How Are Young Sharks Learning From Wennberg? Inside Center’s Underrated Game

DETROIT — Alex Wennberg is finally receiving his due.

Last week, the underrated center signed a three-year, $18 million contract extension with the San Jose Sharks. Even more impressive, the 31-year-old was also selected to the Swedish Olympic team.

What’s Wennberg been doing so right for the Sharks this season?

Per micro-stats from Stathletes, Wennberg is a leading defensive center league-wide. So much so, the San Jose Sharks coaching staff uses him as an example for younger pivots to learn from. And he has more grit to his game than he’s given credit for.

Defensive Impact

“He’s like an eraser out there with mistakes in our own end,” San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Wennberg.

Wennberg leads all NHL forwards with 123 Turnovers Created, in All Situations, through Jan. 12.

Per Stathletes, those are steals and pass interceptions, essentially turnovers forced.

This stat doesn’t surprise fellow centers Macklin Celebrini and Ty Dellandrea, who basically repeated each other in their praise of Wennberg.

“He has an unbelievable stick,” Celebrini said. “He’s so smart, his mind for the game and the way he thinks. He’s always on top of guys and that leads to steals.”

“Long stick, good stick, always in the right position, above the puck, just waiting for the right opportunity,” Dellandrea said. “That’s instincts and smartness.”

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