Sheng Peng
The San Jose Sharks’ defensive corps has been much-maligned this season, and for good reason.
Save for their goaltending, the Sharks have struggled at every position and situation this year, en route to a 15-35-5 record, second-worst in the NHL.
In total, San Jose has surrendered a league-worst 211 goals.
But let’s dig deeper – to both excavate some bright spots and put a harsher light on what the defensemen, especially the younger ones, need to improve.
Per SPORTLOGiQ, here are good and bad stats about each San Jose blueliner, from Mario Ferraro to Marc-Edouard Vlasic. What stories do these micro-stats tell us about each defender?
Ferraro, Henry Thrun, Ty Emberson, and David Quinn also shared their insight.
All stats are 5-on-5 Per 20 through the All-Star break.
Calen Addison
True to his reputation, Addison moves the puck at a high level.
His 73.2 Passing Success Rate % leads all Sharks rearguards. That’s especially impressive considering the degree of difficulty of some of his passes.
Related to that, Addison 13.8 Turnover Rate % is the best on the team. He can be trusted with the puck.
Addison has also provided value on the other side of the puck: His 51.1 Defensive Zone Denial Rate % leads the D.
That said, Addison has a lot of work to do on his defensive game.
His 2.86 Blocked Passes Per 20 is the lowest among Sharks blueliners, suggesting that his defensive awareness needs work.
His 15.66 Loose Puck Recoveries Per 20 is also a team positional low, caused perhaps by a below-average motor.
And predictably, the smaller Addison doesn’t win a lot of battles. His 0.9 Puck Battle Wins Per 20 is also a team positional low.
Kyle Burroughs
Burroughs isn’t very strong or weak in any of the stats that I asked SPORTLOGiQ for: He’s a fairly vanilla defender who does bring an element of physicality, leading the Sharks in Hits.
His 70.5 Passing Success Rate %, third on the defense, might be surprising. He’s pretty safe with the puck.
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-0 Burroughs is willing, but his 1.25 Puck Battle Wins Per 20 is third-worst on the D.
Ty Emberson
Emberson has been a solid waiver claim, a feather in the cap for the San Jose Sharks’ pro scouting staff.
In particular, Emberson has excelled with a 49.6 DZ Denial Rate %, second on the D, which speaks to being able to keep a tight gap on attackers.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” San Jose Sharks head coach David Quinn agreed, “He’s a hard-nosed player. He’s good with gaps.”
“I think my skating ability is decent and just being able to know the angles and the timing of the play,” Emberson guessed, on why he’s been proficient with denying zone entries.
It’s also using his stick smartly: “The stick is good for stick on puck, but also good for influencing the play, where you put it kind of [leads] the forward where you want him to go.”
One area where the 23-year-old can grow? His 0.66 Stick Checks Per 20 is dead-last among the Sharks’ defensive corps.
Emberson feels he’s still learning when to use his stick to defend an NHL forward: “They’re a little bit stronger. But I think it’s more just like their knowledge of the game and being able to deceive you with their eyes and their position.”
He also ices the puck a lot: His 0.758 Icings Per 20 is a team-worst.
Mario Ferraro
Ferraro, not surprisingly, leads San Jose Sharks defensemen with 1.72 Puck Battle Wins Per 20.
Perhaps surprisingly, Ferraro’s puck movement has been safe and sound. His 74.6 Defensive Zone Passing Success Rate % also leads the D-corps, while his 72.5 Passing Success Rate % in all zones ranks second.
“Maybe it’s a sign that I’m holding onto pucks until the appropriate pass is there instead of just giving it away?” Ferraro mused. “I definitely think I’m having a better year than I was last year.”
“Much calmer, controlled game which allows him to make better decisions with the puck,” Quinn said.
Another surprise, less positive? Ferraro’s 3.77 Blocked Passes Per 20 is sixth among Sharks blueliners. Not awful, but you might expect more from a defensive defenseman. This suggests that passes are beating him in passing lanes.
Nikita Okhotiuk
When the Sharks acquired Okhotiuk last January, his reputation preceded itself, as a physical “throwback” stay-at-home defenseman who has to work on his puck-moving. That’s been true to form.
Okhotiuk is tied for second among San Jose rearguards with 1.72 Puck Battle Wins Per 20.
However, his 66.2 Passing Success Rate % is second-worst and 20.5 Turnover Rate % is the worst among Sharks D.
Jan Rutta
The two-time Stanley Cup champion is still tough to beat one-on-one, but his puck management can be better.
Not only is Rutta’s 1.73 Stick Checks Per 20 tops among Sharks defensemen, it’s 20th among all NHL defensemen.
However, his 65.0 Passing Success Rate % is worst on the San Jose back-end.
Henry Thrun
There’s a lot to like about the rookie blueliner.
Thrun’s 4.83 Blocked Passes Per 20 is second among Sharks defensemen and 22nd in the league.
His 22.16 Loose Puck Recoveries Per 20 leads the team.
“Smart Harvard guy, he plays with anticipation,” Quinn laughed.
Thrun seems to know his way around the defensive zone.
But the 22-year-old has to fill out and improve on his 1.23 Puck Battle Wins Per 20, second-worst among San Jose D.
“I feel like I’m not dominating in that area, but for it to be a weakness surprises me a little bit instead of just being mediocre at it. I think that’ll come with time,” Thrun acknowledged. “That man’s strength is something you really can’t replicate until you actually play against men.”
Thrun did note that his pre-season strength testing was “pretty proficient”, though he also conceded that those numbers don’t “necessarily transfer to the ice”.
When it does, the Sharks should have themselves a pretty good defender.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
The much-maligned veteran actually grades out well in a number of key defensive categories.
His 1.62 Puck Battle Wins Per 20 ranks third among Sharks defensemen.
His 5.4 Blocked Passes Per 20 tops Sharks blueliners and is actually seventh in the league. Of course, San Jose defends a lot, that helps, but this micro-stat also speaks to Vlasic’s still-present defensive smarts. He knows the passing lanes.
He’s also safe and sound with the puck: His 14.3 Turnover Rate % is second-best on the San Jose blueline.
Regardless, Vlasic can’t stop Father Time.
His 39.7 DZ Denial Rate % is a defense-worst, perhaps further evidence of his erosion as a skater over the years. Essentially, because his feet prevent him from keeping as tight a gap on attackers, he’s forced to allow more clean zone entries to the opposition.
For what it’s worth, Vlasic actually led the Sharks defense in this category last year.