Peng: What I liked, didn’t like about Bordeleau’s brief showing originally appeared on NBC Sports Bayarea
It’s been a mixed bag for Thomas Bordeleau since the Sharks recalled him at the end of March.
And that might be kind, considering Bordeleau is an offense-first prospect with just two assists through eight NHL games. But remember, Bordeleau is just 21, with only 16 NHL games over two seasons to his name. He still has plenty of time to learn from his struggles.
Let’s look at some of the top prospect’s troubles this season — and some of the good that I’m seeing.
Skating
Bordeleau (17) is a good skater, but he’s not that good. Here’s what I mean:
Bordeleau is trapped by Pierre Luc-Dubois (80) and Kyle Connor (81) along the wall.
“He’s a good skater, very agile,” an NHL scout from outside the Sharks organization told San Jose Hockey Now.
But he’s not agile enough to escape two forecheckers. The problem here though isn’t so much Bordeleau’s skating, it’s the decision to essentially take on two Jets by himself. He puts himself in a bad place.
He has Mario Ferraro (38) as a pass option but neglects him.
Now credit to Bordeleau – he’s able to kick the puck out of the zone. But that’s more fortunate than anything, this should have been a turnover.
Regardless, Bordeleau still can stand to refine his skating. His first-step explosiveness, in particular, appears flat-footed at times. If he can improve that first step, he could improve his ability to escape trouble.
Defense
Defense still is a work in progress for Bordeleau.
And that’s natural, those are the details that often are missing in many a young forward’s game. It was one of the main reasons why the Sharks didn’t call up the 2023 AHL All-Star earlier this season.
But in the midst of a late-season scoring slump – Bordeleau didn’t have a goal for the San Jose Barracuda from Mar. 3 to Mar. 22, 10 games – head coach John McCarthy heaped praise on the prospect’s overall game and compete.
“I personally feel like he’s closer to the NHL based off his last stretch than he was earlier in the year. I know that sounds crazy. The numbers aren’t there, obviously,” McCarthy said on Mar. 17. “But he’s playing a harder game. He’s getting on the inside. He’s competing on loose pucks more so than I felt than in the beginning of the year. I actually feel like he’s taking steps in the right direction.”
There have been a couple of examples of a better all-around game at the NHL level for Bordeleau recently.
Paul Cotter (43) is first in on the forecheck, but Bordeleau has his head on a swivel, recognizes that he’s the first Sharks forward down low, and promptly rubs out the 6-foot-2 Cotter. This forces Cotter to give the puck sooner than he wants and creates a 50/50 out of what had been clear Vegas Golden Knights possession.
Bordeleau sniffs out the Clayton Keller (9) pass to trailer Josh Brown (3) – that’s turning good defense into good offense. Again, defense is a work in progress for Bordeleau. There also are recent clips of less-than-stellar Bordeleau defense too.
But the Sharks, I think, have made it clear to the skilled prospect what they want in addition to the skill, and that’s more of the determination and anticipation that you saw above.
Strength
Bordeleau has to play bigger than his 5-foot-11 frame to thrive in the NHL. Here, veteran defenseman Jack Johnson (3) prevents Bordeleau from establishing position.
Of course, you can say that about pretty much every 21-year-old hockey player, that he’s got to get stronger. But Bordeleau will need as much strength as he can muster to play inside more – at the moment, he’s on the perimeter too much.
Faceoff Intensity
You can, however, make up for that lack of size, to some degree, with anticipation. If you’re first to a spot, it might not matter that you’re giving a few inches and dozens of pounds.
Bordeleau continually has done that off faceoffs, helping his center win the draw by getting to the loose puck first.
On his first NHL point this season, Bordeleau beats Zach Whitecloud (2) to the loose puck.
Fabian Zetterlund (20) provides some subtle interference on William Carrier (28), helping Bordeleau get to it ahead of everybody else.
Because he’s first on the puck, Bordeleau is able to hold off 6-foot-4 Lawson Crouse, and no-look it to Erik Karlsson (65) at the point.
Bordeleau doesn’t beat everyone else to it, but he’s able to kick the loose puck up to his stick, slip Jonathan Huberdeau (10), and lead the Sharks’ rush up ice.
It probably helps that Bordeleau is a natural centerman, perhaps most famous for being able to win faceoffs with both hands.
“Obviously, been a center for a while, so kind of know when the ref’s gonna drop it. So just try and time myself with that,” Bordeleau said of this skill. “I’m not the biggest guy, so it’s gonna be hard if I try to go body to body with another winger. But that’s why I’m trying to get in there the quickest I can. So I think that’s the biggest thing, really.”
Of course, why not just play Bordeleau at center? After starting this season up the middle, the Barracuda and the Sharks have used him almost exclusively on the wing in recent months.
It’s my understanding that the Sharks still hope that Bordeleau will end up at center, because of his elite faceoff-winning capabilities, but only if he shows more defensive commitment and energy and inside game.
Focus
Part and parcel with defensive commitment and energy and inside game, Bordeleau’s focus has seemingly wavered at times.
This blown opportunity for an easy exit would directly lead to a Connor McDavid goal. Perhaps fittingly, Bordeleau was replaced by Steven Lorentz on the top power play unit in this game.
“He and I have talked about just being a little bit more alert, a little bit more anticipation before he gets the puck,” Sharks head coach David Quinn noted.
Lest you think Quinn and I are being too hard on Bordeleau for a Couture (39) pass in his feet, an ex-NHL head coach pointed out, “Players are good enough at this level to be able to pick up pretty much any pass around them.”
He called it a youthful mistake by Bordeleau, but a mistake, nonetheless.
Creativity
What’s good to see is that while Bordeleau is trying to play a more buttoned-down game, which he needs to do to take the next step in the NHL, his trademark offensive creativity still is present.
Bordeleau just misses on a between-the-legs pass to Couture crashing the net.
Bordeleau loves to pass it to himself, though as we’ve seen, the results have been mixed. But it works here: Bordeleau’s no-look pass to himself pulls Bo Byram (4) toward him, opening up the right lane for the winger to gain the zone with ease.
Bordeleau diagnoses that if two Golden Knights forecheckers are on top of him, that means there’s an open Shark somewhere. He slows it down and delivers a beautifully-executed bounce pass off the glass, right into Couture’s stride.
That’s a nice bit of problem-solving.
Decision-Making
To be called an honest player by Quinn is a high compliment.
“He’s not an honest player,” an NHL scout opined about Bordeleau.
What does that mean?
Good puck management is part of that, and Bordeleau still is suffering from significant lapses in this department, as he did in last season’s NHL cup of coffee.
Bordeleau skates right into the forechecking Jonathan Marchessault (81), which leads eventually to a turnover.
These are peas in the pod, Bordeleau trying to force offense with no-chance passes.
“I see what he was trying to do but would like to see him make a harder play on it. Was low percentage and getting it deep behind the net would allow Couture to gain possession and establish OZ time,” an NHL scout said specifically about the second clip. “It was a rather hopeless attempt to try and make a play that isn’t there. Don’t want to coach the skill and ability out of him, there are times where you should be encouraged to [take a chance]. But this isn’t one of them.”
Know Thyself
My main takeaway from Bordeleau’s most recent NHL stint is that he’s still a youngster learning his limitations in the best league in the world.
He’s every bit as skilled and creative as I remember him from last season, but until he learns what he can and can’t do with the Sharks, he’s not going to be an NHL’er.
Bordeleau alluded to this, to some degree, when asked to evaluate his eight NHL games this season: “I feel more and more confident on the ice. With the puck, just try and make plays and stuff like that. I feel less out of place than I did last year. I just figured out what works, what doesn’t work, and you just got to keep at it.”
The good news is, he saved his best for last in the final contest of the regular season.
“I thought it was his best game since we called him up. I thought he was confident. I thought he played with a pace,” Quinn said, after the Sharks’ 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.
This is high-level NHL deception and would eventually lead to a Noah Gregor goal.
As the puck is coming to him along the wall, Bordeleau looks right at the forechecking Leon Draisaitl (29) and Steven Lorentz (16) slashing up the ice. Bordeleau then exaggerates a backhand, as if he’s going to go off the boards to Lorentz, and Draisaitl bites hard.
Bordeleau now has an easy, open breakout option with speed in Ferraro.
McDavid has made life hard for countless opponents, it’s nice for Bordeleau to give it back to him. Most important, the youngster is playing on the inside.
“I’m really happy for him. Because you could see it in his face last night [in Calgary], he looked a little bit like a beaten dog. He lost a little bit of his swagger and his confidence,” Quinn shared. “But I thought he played with much more of that tonight.”
