Sharks Call Dellandrea ‘Definition of a Pro’, Ex-Star Hopes To Score on Oettinger

With the amount of big moves that the San Jose Sharks made over the offseason, it’s easy to overlook a few of their acquisitions. One of the first GM Mike Grier brought in was Ty Dellandrea who is set to take on his former team, the Dallas Stars, in the Sharks’ first road game of the season.

After bouncing in and out of the lineup with the Stars last year, Dellandrea was happy to get a fresh start with the Sharks. Now, in just the third game of the season, he’ll be able to visit his old stomping grounds.

Dellandrea told San Jose Hockey Now, with a big smile, that he’s excited for the opportunity to face the Stars, specifically his good friend, Jake Oettinger: “Let’s just say, I really hope Otter’s playing and I want to do whatever I can to get one on him.”

The 13th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Dellandrea was a highly-touted prospect for the Stars. He showed quite a bit of offensive talent at the American Hockey League level during his time with the Stars organization, but it never truly translated to the NHL and he became more known for his play in the defensive zone.

After playing all 82 games in the 2022-23 season, Dellandrea often found himself as a healthy scratch during the 2023-24 season. He played in only 42 regular season games in his final season with the Stars. As a result, a change of scenery was necessary and now he’s returning to the American Airlines Center for the first time as a visitor.

The San Jose Sharks acquired the gritty winger for a 2025 fourth-round pick in June.

While the Sharks are in Dallas, Dellandrea mentioned that the Sharks will be getting together for a team dinner on Monday night ahead of their game on Tuesday.

“I think we’re doing a team thing tonight for our first road trip. [Just a] nice dinner for the guys”. When asked if the rookies would be the ones picking up the tab, Dellandrea answered with a laugh, saying: “No, no, not tonight, no.”

In the first two games of the season, the 24-year-old winger has been a stalwart of the San Jose Sharks’ fourth line. While Ty Dellandrea isn’t the type of player who will end up on the scoresheet nightly, his hard work at both ends of the ice and penalty killing makes him an impact player regardless of his scoring touch.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky had nothing but praise for Dellandrea: “He’s responsible without the puck. He reminds me a lot of Jack Drury, who I had in Chicago. [He’s a] smart player, competitive, can play the wing, can play center, he’s been really good for us.”

Dellandrea has also become a leader in the locker room, according to Warsofsky: “He’s here early, he’s here late, takes care of his body. He’s on the ice early, he’s on the ice late, works on faceoffs. He’s just the definition of a pro.”