Over the last few weeks, we've covered draft targets for the San Jose Sharks for both of their first-round picks. With the NHL Draft just over a week away, things are going to heat up, and fast. Teams are going to hold their final scouting meetings before the draft takes place next Friday, June 27th.
Between today and next Friday, the San Jose Sharks site will have a ton more draft content, including targets for the second-round picks that the team owns. However, thanks to a commenter last night, today, I've decided to cover one more in the 30–35 range, so the Sharks could use either the 30th or 33rd overall pick to draft him. Let's dive into covering Haoxi “Simon” Wang as he looks to make history as the first Chinese-born player to play in the NHL.
Scouting Report
Team: Oshawa Generals (OHL) / University of Boston (NCAA)
2024–25 Stats: 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, 19 PIM (32 games)
DOB: July 27, 2007
Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 209 lbs
At 6-foot-6, 209 pounds, Wang is a monster of a man. He gained a lot of attention after starting his 2024-25 season in the OJHL, then joined the Generals in the OHL and made the most of his opportunity. He isn't going to score a ton of points from the blue line, but his presence will be felt. He is very good at using his size to his advantage. He is also mobile and can use his speed to break up plays. Scouts would consider him to be a two-way defender, but he's more steady in his own end. He has some offensive talent, can join the rush, and make a good first pass. He is a very intelligent player who will only get better as he matures.
Thanks to Wang's great skating for his size, he can join the rush and still be able to get back to disrupt any plays in his own zone. Over the course of his time in the OHL, he has grown a lot. He started out making mistakes and wasn’t as confident with the puck. However, now he stays in position, makes fewer mistakes, and is more confident when the puck is on his stick. With a player like Wang, it may take a few years before he is fully NHL-ready, but if the Sharks draft him with the idea that he may require more time to mature and grow as a player, they could be setting themselves up for a very reliable second or third-pairing defenseman who is big and mobile. There's no better team that has the time to allow him to season in the organization than the Sharks, they are nowhere near “win-now,” so they can be patient with him.
What the Scouts Are Saying:
In Wang, you get all the advantages of size without the usual drawbacks that come with it. He can flex his lower body, bring his knees over his toes, and drop his upper body at just the right angle to enable fast and smooth lateral pivots, crossovers, and backward strides. — Elite Prospects, 2025
Wang’s an extraordinarily mobile player for his size, with impressive skating technique through his inside and outside edges laterally and flowing mechanics going north or back to pucks. And while his handling still needs a little refinement, he’s got some skill, can play with fearless confidence (which I wanted him to show more of and skate more pucks in the OHL instead of deferring) and has the heavy shot you’d expect. There’s work to do to tighten his gaps, but there’s a lot to like. . — Scott Wheeler, The Athletic
“The 6-foot-6 defender is an excellent skater – like, one of the more fluent movers in the draft – while doing an excellent job of carrying the puck up the ice. The ceiling is so high, especially since he has only recently started to figure out how to use his frame and mobility to dominate the competition. Offense has been hard to come by in the OHL, but I still really like his game.” —Steven Ellis, Daily Faceoff
Simon (Haoxi) Wang is this year’s unicorn. He’s one of the tallest defenders in the class – but is missing a lot of weight. His skating is awkward but sharp, and he’s able to both reach an impressive top speed and beat opponents in-tight with his edgework. Wang’s stickhandling is his starring ability, and he uses it to really control play north of the blue-line. Wang had a pretty storied path to the OHL, and hasn’t done much in top juniors yet – but his jump, puck-control, and heads-up offense look like they’ll shine through sooner rather than later. —Gabe Foley, Recruit Scouting
The Sharks almost seem like a near-perfect fit for Wang. As mentioned above, he may be two or three years away from being an everyday NHLer, but they have the time to be patient with him. If they do, they will be getting a very good defenseman. He has the tools to be a solid two-way blue liner, but if the Sharks can hyper-focus on his defensive skill set, he could turn out to be one of the best shutdown defenders in the league. He does have the size and the reach to be your prototypical rugged defenseman with a bit of offensive upside. Seems like a win-win for the Sharks.
Let us know what you think below.
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