Sharks Locker Room: Why Quinn Thought This Was Robins, Bordeleau’s Best NHL Games This Year

The San Jose Sharks started the season with a five-game losing streak, they ended the season on a six-game losing streak, dropping a 5-2 decision to the Edmonton Oilers.

Their 22-44-16 record, “good” for 60 points, is the fourth-worst full-season total in franchise history, and their worst since 1995-96’s 47 points.

Regardless, there were some positives to take out of this season finale.

Tristen Robins talked about his parents Trevor and Shane following him around Canada for his first three NHL games, Thomas Bordeleau shared what the coaching staff wants to improve in his play, and San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn called Robins and Bordeleau’s performances tonight their best NHL games this year.

Tristen Robins learned a lot and enjoyed his brief appearance with the Sharks to close out the season pic.twitter.com/KC3ALgPWQx

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) April 14, 2023

Tristen Robins, on his ability to battle along the wall and make skill plays in tight spaces:

Time and space is limited out there. When you have a play, it’s often got to be made. That’s one of the biggest differences…there’s a lot less time.

Robins, on his parents Trevor and Shane following him around Canada during his NHL debut week:

It’s phenomenal. All the support that I’ve had following me since Winnipeg, people that showed up for the Winnipeg game for my debut. It’s just, you can’t put something like that to words and I’m extremely grateful for everyone who came to support me.

Thomas Bordeleau built up confidence on the ice this season 👏 pic.twitter.com/UILUL1D5Km

— Sharks on NBCS (@NBCSSharks) April 14, 2023

Thomas Bordeleau, on how he’d evaluate this year’s eight-game NHL stint as opposed to last year’s:

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.

Bordeleau, on what worked for him tonight:

Just kind of making plays, just moving my feet more. Just stuff I’ve been doing in the past games too, but again, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Tonight, there was just definitely a couple more bounces than we did the other games.

Bordeleau, on the San Jose Sharks coaching staff’s message to him:

Move your feet, just move your feet making plays, always stay in movement, and things will go my way. I know what I can do and I know what makes me successful and they know it too and they’ve been great.

See David Quinn’s full interview here

David Quinn, on Robins’s NHL debut week:

You could see him getting more comfortable with every game. I thought tonight was his best game. Not easy to be thrown into the fire this late in the season against teams of this caliber with something on the line, so I give him a lot of credit.

Quinn, on Robins’s doggedness along the wall and skill in tight spaces:

He’s got that ability, for sure.

As he continues to grow and gets more mature physically, it’ll get easier for him at this level.

Quinn, on Bordeleau’s comeback game:

I liked his game. I thought it was his best game since we called him up. I thought he was confident. I thought he played with a pace.

I’m really happy for him. Because you could see it in his face last night, he looked a little bit like a beaten dog. He lost a little bit of his swagger and his confidence. But I thought he played with much more of that tonight.

Quinn, on Steven Lorentz’s emergence:

I really liked the way his last six weeks went. I thought he really played with a good mindset. There was no BS to his game. He played to his strengths and he got rewarded.

I thought he really turned the corner and made some great strides and really happy for him. He’s a great kid. He’s coachable, works hard, so it’s good to see him get rewarded. He was going out there shift in and shift out, just to do the right thing, when you do that, you get rewarded statistically.