Ever Wondered What Shaquille O'Neal Would Have Looked Like Playing Hockey? Thanks To TNT, We Now Have An Idea

Have you ever wondered how intimidating Shaquille O’Neal would have looked playing hockey? "The NHL on TNT" broadcast team gave us a pretty staggering visual on Saturday.

During an intermission break in the Carolina Hurricanes game against the New York Islanders, the crew was attempting to explain what a "net front presence" in hockey is. If you’re wondering, it’s just like it sounds: it’s a guy standing in front of the net looking to obstruct the goalie’s view, and redirect any outside shots that come his way.

Shaq! (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

To demonstrate the intricacies of this offensive role, the crew had legendary goalie Henrik Lundqvist stand between the pipes. Additionally, they had two former NHL forwards on hand, Paul Bissonnette and Anson Carter, who would have done an admirable job of doing the other half of the demonstration.

But the crew decided to make things far more interesting, and enlisted the help of O’Neal. The NBA Hall-of-Famer was in the same studio doing playoff coverage for the NBA, so it worked out beautifully.

They gave O’Neal a hockey stick and a new nickname. Bissonnette called him "Shaq Hyman," a reference to Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers.

As you can imagine, a 7’1" individual showed he would have been a highly effective net front presence (and the tallest player ever if he played). Even the great Lundqvist, who isn’t small by goaltending standards (he’s 6’1"), stood no chance of seeing anything past the behemoth that is O’Neal.

Three goalies have stood at 6’7", which is the tallest height for goalies in NHL history. So even if O’Neal had to go against them, he’d still tower over the tallest goalies in history.

I don’t know if O’Neal would have found success as a hockey player had he chosen that path, but man, that would have been a sight to see. But it’s never too late to choose a new career path, right?