If the first few days of San Jose Sharks training camp are any indication of things to come - Joonas Donskoi will be expected to play a much bigger role in the team's offense in 2017-18.
Sharks head coach Pete Deboer says not to read too much into his early camp line combos. However, having Donskoi paired with Logan Couture on the second line since day one is speaking volumes on its own. The Sharks expect more from Donskoi and they expect in now.
The loss of Patrick Marleau and his 27 goals, combined with the addition of...well...nobody...means somebody currently on the roster will have to pick up the slack.
It's clear the Sharks and Deboer have Donskoi in the cross-hairs.
The Sharks signed Donskoi out of the Finnish Liiga in 2015. In his first two seasons in San Jose, the young forward has 53 points (17 goals, 36 asssts) in 137 games.
After a promising rookie campaign, Donskoi suffered through a sophomore slump this season, missing 21 games because of recurring shoulder issues
In his full season, Donskoi scored 11 goals with 36 points in 76 games, his numbers dropped significantly the following year. Donskoi put up just 17 points (6g 11a) in 61 games. He even found himself a health scratch during both the regular season and playoffs. That kind of lackluster performance will not fly this season, especially after signing a two-year extension in May.
The Sharks have faith in their young wingers but I'm not sold on him long-term.
Why? Well, first and foremost - he's simply not an offensive juggernaut, never has been and likely never will bel. He's never scored 20 goals in a season - at any level. His best offensive season came in 2014-15 with Karpat when he scored 19 goals in 58 games.
This is from Ulf Andersson of Eliteprospects.com.
"Donskoi is an explosive skater. Works hard both ways. Has excellent stickhandling ability and puck control, but could improve his finishing skills."
Seems fairly accurate. The Sharks may be banking on a big season from Donskoi, I just don't think there's enough funds to keep that check from bouncing.
Thanks for reading, Steve