Why Aren’t Eklund, Bordeleau Playing?

PRAGUE – David Quinn may be off to a rough start with some San Jose Sharks fans.

Fair or not, Quinn had a reputation with the New York Rangers for not giving his young players a fair shake.

I’m not going to get into that debate – I don’t agree with that accusation and have discussed it here.

Quinn, however, didn’t endear himself to some fans when he sat both of the Sharks’ top prospects, William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau, in the team’s final preseason tune-up on Tuesday against Eisbaren Berlin.

Quinn has previously said that the San Jose Sharks’ line-up against Eisbaren would be close to what we see on opening night against the Nashville Predators on Friday. So that could mean Eklund and Bordeleau scratched, and one step closer to being re-assigned to the San Jose Barracuda.

Because the Sharks and Predators are in Europe, thousands of miles away from their AHL affiliates, the NHL has given both organizations special exceptions and allowed them to carry 27 players, four more than the norm, to Berlin and Prague.

But that’ll change when both the San Jose Sharks and San Jose Barracuda play on Oct. 14.

So why haven’t Eklund and Bordeleau cracked the Sharks’ top-nine? Let’s keep in mind, for their development, that you want to avoid relegating these high-skilled prospects to the fourth line.

Read the Full Article at NBC Sports Bay Area