- 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?
San Jose Sharks
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).