What Are Under-the-Radar Strengths, Weaknesses of Sharks Newcomers?

The San Jose Sharks should be breaking in at least a half-dozen new players this year.

They acquired wingers Luke Kunin and Steven Lorentz via trade, and winger Oskar Lindblom, center Nico Sturm, and defensemen Matt Benning and Markus Nutivaara in free agency.

What should fans expect from this (mostly) gritty half-dozen?

There’s the obvious stuff: Kunin and Lindblom project to be net-crashing wingers who could flirt with 20 goals, Sturm is an accomplished defensive center trying to incorporate more offense into his resume, Lorentz should add disruptive physicality to San Jose’s fourth line, Benning is a solid defensive defenseman, and Nutivaara is a smooth puckmover.

But let’s check under the hood: SPORTLOGiQ provided San Jose Hockey Now with micro-stats for each of these new San Jose Sharks skaters, shedding more light on their individual strengths and weaknesses. Let’s look at a telling strength and weakness for Kunin, Lorentz, Lindblom, Sturm, Benning, and Nutivaara.

What’s the attribute that three of these players share, which points at the type of player that new GM Mike Grier wants for his San Jose Sharks? It’s not size or physicality. Who’s the most not Grier-like skater of this bunch?

Read the Full Article at NBC Sports Bay Area