Ostapchuk on How To Improve His Offense, Looking Up to Gaudette (+)

Zack Ostapchuk has a lot of respect for Adam Gaudette.

Ostapchuk, who was acquired by the San Jose Sharks in last season’s Fabian Zetterlund trade, saw Gaudette score a career-high 19 goals last season with the Ottawa Senators. Gaudette had primarily played in the AHL the two seasons prior and had not scored double-digit goals since 2019-20.

For Ostapchuk, who has just one goal in 63 NHL games, Gaudette is a role model. Ostapchuk is also a bottom-six forward with strong defensive habits. The 6-foot-3, 22-year-old is likely earmarked for the San Jose Barracuda given the Sharks’ forward depth to start the season.

How can Ostapchuk improve in the AHL? How did he improve this offseason? What has he learned from Gaudette and other veterans? Ostapchuk talked about that in his first media availability at training camp: