What's next for Eklund, Graf and the other young Sharks?

David Quinn is gone, and the next head coach of the San Jose Sharks will want the same thing.

In his exit interview last Saturday, Quinn talked about the next steps for a number of young players, players who will hopefully form the core of the next great Sharks team.

If William Eklund, Thomas Bordeaux, Henry Thrun, Colin Graf, Filip Zadina, and Ty Emberson return to the San Jose Sharks next year, they're still players to keep an eye on.

William Eklund

On what Quinn and Eklund need to improve on:

Let his defense grow. I think that's important for young players. Make it more important to you than it is now –
And that's not a knock against him, just a skill he picked up as he continued his NHL career.

Quinn on whether Eklund has the necessary desire to get better defensively:

he does it That's why I'm so optimistic about him.

Quinn on what Eklund learned from playing center for the San Jose Sharks:

I think he learned the difficult aspects of a centerman's defensive responsibilities the hard way.

henry thrun

Quinn on Thrun's next steps:

He's going to be a player that plays very good defense, has a good outlet pass, and needs to get involved in the rush at the right time. It's really simple – his gap is huge, his body positioning is huge, his stick is huge. All these things allow him to always be the best possible player he can be.

Regarding Quinn and Thran's attack power ceiling:

Attacks can occur in a variety of ways. Can he be the No. 1 power play guy at this level? Probably not. He and I talked about it.

But I never want to put a cap on anyone. For now, his focus should be on being a good defenseman with outlet passes and playing defense every day. As his game develops, perhaps he will turn into some kind of power play player.

thomas bordeaux

Quinn spoke about how Bordeaux overcame a slump at the end of the season and how they managed the game.

Sure he's done a better job than that, but I think there's one more step for him to reach in that area. I think he was a little frustrated when he didn't score and maybe slipped a little bit in that area. Overall, it was a pretty good stint for him.

Colin Graff

Quinn on what Graf needs to work on this summer to crack the San Jose Sharks' lineup next year:

Probably his strength and speed.

He's got an NHL brain, he's got an NHL skill set, so that bodes well for him.

Philip Zadina

San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier on Zadina:

I think there is a further problem. He just has to keep believing in himself, he doesn't have to be too hard on himself and he doesn't have to put his value purely on scoring goals. I think he would be really depressed about himself if he didn't score goals. He has to learn to appreciate the little things in the game, like being good on defense and managing the puck.

That's something he's been working on and I think when it really works out, there's going to be a player there.

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Quinn said Zadina's ability to feel good even in games where he doesn't score is otherwise solid.

Still a work in progress.

It takes time.

Ty Emberson

Quinn on Emberson's next steps:

I think he's a player who can skate at this level and defend at this level. Staying healthy is his next step, really.

Head coach David Quinn saw a lot of positives for the young Sharks this season.

Check out his full media coverage: https://t.co/A2Z6bBjmSl pic.twitter.com/yMFRPDNfJU

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) April 21, 2024