The Sharks just revealed their SECRET WEAPON...

The Sharks have scored one goal in each of their last two games and lost both at home. Sam Dickinson scored the only one against Calgary on Sunday night and the night before that Ottawa won 5-1. The Sharks are 7-8-1 and they're fifth in the Pacific Division. Then on Tuesday they made a big move. They recalled defenseman Eric Polkamp from the Barracuda. I love this move and I've been saying for weeks that this kid should get called up and he belongs in this lineup every night. I've said it since preseason and tonight he gets his chance against a rival in the LA Kings. He is a defenseman with a booming shot. We've seen it on the power play in the preseason. He's been doing it all season in the Barracuda and he has a shot that creates rebounds and chances in front of the net that we right now are generating and we can capitalize on and get a few goals on the board tonight. I think he's really going to help out this offense. So in this video, we're going to break down why Polkamp can change this offense, where he fits with Orlov and on the power play, and three keys to victory against the Kings tonight. Let's start with who he is. Eric Polkamp is a 22-year-old defenseman. The Sharks took him in the fifth round at the 132nd pick. Nobody was talking about him none that day, but now let's take a look at what he did last year at the University of Denver. In 25-26, he scored 18 goals and added 21 assists for 39 points in 43 games. That is the college season, not the NHL. And he led every defenseman in college in both goals and points. He was a top three finalist for the Hobey Baker Award, which is the best player in college hockey, and Denver won the national title. A defenseman who scores 18 goals in 43 games is not normal, and that's a shooter who plays on the back end, and that plays a lot into our favor. And that's why I was making the case for him in this lineup every night back in the preseason. He played three preseason games and had two points, a goal, and an assist. Then on September 28th, the Sharks sent him to the Barracuda. I thought he had earned his spot, but the Sharks wanted him to play first-pairing minutes down in the AHL. Fair enough, but now look where he is, back up at the big club. Forget the idea that he is a prospect. Who needs time? He has played a championship-level college season, and he's 22 years old. And the minutes are there for the Sharks to find. Macklin Celebrini plays 22 minutes and 40 seconds a night, second among their forwards, and nobody behind him on that list is anywhere near him in points. And the Sharks' defense needs to help. Sharks score 2.6 goals a game. The league median is 3.1, and tonight is a night to find a new way to score. Now the part I'm most excited about. Where does he play tonight? Right now, the pair is Orlov and Nolan Allen. I would love to see Polkamp take Allen's spot with Orlov. Here is why. Orlov is minus 13 on the season, and the Sharks are down 9 goals when he is on the ice. With Orlov on the ice, the Sharks create 35.3% of the 5-on-5 expected goals and score 27.3% of the 5-on-5 goals. Something needs to change next to him. Here is the choice. Orlov with the same partner, or Orlov with a rookie who has a lot to prove. A shooter on that pair gives Orlov someone to pass to on the one-timers. And when those start making goals happen, his plus-minus will rise out of that minus-13 hole he's in right now. And think about what he would do to the power play unit. He's a quarterback of a power play. We've seen it in the preseason, even at the NHL level. And he can really come in and revamp this unit too, because you don't want to spine They're converting so good. But when you put a guy like Polkamp there, who can either shoot a big shot, make a pass move, this power play two unit will start converting as well. And I really want him quarterbacking that power play two unit tonight. Just give him a shot. Why? Because of that booming shot. And when he has that shot and the penalty killers know he has it, they're going to have to close out on him and he can just slip a pass through and they can create a chance that way. And if he's not passing, those big shots will create rebounds, and rebounds are how a team that scores 2.6 goals a game turns into a team that scores 3. The league median is 3.1 goals a game. Celebrini leads the team with 16 points. After him, Will Smith and Truby tied at 10. That is a big drop. If a defenseman can turn points into second chances, the next name on that list will start to climb. I'm not saying he's a star on night one, but the Sharks are down to ideas right now, and a shot like his is a very good idea. Think about who was standing in front of the net. Ivan Stenberg has 9 points, Tyler Toffoli has 9, and Kiefer Sherwood has 8. Those are exactly players who live for rebound chances, and when you have a guy like Polkamp who will create a lot of rebounds off the goaltenders, these guys are going to feast off of that. That is the case for Eric Polkamp. He doesn't have to come in and be a star like Celebrini, but if he can come in and help generate offense throughout the bottom nine even, that'll be a huge win. And I think Polkamp is going to shock a lot of people tonight. Before you comment, here's my question to you early, because I want to see what you think. Do you think that Eric Polkamp should start next to Orlov or Trouba? Let me know down in the comments. Okay, beyond Polkamp being called up, tonight is a game against a rival in the LA Kings. So what do the Sharks need to do to win? The Kings are 4-7-2 and sit 7th in the Pacific with 10 points. They have not played since Saturday, October 31st, when they lost 3-2 to Buffalo. The Sharks are 7-8-1 with 15 points, 5th in the Pacific, so this is a game San Jose should win. Key number one is the power play. The Kings kill penalties at a 61.5% rate. The league median is 76.9%. The power play is the easiest way to win games because you're obviously on the man advantage and with a team that has a bad penalty kill we can take advantage of that and turn it into easy goals tonight and if we get Polkamp out on unit two we could be in for something special. Key number two is get bodies in front of the net because we can just start sifting pucks on creating rebounds and just getting the dirty goals our 2.6 goals a game will rise. It's also why I like celebrating tonight, 37.8% of his shot attempts come from inside 25 feet, so he goes where the rebounds land. Key number three is to not give it back. The last time these two teams played on October 4th, the Sharks won 5-4 in overtime, and they had to because they blew a lead in the third period. A Kings team that needs to get their season going will push back late, so the Sharks need to protect the lead. One more thing, Yaroslav Askarov will be heading into net tonight. I like how he's been playing more recently, and he's been playing some great hockey for us, so we just got to keep the puck out of our zone, stop getting hemmed in as much, create the good outlets, get in up the ice, and hold the puck and hem them into their zone tonight, and give Askarov an easy start. And here's the thing about October 4th. That was a close win because the Kings were bad. Panarin tied the game, about five minutes left, and Adrian Kempe and Byfield scored on the power play. So the Kings have players who can hurt you. Panarin has 13 points. Brian Clark has 10. Lafreniere has 9. Adrian Kempe has 8. And Drew Doughty has 7. Look at that list. Two of their top five scorers are defensemen in Clark and Doughty. The Kings get offense from the blue line. That's what the Sharks are trying to do tonight by bringing up Polkamp. Now watch their best player, Artemi Panarin, who leads the Kings with 13 points in 13 games. Take away his time and you take away the Kings. The Kings also take away just 38.5% of the points on offer. The league median is 57.1%. The three keys are win the power play, go to the net, and don't give the lead back. Now what does a good night look for the new call-up in Eric Polkamp? It's not three goals, it's way simpler than that. It's just getting shots from the point on net, creating those rebounds, and creating scoring chances. If we can see that out of him tonight, I'll be very happy on him going forward as a Shark. If you see that, you'll know why I've been calling for this guy to be in the lineup since night one, even before night one in the preseason. But if he doesn't do that, he's 20 years old, and it's only night one, so we've got to give him a break. And remember, the Sharks have lost their last two games at home now, and we're at a little bit of a losing streak, so we need to get this win back tonight. They don't need a hero, they need a defenseman who makes other teams' goalies work. So this is where I am. Polkamp has a shot. He has the resume. And I want to see him next to Orlov tonight and quarterbacking the power play unit too. And if the Sharks win tonight, it won't just be on one player getting called up. It will be because the power play played good. They got in front of the net and they crowded it and they got some dirty goals down low and nobody gave up the third period lead again. And they finally locked down and protect the lead and play a full 60. That's what I want tonight. The Sharks have lost two games in a row at home, and a rookie will not fix everything, but a rebound here and a power play there is how a 2.6 goals a game starts to change. Tell me your score predictions down below in the chat. Who do you think is going to win tonight? Is it going to be the Sharks? Is it going to be the Kings? Are you guys excited for Polkamp as I am? Let me know down below in the comment section. We're going to be live for another watch-along tonight as well. So go down below, hit that subscribe button, put the notifications on so you do know when we go live with the live stream. And as always, I'm your host, KC. Keep your stick on the ice.