Sharks pick up two forwards in second day of NHL draft
The San Jose Sharks selected two forwards with pro hockey bloodlines in a busy 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. They used the No. 38 pick to take Bordeleau, whose father, Sebastien, and grandfather, Paulin, both played in the NHL.
They held onto the second of their second round picks to select Robins, whose father, Trevor, who started a 10-year pro career in 1993 with the Kansas City Blades, the Sharks’ former IHL affiliate.
The Sharks made four trades Wednesday and ended up with nine draft picks, selecting all forwards, including four in the seventh round.
“When we looked at it, we just said it was a deep draft, let’s get as many chances as we possibly can,” Sharks director of scouting Doug Wilson Jr. said. “That’s how we ended up with nine picks.”
Bordeleau, 18, played 48 games with the U. S. national under-18 team last season and had 16 goals and 30 assists. Bordeleau will be a freshman at Michigan this year.
Robins, 18, had 33 goals and 40 assists with Saskatoon of the WHL last season with a plus-16 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, as seven of the nine forwards the Sharks took are listed below 6-foot. The exceptions are forwards Brandon Coe (6-foot- 4, fourth round) and Linus Oberg (6- 0, seventh round).
“You’re look ing for hockey players,” Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. “You’re looking for the type of ingredients that (make) guys successful in this league, regardless of their size. Six of the nine guys we drafted are right shots. They can all skate, they can think the game at a high level.”
“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.”
The Sharks traded the 100th and 126th overall picks to Edmonton to move up into the third round and select Russian winger Danil 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.
In the seventh round, the Sharks took forwards Alex Young, Adam Raska, Oberg and Timofey Spitserov.
Sebastien Bordeleau played in the NHL for seven seasons as a centerman from 1995-2002. 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.”
SHARKSLETROYWALK>> The Sharks have issued qualifying offers to restricted free agents Kevin Labanc, Jonathan Dahlen and Tony Sund, but are letting defenseman Jeremy Roy, a 2015 second-round draft pick, become a free agent.
Roy, 23, played 113 games for the Barracuda of the AHL from 2017 to 2020, but his career has been plagued by serious knee injuries. He tore the left anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Oct. 2016, and was injured again in Dec. 2017, cutting his first pro season short.
Goalie Andrew Shortridge also did not receive a qualifying offer, and both he and Roy become unrestricted free agents. Wednesday was the deadline to issue qualifying offers to RFAs. Forward Antti Suomela agreed to a oneyear, two-way contract and forward Manuel Wiederer agreed to a one year AHL deal.
Labanc, 24, is due a longer contract and is likely due for a raise from the one-year, $1 million contract he signed in the summer of 2019. Labanc had 33 points in 70 games last season, a dip from the 56 points he had the year before in 82 games.
UFA TALK >> The Sharks will let goalie Aaron Dell hit the open market Friday when unrestricted free agency begins. In regards to other pending UFAs Joe Thornton, Melker Karlsson and Stefan Noesen, Wilson said, “the conversations are ongoing.
“We certainly have to make some decisions,” Wilson added. “Free agency is a two-way street. We have the opportunity of signing and talking to somebody. They have the opportunity of going to market. That’s the way the system is supposed to work.”