For the third time in the last six weeks, the Sharks and Wild made a trade.
The Sharks acquired forward James Sheppard for a third round pick in 2013. Sheppard missed the entire 2010-11 season due to a knee injury suffered in an ATV accident last September.
Sheppard was the ninth overall pick in the 2006 draft, but he has not panned out. He skipped the minors and went right to the NHL after his third season of junior hockey. In his last season for Cape Breton of the QMJHL, he had 33 goals and 63 assists in 56 games. He’s come nowhere near those lofty scoring totals in the NHL, only having 49 points in 224 career games. He last played in 2009-10, where he had two goals and four assists in 64 games.
Sheppard is a big body (6’2, 210) that can kill penalties. He obviously has skill since he put up great numbers in junior, but that hasn’t translated to the NHL yet. He isn’t a good skater, and his knee injury won’t help that. He will throw a hit every once in...
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