for Nashville, as he potted a beauty of an assist off a cross vs Philadelphia
— Alexandre Gangué-Ruzic (@AlexGangueRuzic) April 7, 2024
He’s now got 3G/4A in all comps for Nashville in 2024#CanMNTpic.twitter.com/MgUBP7tjLq
That’s encouraging, as this looks to be something he can sustain even if his actual assists numbers drop, provided that he continues to dribble and cross into the box more, keeping that xA at a high number.
Where it will be interesting to keep an eye on things is with his goal-scoring numbers. With a lot of Nashville’s offence running through former MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar and Surridge, Shaffelburg’s priority will likely be to keep generating chances for them, but there’s no reason why he can’t start chipping in with some goals alongside them.
Because of that, keep an eye on the shot numbers as the season continues. Playing as a true left winger right now, Shaffelburg’s been hugging the touchline a lot more, but as seen in the past with some of the goals he’s scored, he can do damage when he cuts inside and fires at goal, something that Inter Miami learned the hard way earlier this year.
JACOB SHAFFELBURG BANGER! 💥@jacobshaff2 bags a brace and @NashvilleSC leads 2-0. #ConcaChampions pic.twitter.com/VJNL2BCNez
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 8, 2024
If he can do that with more regularity, while sticking to what’s been working with him on the chance creation side, there’s no reason why Shaffelburg can’t push to be someone who flirts with a 10-goal, 10-assist season by the end of 2024.
And that’s something that the CanMNT will be monitoring. Given what Shaffelburg has shown in his short stints with Canada, in which he’s scored two goals in just 135 minutes of action across eight appearances, his profile brings something intriguing to the Canadian attack.
He might not be a starter for this Canadian team at the moment, as they’ve got a pretty stacked list of names to lean on, but Shaffelburg has shown to be lethal off the bench, and that’s never a bad thing to have, as sometimes players can struggle to adjust to a role like that.
Likely to be a key super sub for the CanMNT at this year’s Copa América, they’ll hope he can keep this Nashville form up for the next few months, allowing him to be a key mercenary off the bench in the big games that await them.
GOLAZO 🇨🇦 😭 🇨🇦
— OneSoccer (@onesoccer) July 10, 2023
NOVA SCOTIA, STAND UP FOR YOUR BOY ✨
IT'S JACOB SHAFFELBURG 😎#CANMNT 2-1 #USMNT
WHAT. A. GOAL. 💥 pic.twitter.com/P8OqvQe6oZ
Until then, however, look for him to continue and grow from his strong start to the season for Nashville, allowing “Tennessee Waterslide” fever to keep rising in the Music City.
