SAN JOSE — Thomas Bordeleau played center at Michigan, has been a centerman in international competition for Team USA, and played in the middle when he dressed for his first eight NHL games last season.
Bordeleau, though, will start on the wing for his ninth NHL game Thursday when the San Jose Sharks host the Vegas Golden Knights.
Bordeleau, recalled from the Barracuda of the AHL on Thursday, will play left wing on a line with Logan Couture and Fabian Zetterlund against the Golden Knights, as he dresses for his first NHL game since April 29 of last year.
Also on Thursday, Andrew Agozzino was returned to the AHL.
"I'll just take whatever I can get ice time-wise," Bordeleau said Thursday morning.
Looking at the Sharks' depth chart over the next couple of seasons, Bordeleau's path to earning a full-time NHL role might involve staying on the wing for a bit longer.
Tomas Hertl and Couture are both locked up long-term as the Sharks' No. 1 and 2 centers, respectively and likely won't be going anywhere for quite a few more years. Nico Sturm has established himself as the Sharks' No. 3 centerman, with career-highs in goals (14) and points (24) before Thursday, and is under contract for two more seasons.
Steven Lorentz, San Jose's fourth-line center, is signed through next season and might be someone the Sharks look to keep around longer than that considering how effective he is in his role.
In other words, if there's one area where the Sharks have organizational depth, it's in the middle.
Perhaps with that in mind, the Barracuda had Bordeleau play on the wing almost exclusively over the last several weeks.
There were some up-and-downs, particularly as it relates to the 21-year-old's two-way game, but he still was the Barracuda's second-leading scorer with 22 goals and 41 points in 64 games.
"That's usually what happens as you climb the hockey ladder, centers become wings, and he's no different," Sharks coach David Quinn said of Bordeleau. "But the thing I like about him, he's got a great hockey mind. I'm not worried about him adjusting to the wing. He's done a good job of it with the Barracuda, and it's hockey.
"Our sport is becoming less positional driven. So a lot of times he will be the low guy coming back into our end and have to assume some of the center's responsibility. Everybody does. So I'm not worried about him making that adjustment at this level."
Neither is the 5-foot-9-ish Bordeleau, who is San Jose's smallest winger by weight at a listed 175 pounds.
"Everything changes so fast in hockey, you never know, really, what's going to happen," Bordeleau said. "I'm not saying it will happen or it won't, but, really I've just got to keep focusing on what I do. If I'll move to center, it will happen, if not, it won't. I just want to play."
Quinn added that Bordeleau's play will determine whether he stays on the wing or is able to move back to center at some point.
"At the end of the day when you're up here, whether we think he can handle the responsibilities of a center is going to be dictated by his play," Quinn said.
Bordeleau is the fourth forward to be recalled from the AHL by the Sharks this month, as he follows William Eklund, Agozzino, and Jeffrey Viel.
Bordeleau said he wasn't bothered that others were getting chances to play in the NHL this month and he wasn't. His main disappointment came in October when he was sent back to the AHL after the Sharks returned from Europe.
"For me, the big hit was more of the start of the year, really," Bordeleau said. "The callups or whatnot, for me, it wasn't really affecting my mood that much. The biggest hurdle for me was the start of the year and then getting going.
"But after that, I kind of anticipated it, you know, whoever's going to go was going to go. Everyone's time will come eventually. I was kind of looking at it that way and I wasn't too nervous."
RECRUITING TRAIL: Quinn couldn't quite close the deal in getting defenseman Henry Thrun to play for his team once before. The Sharks coach wasn't going to let Thrun get away a second time.
Quinn and members of Sharks' front office talked to Thrun shortly after the team acquired his rights from the Anaheim Ducks late last month, selling him on the idea of signing with the organization before he became a free agent in August.
It helped that the two have a history. Around eight years ago, Quinn, then Boston University's coach, tried to recruit Thrun to come play for the Terriers. Thrun, though, spurned the offer and attended Harvard instead.
Now, after Thrun signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Sharks on Saturday, the two are finally part of the same team. Thrun will make his NHL debut.
"(Quinn) jokes that he's just one for two in recruiting me to where he's coaching," Thrun said. "But he's one of the main reasons I'm here. He's someone that I trust, and I'm really excited to work with him."
Thrun will take Matt Benning's spot in the lineup and play alongside Radim Simek. Benning was injured in the third period of Tuesday's game against the Winnipeg Jets and did not play the final few minutes. He is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
INJURY UPDATE: All of the players who missed Tuesday's game remain out of the lineup. That includes forwards Alexander Barabanov, Andreas Johnsson, and Evgeny Svechnikov, all day-to-day with lower-body injuries. Svechnikov skated Thursday morning in a small sign of progress.
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