What Must Merkley Improve Defensively? | SJHN+

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Ryan Merkley still has a long ways to go.

Despite a productive start to the 2021 Rookie Faceoff Tournament — Merkley notched three assists in an 8-4 loss to Anaheim — it’s the other end of the ice where the San Jose Sharks‘ 2018 first-round pick must improve by leaps and bounds to have a chance at making an NHL impact.

Merkley’s defensive micro-stats from last year — a San Jose Hockey Now exclusive from SPORTLOGiQ — illustrates some of the 5-foot-11 defender’s problem areas.

These are 5-on-5 stats for 292 eligible AHL defensemen:

I’m using Brinson Pasichnuk as a measuring stick for a couple of reasons: Both were first-year pros last season, they’re among the San Jose Sharks’ better defensive prospects, and they’re competing for the currently vacant No. 7 spot on the Sharks blueline.

So Merkley is exceptional at exiting the zone (Defensive Zone Exits) and owns a decent defensive stick (DZ Stick Checks) — that’s the good.

But here’s the ugly: He was in the bottom 20th percentile among AHL defensemen in Defensive Zone Denial Rate, Puck Battle Wins, Loose Pucks Recovered, Turnover Rate, Pass Completions, and Blocked Shots. In short, he gives up the line too easily, turns the puck over too much, and isn’t nearly hard enough on the puck.

It’s worth noting that Merkley did have more responsibility and probably tougher match-ups than his San Jose Barracuda counterpart last year: The 21-year-old Merkley took on 18:38 a night, while the 23-year-old Pasichnuk averaged 16:20.

And it’s a new season: Merkley has added 10 pounds of muscle, is up to 186 pounds, and is down to 10 percent body fat. He says he’s carrying the extra strength with aplomb, “I felt like I was skating well. I felt good.”

However, Merkley’s defensive work at this tourney hasn’t necessarily popped for the right reasons.

Barracuda head coach Roy Sommer gave a lukewarm review after Friday’s contest: “I thought Merkley showed some stuff offensively… Defensively, average to a little above average.”

We didn’t ask Sommer about Merkley’s game in today’s 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. But this attempt to block Jack Dugan’s power play one-timer might have caused a groan.

I asked a scout from an outside NHL organization about this play — safe to say, he was not impressed by Merkley’s effort or body language.

Of course, the San Jose Sharks didn’t draft Merkley to block shots, but it’s an area of defensive commitment where he can at least get better.

Being an offense-first blueliner, after all, doesn’t mean you can’t block shots. It was tool, for example, of Erik Karlsson‘s in his prime — he was second among NHL defensemen in blocked shots in 2016-17. Not coincidentally, Karlsson was runner-up for Norris Trophy that year.

It’s just the Rookie Faceoff tournament: But we’ll need to see some growth in these problem areas — just growth, mind you, nobody is asking Merkley to be Kris Russell — if the skilled blueliner wants to be more than a specialist at the highest level.

William Eklund

It might have taken three games — including the San Jose Sharks Development Camp prospects scrimmage — but it felt like we finally saw the best of William Eklund tonight.

Sommer raved: “He had the puck more, he made more plays. He was really good on the wall. He did a lot of little detailed things. I kind of went, yeah, that’s what [the Sharks] saw.”

I was also impressed with his defensive effort and how hard he backchecked. Here’s an example:

Vegas scores, but keep your eyes on Eklund (72) — even though he trips in the defensive zone, see how he works to get in front of trailer Jermaine Loewen (54) on the other side of the ice.

Sommer agreed: “He was always above the puck, he wasn’t even, he took a couple more strides to get above it.”

“I want to be a two-way forward,” Eklund said, “who’s working hard for my team.”

That’s what Sommer saw tonight: “You can tell he’s gonna [to] be an easy coach.”

GAME NOTES

Jasper Weatherby, Brandon Coe, Montana Onyebuchi, Scott Reedy, and Eklund scored for the San Jose Sharks. Dugan and Lynden McCallum countered for the Vegas Golden Knights.

In particular, look at how Coe (70) beat his backchecker up the ice to get open. And what skill from Danil Gushchin (75).

This is how Sommer saw it:

Scouts who I spoke with also had praise for Artemi Kniazev and Ozzy Wiesblatt.

Eklund and Weatherby are roommates here: Eklund says they’ve been enjoying “Last Dance,” the ESPN documentary about Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

The Sharks prospects went to TopGolf on their day off yesterday and Eklund admitted that he has a lot of work to do on his driving range game. He says Ethan Cardwell was the team’s best at the driving range.

Speaking of Cardwell, he’s going to make his rookie tourney debut tomorrow; he’s been dealing with an undisclosed injury. Sommer says Max McCue and Zach Gallant will be among those who will be back in tomorrow.

Zachary Emond and Ben Gaudreau will split time in goal.

The San Jose Sharks close the 2021 Rookie Faceoff Tournament against the Colorado Avalanche at 9 AM tomorrow.