Sharks make pick with special touch
San Jose takes 2 forwards in second round
The San Jose Sharks selected right wing Ozzy Wiesblatt with the 31st overall selection in the NHL draft on Tuesday.
As he made the selection, Doug Wilson Jr., the Sharks’ director of scouting, said Wiesblatt’s name and also used sign language to announce the pick. Wiesblatt’s mother, Kim White, has been deaf since birth; and has always used sign language to communicate with her children — four boys and one daughter.
Wiesblatt, 18, blossomed in his third year with the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League last season, collecting 70 points in 64 games.
Wiesblatt, a Calgary native, is listed at 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, was the 19th-ranked North American skater by central scouting. He is thought of as a heady player, a good skater and an effective forechecker.
The Sharks and other teams around the league made their selections from their home cities. Commissioner Gary Bettman was at the NHL Network studios in New Jersey, and introduced each team from a podium right before they made their first-round selections.
GM Doug Wilson, assistant general manager Joe Will and Wilson Jr. were stationed inside SAP Center, staying in communication with pro and amateur scouts and in touch with other teams to discuss any possible trades.
None materialized, as the Sharks used the No. 31 pick, acquired Feb. 24 from the Tampa Bay Lightning, to draft Wiesblatt.
The Sharks sent Barclay Goodrow and a third round pick this year, previously acquired from Philadelphia in the 2018 Justin Braun trade, for Tampa Bay’s first rounder and minor league forward Anthony Greco.
Goodrow won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning last month, and the Sharks added what they hope is a top player to their prospect pool.
The San Jose Sharks selected two forwards with pro hockey bloodlines in the second round of the NHL Draft on Wednesday, taking center Thomas Bordeleau with the 38th overall pick and winger Tristen Robins at No. 56.
Right before they were set to pick at No. 34, the Sharks traded that selection to the Buffalo Sabres for the 38th and 100th overall picks. The Sabres used the No. 34 pick to select winger John-jason Peterka from Germany.
Bordeleau, 18, played 48 games with the U. S. national under-18 team last season and had 16 goals and 30 assists and a plus-17 rating. Bordeleau will be a freshman at the University of Michigan this year.
Robins, 18, had 33 goals and 40 assists with Saskatoon of the WHL last season with a plus16 rating.
Both are about the same size. Robins is listed at 5-foot-10 and 176 pounds, and Bordeleau is 5-foot-10 and 179 pounds.
The Sharks traded the 100th and 126th overall picks to Edmonton to move up into the third round and select Russian winger Daniil Gushchin, who played the last two seasons with Muskegon of the USHL. Listed
at 5-foot-8, Gushchin had a combined 38 goals and 45 assists in 93 games for the Lumberjacks.
“I think my biggest strength is my hockey IQ,” Bordeleau said. “I’m strong on my edges, strong on faceoffs. It’s easy for me to find guys on the ice and just be able to create plays.”
Thomas’ father, Sebastien Bordeleau, played in the NHL for seven seasons as a centerman from 1995-2002 and his father, Paulin Bordeleau, played in the NHL as a forward from 1973-1979.
Naturally, Bordeleau’s father and grandfather played a big role in his development.
“With my dad, working on my game, basically just every day since I was young,” he said. “My grandpa being my coach (six years ago) and teaching me some stuff also on the way to where I am right now. They’ve both been a big influence for me and I owe them a lot.”
Although he’s a native of Houston, Bordeleau almost considers himself an international
citizen. His family moved to Switzerland when he was five months old, and stayed there until he was 10 as he watched his father play in the Swiss League. In 2012, the family moved back to Montreal.
Thomas Bordeleau continued to play in Quebec before he moved to Michigan to join the U.S. development program. He played for the under-17 national team during the 2018-19 season and the under-18 team this past year. He was in Montreal on Wednesday, but is coming back to the U. S. Thursday to start evaluation camp for the U.S. World Junior hockey team.
“It’s not really a normal journey, but it was awesome,” Bordeleau said.
Robins is the son of former pro goalie Trevor, who also played for Saskatoon and signed a contract with the Sharks in the early 1990s.
“I was kind of projected all over the place,” Robins said. “I’m just happy to be a Shark and excited to get the opportunity.”