Blades of Teal
Fansided

3 Potential Breakout Candidates on the San Jose Sharks

By Lucas Burrell

SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 23: Kevin Labanc #62 of the San Jose Sharks takes a shot on goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 23, 2019 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - APRIL 23: Kevin Labanc #62 of the San Jose Sharks takes a shot on goal against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 23, 2019 in San Jose, California (Photo by Brandon Magnus/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 23: Kevin Labanc #62 of the San Jose Sharks skates with the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 23, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 23: Kevin Labanc #62 of the San Jose Sharks skates with the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Seven of the Western Conference First Round during the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at SAP Center on April 23, 2019 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images) /

Kevin Labanc

After his monster performance during Game 4 of Round 1 versus the Vegas Golden Knights, Kevin Labanc made a bet on himself that he would play a huge role in the San Jose Sharks success in the upcoming season.

In his 3rd season suiting up for Team Teal the 23-year-old elevated his game to new heights riding shotgun alongside journeymen Joe Thornton at 5v5, and at times on the first power play unit.

In 2018 – 2019 Labanc potted 17 goals compiling 56 total points along the way. The Staten island native’s lethal shot got put on display all season long using it to not only score goals, but filter pucks through net front screens in order to create high danger chances for his teammates.

Kevin Labanc likely has the most to gain in regards to ice-time with the departure of Joe Pavelski. Labanc logged 14:01 of average ice time per contest last season and will definitely see a significant bump in usage with the skater being the best option at right-wing coming into camp.

It’s still undecided which San Jose Sharks skater will be taking Pavelski’s spot on the top power-play unit, but Labanc has a good a shot as any to get the coaching staffs attention. With the extra exposure on special times and overall ice time don’t be shocked if we see Labanc reaching 70 point territory.

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