- Editor's Note: Sheng Peng will be a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. 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.
Why aren’t prospects William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau up with the Sharks?
That has been a constant question all season, especially with the Sharks limping to a 11-18-6 start to the 2022-23 NHL season. That question came to the forefront once again earlier this week, when San Jose’s top center, Tomas Hertl, was suspended for two games for high-sticking Elias Lindholm.
Stay in the game with the latest updates on your beloved Bay Area and California sports teams! Sign up here for our All Access Daily newsletter.
After all, what better way to put Eklund or Bordeleau in a position to succeed than by sliding either top prospect into a top-six role in place of Hertl?
But general manager Mike Grier and coach David Quinn appear to have different ideas, staying consistent with a new organizational philosophy to “marinate” their top prospects in the minors for longer.
“I think they have to be dominant at our level,” San Jose Barracuda head coach John McCarthy told the Mercury News at the beginning of the season, on when Eklund and Bordeleau would get the call this year.