With the recent deal that sent Brad Stuart, Curtis Brown, and Josef Melichar to Calgary, the Sharks blueline has a new look that will hopefully lead them to success. Aquired in the trade were Nick Boynton, Jordan Leopold, and Andrew Ference. Sharks General Manager Ryan Schnell believes Nick Boynton will turn into the teams #1 defenseman in the next few seasons.
"Nick is strong at all aspects of the game and given the oppertunity he has here, I believe he will thrive."
Jordan Leopold also has the skills to become a #1 defenseman, but for now he will be used as the Sharks #3 man where he can help the Sharks mediocre power play with his gifted offensiveskills. Schnell has confidence that Leopold will have a great oppertunity to bring his game to the next level in San Jose.
"Jordan will be counted on at both ends of the ice, and right now we have him penciled in to play alongside Mike Rathje in the #1 pairing."
Andrew Ference was the final piece of the deal, and despite only standing 5'10", he plays like he's 6'2" or 6'3". Ference will play somewhere in the bottom 2 pairings and will bring a solid and aggresive two way game. Schnell says that Ference will be asked to quarterback the second power play unit.
"Andrew has the potential to put up a lot of points in this league if he refines the skills he has already."
The Sharks now have 7 solid defensemen on their pro roster which leads to rumors about who is the odd man out. Schnell has said that he might be willing to package two dmen together in a deal to upgrade, but he says he could also stick with the current lineup and go into the season with good depth.