Prospect of the Year: Thomas Bordeleau

The
San Jose Sharks
announced today, that Thomas Bordeleau is the first recipient of the Sharks Prospect of the Year Award presented by Kaiser Permanente and is give to the top overall prospect in the Sharks system as voted on by team management and staff.
What an incredible year Bordeleau had for the Michigan Wolverines who established himself as a top player in the NCAA, doing so in his freshman year.

"Thomas Bordeleau was an impact player from the first game of the season," said Mel Pearson, Head Coach of the Michigan Men's hockey team. "He continued to develop and grow throughout the year into one of the best players in college hockey. Thomas made his mark on every facet of our program, from the penalty kill, to the power play, to 5x5, and we look forward to his continued development at Michigan."
Rewind to the 2020 NHL Draft in which the Sharks selected him 38th overall in the second round. Through some shrewd draft evaluations and thinking by Doug Wilson Jr., the Sharks took a chance and traded down to get Bordeleau after swapping picks with the Buffalo Sabres, trading their 34th overall for the 38th and another selection. It feels like the Sharks certainly got their money's worth for selecting Bordeleau early in the second round.
Despite all the COVID restrictions and guidelines, Bordeleau was able to skate for the Wolverines in his first NCAA season, after skating for U.S. National Team and the USNTDP Juniors in the United States Hockey League. He contributed right out of the gate this season, scoring his first career NCAA goal against Arizona State on Nov. 14 in an 8-1 rout and followed up with a two assist performance to sweep the weekend series. He scored the game-winning goal in the opening game of the season and assisted on the game-winner the following night.
We then were treated to an early favorite for goal of the year. After a three-assist performance the night before, Thomas Bordeleau scored the overtime game-winning goal at Wisconsin. A reminder that this was Sportscenter's Top Play of the night on Nov. 20.

He then got the call to attend Team USA's World Junior's selection camp, so he officially missed his first two games of the season, but after he returned, Bordeleau stepped on the gas and helped Michigan win six of their next seven games.
He registered an official eight-game point streak after returning, collecting two goals and nine assists, but if you take the full streak as he had missed two games, it was 10 straight contests with a point.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Bordeleau saw his streak snapped against rival Ohio State on the 19th but returned and found his name on the scoresheet four times, collecting his first career multi-goal performance and earning four points in total the next night. He had a nifty goal against the Buckeyes, pouncing on the puck in the offensive zone and put on a display around the defender before finding the back of the net. Almost like déjà vu from his overtime goal back in November.Oh, and remember when he attempted the Michigan for the first time? It's a shame the puck didn't find the back of the net.
Bordeleau wrapped up his freshman season with 30 total points in 24 games played, scoring eight goals and 22 assists in the process. By the end of the season, he led all NCAA freshmen skaters in assists, points, assists-per-game, and points-per-game. He ranked fifth in power-play points (10) and was tied for second in game-winning goals. Among all NCAA skaters, he finished seventh in assists and 15th in points.
Among his several accolades by the end of the year, he was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Second Team All Big Ten, Big Ten All-Freshman team, College Hockey News All-Rookie team, Sharks Prospect of the Week twice (Nov. 16, Feb. 15), and was also the recipient of the Tim Taylor Award, given to the NCAA D-I player judged to be the most outstanding Freshman.
Despite missing out on two top-level tournaments in the World Juniors, where Team USA won gold, and the NCAA Championships due to COVID protocols, Bordeleau had an incredibly successful season. It's safe to say the Sharks have secured a top-level prospect and his development will only get better as his career continues to progress.