San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun had a steady year after he was recalled from the AHL, but he says he's ready to be even better next season.
San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun had a steady year after he was recalled from the AHL, but he says he's ready to be even better next season.
San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun had a steady year after he was recalled from the AHL, but he says he's ready to be even better next season.
In 51 games at the NHL level this season, Thrun had three goals and eight assists while averaging 19:59 time on ice. He became one of head coach David Quinn's go-to guys when the injury bug continuously hit the Sharks' blue line.
"I think it was a solid year. I felt like I saw a lot of growth in my game, which I was happy with," Thrun said. "I think at the end of the day, if at the start of the year you said I'd be playing 20 minutes a night, [and that] I'll be up there with the team [leaders] with with time on ice per game, I'd be pretty happy with that. I felt I was relied upon and thought it was a solid year."
Thrun noted that there are areas of his game he needs to improve.
"I think from a personal assessment, probably my strength and ability to hold on the pucks would be my two biggest things, and I think the strength aspects a big thing," Thrun explained. "I felt that I've always been strong from a young age, and I've always been pretty confident in my abilities with that, but I think the NHL is a different level. Being stronger is only going to help, and I feel like it'll help me specifically within battles on the ice."
Adding strength has been a big theme for the Sharks during the last part of the season and exit interviews. Head coach David Quinn and GM Mike Grier have talked at length about being "harder to play against."
Thrun has high hopes for himself in the NHL. The 23-year-old wants to become a No. 1 defenseman in the NHL.
"I'm striving to be the best player that I can be. I want to be a first-pair guy, and I want to be a dominant player in this league. I think this year there were aspects of my game that I wasn't fully able to display, particularly on the offensive side," Thrun said.
The young d-man has produced offense before in his playing career. At Harvard, Thrun was often one of the top-scoring players in the NCAA as a defenseman. As the team captain in the 2022-23 season, Thrun had seven goals and 24 assists in 33 games. He had seven goals and 25 assists in 35 games the season before.
"I have always been really confident in my offensive game, and I think this year, I obviously didn't expect to produce at the same rate that I did in college, but it was a little lower than I had hoped for," Thrun said. "I think that that's a part of my game that I usually didn't mention to [the media] because it's something that I know I have, and I think just with team success, that'll come a little bit more."
Thrun was running the point of the Sharks' first powerplay unit late in the season and showed an excellent ability to quarterback the top unit.
"I feel I have a lot to give to help the team win. I'm striving to be the No. 1 d-man, [and] play on first pairs," he said. "I think that is something that excites me, and I've always been pretty motivated like that, and I'm just trying to be the best player I can be."
Thrun is a restricted free agent, but the Sharks will likely sign him up for an extension this summer. Based on his playing time and ability, he looks to be one of the core members of the rebuilding defense group.
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