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Subscriber Q&A: Steven Lorentz on When Warsofsky Punked Him in Practice, Burns Trade Pressure (+)

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Credit: Hockey Shots/Dean Tait

Steven Lorentz’s road to the NHL wasn’t a normal one.

Selected in the seventh round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, Lorentz started his pro career in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. Over parts of two seasons, Lorentz logged 84 regular season games with the Everblades.

Lorentz advanced to the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers and would make his NHL debut for the Hurricanes on Jan. 28, 2021.

The 6-foot-4 center-winger hasn’t looked back since then, sticking in the NHL for good.

The San Jose Sharks acquired the 26-year-old Lorentz from Carolina this past off-season, along with goaltending prospect Eetu Makiniemi, and a 2023 third-round pick for Brent Burns and Lane Pederson.

It’s not typical for an ECHL skater to establish himself as an NHL’er. Underscoring that, there are no San Jose Sharks skaters on the current roster besides Lorentz who have played in the ECHL.

Lorentz isn’t a big-time scorer, but he was no spare part in the trade for Sharks legend Burns.

“We kind of targeted some guys with high character, high work ethic, high compete, and I think they’ve helped change the locker room, whether it’s [Nico Sturm] and Luke Kunin and Steven Lorentz,” GM Mike Grier shared last month. “I think those guys, they’ve come in, all to different levels, but they’ve assumed some leadership of the group. It’s changed a little bit of the locker room dynamic. I think it’s made guys enjoy coming to the rink.”

Lorentz was kind enough to answer questions from San Jose Hockey Now subscribers recently.

He talked about the teenage growth spurt that changed the course of his career, when he went as Batgirl for Halloween, the time that Ryan Warsofsky bowled him over in practice, not getting recognized around San Jose, the weight of getting traded for Burns, and why Nick Bonino should never be locker room DJ.

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