Bordeleau Playing Faster, Flourishing at Wing With Barracuda (+)

Thomas Bordeleau is saying – and most importantly – doing the right things.

This was the message when the then-winless San Jose Sharks sent him down to the San Jose Barracuda at the end of October.

“We felt like that’s going to be best for their development. Get more puck touches, getting down there, and get their confidence back,” head coach David Quinn said about Bordeleau and Jacob Peterson on Oct. 29, who were demoted at the same time. “Listen, it’s been a tough go for us here for the first three weeks. Those guys played a lot of hockey, I think they’ve lost a little bit of their confidence.”

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“They wanted me to get my swagger back, get [more] offensive touches,” Bordeleau shared. “It’s hard, we rarely touched the puck in those first couple games of the season with the Sharks. So just getting those touches in, feel more comfortable about my game, and be more confident when the time comes that I can help them again.”

On Nov. 10, three games into Bordeleau’s return to the Barracuda, head coach John McCarthy told new San Jose Hockey Now writer Nikita Sokolov, “He’s playing with more pace now. Playing faster, moving faster, moving the puck faster.”

Bordeleau has exploded since that date, scoring five goals and notching three assists in his last five games, capped off by a two-goal performance against the San Diego Gulls on Nov. 21.

But we know Bordeleau can score, at least at this level: He was an AHL All-Star last year, his full-season pro debut, with 22 goals.

So what’s different now?