- 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.
Where does Rudolfs Balcers fit in on next year’s San Jose Sharks…and beyond?
“As the team gets better, and as we move forward, I think Rudy settles into a third-line left wing role, that could play both sides. That can be a penalty killer,” head coach Bob Boughner said last week. “If he can be a full-time penalty killer, play on a good team on a third line, chip in offensively, he’ll have a heckuva career.”
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Boughner stressed that he wasn’t capping the 25-year-old winger’s ceiling, this was just his projection. It’s actually a high compliment.
“Those are the guys you need, going deeper into the playoffs,” Boughner pointed out. “In a seven-game series, those are the kind of guys that help you win.”
The San Jose Sharks, of course, are far from the playoffs, dropping their fifth in a row on Thursday to the Calgary Flames 4-2. But Balcers flashed glimpses of what Boughner was forecasting.
“He thinks the game well. He has a good stick. He’s a great skater,” Boughner rattled off. “He’s not afraid to be physical, all those things, and he’s got a bit of a [scoring] touch.”
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