Should Sharks Return Bordeleau to Center? Here’s What Cuda Faceoff Stats Say

Here’s an argument for keeping Thomas Bordeleau at center.

Last year, Bordeleau was used primarily as a center in his cup of coffee with the San Jose Sharks and Barracuda.

This season, however, after starting the season with the Barracuda in his natural position, he moved to wing mid-season and remained there, even after the Sharks recalled him in April.

So what’s Bordeleau’s fate, center or wing?

“He’s elite on faceoffs,” an NHL scout from outside the San Jose Sharks organization told San Jose Hockey Now, “so it’s up to him to buy into playing with more energy and grit.”

Meaning, Bordeleau has one great center skill, but is really lacking in other areas, like his defensive game and willingness to play inside.

If he remedies those flaws – can he flash a new attitude this fall? – I bet the San Jose Sharks put him back at pivot. There, he can showcase that faceoff acumen.

The cliché is that teams need to put players in a position to succeed, but this is a situation where the player, Bordeleau, needs to put himself in a position to succeed.

If he does, chances are the San Jose Sharks will eventually get what the Barracuda had this season, a top faceoff artist.

Here are Cuda faceoff stats this season, per SPORTLOGiQ, in the offensive and defensive zones:

Of note, fellow top prospect William Eklund did not take triple-digit faceoffs for the Barracuda this season. Another is he a center or a wing question mark, Eklund is tracking as a winger right now.