San Jose Sharks: Top 3 players to be excited for this season

Kevin Labanc

The third and final player who will have a big role on the Sharks season is Kevin LaBanc.

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I chose him not only because we got a little sneak peek of what he can do last season, but he also took a $1 million deal to stay with the Sharks when he could have gotten a few more dollars elsewhere.

The 23-year-old right-wing will be skating in his fourth NHL season this year and will look to make sure that at the end of the year, he will be getting paid a lot more than the $1 million he is making right now. Last season, he was able to put up 17 goals and 39 assists in all 82 games.

As he is a reliable player on the Sharks roster, he will be looked to once again to provide that third or fourth line offense that the Sharks will need to have to make sure that this season does not end like last season.

The deal that he took over the summer is a big reason why the Sharks were able to re-sign star defenseman Erik Karlsson. In the playoffs last season, he was able to total four goals and nine assists in the 20 games that he played.

While he was a minus-seven in the playoffs, he was able to be one of the many players that contributed to that historic comeback against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 7 of the first round.