- Editor's note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California's Sharks coverage for the 2021-22 season. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Thomas Bordeleau’s capacity for the spectacular is obvious.
From the shootout winner, snapping the San Jose Sharks’ 11-game losing streak to the Vegas Golden Knights…
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…to an innocent-looking neutral zone entry, Bordeleau is a threat to conjure up magic at any moment.
But let’s be real too: A couple HIGHLIGHT in all caps plays does not a playoff-caliber center make. That’s the standard, right?
That’s where the San Jose Sharks want to get back to next year?
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So let’s focus on one particular play, part of a larger sequence where Bordeleau and his linemates Noah Gregor and Rudolfs Balcers were pinned in their zone by the Golden Knights for almost a minute.
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I spoke with an NHL scout — a different scout than the one who called Bordeleau’s second NHL game “average overall” — who pointed out probably the rookie’s biggest mistake in this sequence:
Bordeleau (23) makes a blind backhand rim, presumably for Balcers (92), that’s easily picked off by William Karlsson (71).