Blades of Teal
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3 Players Who Need “Prove it” Years on the San Jose Sharks

By Lucas Burrell

SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 08: San Jose Sharks players take the ice during game seven of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks on May 8, 2019 at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA - MAY 08: San Jose Sharks players take the ice during game seven of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Colorado Avalanche and the San Jose Sharks on May 8, 2019 at SAP Center in San Jose, CA. (Photo by Cody Glenn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 23: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) pulls in a shot attempt by San Jose Sharks right wing Kevin Labanc (62) during overtime in Game 7, Round 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SAN JOSE, CA – APRIL 23: Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) pulls in a shot attempt by San Jose Sharks right wing Kevin Labanc (62) during overtime in Game 7, Round 1 between the Vegas Golden Knights and the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. (Photo by Douglas Stringer/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Kevin Labanc

Team Teal’s 6th round pick in the 2014 NHL Draft bet on himself by signing a 1 year deal worth 1 million dollars this off-season.

The 23-year-old obviously believes that he can to prove himself to the Sharks, and judging by the opportunities San Jose is giving Labanc they feel the same way. With the loss of depth up front Labanc will be seeing plenty of ice-time with the other top tier players on Team Teal’s roster.

Entering his 4th season in a Teal sweater, Kevin Labanc is coming off a year where he potted 17 goals and racked up 56 total points in 82 total games last year. However now with his newly extended role on this team we should expect a spike in overall production.

Kevin Labanchas already exhibited that he is capable of producing at the NHL level over his brief time in the Bay Area. Now it’s up to him to take the next step into perennial top six forward status. And with no more Joe Pavelski it appears that the runway is finally clear for the skater to reach his full potential, hopefully earning him a contract similar to Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. Or perhaps a bridge deal that could walk him into a huge unrestricted free agency pay-day. Whatever the result the Sharks desperately need him to step up to remain Stanley Cup relevant.

Hot. 3 Wildcard Candidates for the Sharks Captaincy. light

Team Teal’s going to need all hands on deck next season if they even want to come close to repeating the level of success they achieved during last seasons magical run. It’ll be interesting to track whether these players can prove their worth in 2019 – 2020.

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