San Jose Sharks defenseman Jacob MacDonald, second from left, celebrates after scoring against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of an NHL preseason hockey game Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
For anyone who has followed San Jose Sharks drafts in recent years and the pain they had to endure to collect some of those picks, the second forward line coach David Quinn trotted out against the Vegas Golden Knights in his team’s penultimate preseason game was all too noticeable.
Thomas Bordeleau was at center, flanked by William Eklund on his left and Quentin Musty on the right.
One second-round draft pick from three years ago in the middle with more recent first-round selections on either side of him.
It was a tantalizing glimpse of a group of forwards that could possibly form the foundation for whenever the Sharks are once again legitimately able to compete with the Golden Knights, who will lift their first Stanley Cup championship banner to the rafters of T-Mobile Arena later this month.
But Bordeleau, and especially Eklund, aren’t thinking long-term. They want to be in the NHL this season, starting with the Sharks’ home opener on Oct. 12 against this same Vegas team.
They helped their case with a highlight-reel goal Tuesday night, part of a 2-0 preseason win by the Sharks over the Golden Knights.
Possessing the puck below Vegas’ goal line, Eklund darted one way toward the sideboards with a Golden Knights defender right on him before he quickly cut back. Then, just before he got all the way behind the Vegas net, he sent a nifty backhand pass right to Bordeleau, who one-timed it past Adin Hill for a 1-0 Sharks lead at the 6:51 mark of the second period.
Jacob MacDonald also scored a second-period goal for the Sharks on a power play and goalie Kaapo Kahkonen made 18 saves, including several of the dazzling variety, to improve to 2-0 in the preseason.
Eklund was all over the ice in the early going, confident with the puck, and noticeable on several shifts. Granted, a fair number of the players the Golden Knights dressed on Tuesday won’t be in the NHL this time next week. But Eklund still showed why the Sharks made him the seventh overall selection in 2021.
With his performance Tuesday, Eklund was able to build on the performance he had Saturday in the Sharks’ 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings. While several other Sharks forwards have lackluster performances, at least in Quinn’s eyes, Eklund stood out with his energy and has improved in camp with each passing day.
Asked this summer about whether the Sharks’ younger players still had an avenue to crack the NHL roster after the numerous additions that were made, Sharks general manager Mike Grier those guys, “have to take the job. We’re not going to give them a job because of their prospect pedigree or where they were drafted. They need to come to camp and take the job away from the veteran, and the veteran’s got to do his best to hold on to the job.”
It seems like with his play in recent days, Eklund has put the ball into the court of Sharks’ management. San Jose has one more preseason game on Thursday in Salt Lake City against the Los Angeles Kings, and another practice or two before it has to get down to an NHL-mandated 23-man roster by Oct. 9.
Let’s be honest: Expectations are low for the Sharks this season, with oddsmakers saying the team will finish seventh or eighth in the Pacific Division. To boot, local enthusiasm for the team after four straight seasons without a playoff appearance might be at an all-time low.
Can a player like Eklund single-handedly generate more buzz in the market? Perhaps not by himself, and such a process might take years anyway.
But Eklund’s line, with a big, skilled winger like Musty, drafted 26th overall earlier this year, on one side, the slick Bordeleau in the middle, and Henry Thrun eating up minutes on the back end, Sharks fans, for the first time in a while, can have some optimism about the future.
It’ll take some time, maybe another three years, but the pieces are starting to be put in place.
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka