Sharks Make International History on Draft Night

Though Wang's two points in 32 games with the Generals this past season will definitely not pop out at you, his size and length will. At six-foot-six and 223 pounds, according to EliteProspects.com, Wang was among the biggest bodies in his draft class, one of the reasons for the history-making pick.

So Wang has size and length. Couldn't Sharks general manager Mike Grier have waited until the later rounds of the draft for a player of similar size? Yes, of course, but it's what the Beijing, China, native is able to do at his size that probably intrigued teams like the Sharks. Don't let the heavy oak tree of a defenseman in Wang fool you; he can move, his skating ability is a strong suit of his, something he can attribute to his mother, Willa.

Enze Wang, a friend of Simons, told NHL.com columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika about Willa turning a soccer bubble into an ice rink due to the next closest rink being more than an hour away. 

"She saw his interest in playing hockey and saw the interest of him just being on the ice. That's why she built the rink, built everything for Simon, just because she saw the interest of Simon, how determined he is."

Willa's devotion to providing a rink for her son has now obviously paid off. Paired with his physical attributes, Wang's skating ability has given him all the intangibles to become a shut-down defenseman. His mobility has allowed him to close off lanes, intercept plays, and, obviously, lay the body, qualities that will definitely make the Sharks interested in calling him up in the future.

The issue that lies before Wang is that his hockey IQ needs improvement, according to Corey Pronman of The Athletic. But unlike San Jose's second overall pick Michael Misa, Wang won't have as much pressure to develop his game to the NHL level, as he's committed to playing at Boston University of the NCAA next season.

Even if Wang proves true to his draft stock, he'll still have to climb the ranks of an already stacked San Jose prospect pipeline, but he'll be determined to do so.

"I think I'm just getting started," Simon said. "I never really knew this game, how it's supposed to be played, until 14, so I'm always the underdog. I always have distance to catch up, so I still have the hunger in me, so I have the drive that I've got to get better every single day to catch up to them. That's why I'm probably one of the most unique guys in the draft class right now." 

Perhaps Wang understands how vital it is to understand the game at such a young age because he mentioned that once his hockey career concludes, he aims to develop a generation of Chinese players for North American competition. But he may need the help of his mother to add to their nation's just over one hundred hockey rinks to accomplish that goal.