It’s no mystery that the San Jose Sharks need some help on defense. The team’s abysmal negative-150 goal differential was a joke around the league last season. While the additions of Jake Walman and Cody Ceci in the summer help the Sharks defensively, there is still room for improvement. An infusion of younger talent to play alongside the more seasoned veterans would help. Which is where number 17 on our list, Jack Thompson, comes in.
Thompson is new to the Sharks system. He wasn’t here when we did last season’s 25 Under 25 list and didn’t arrive until close to the trade deadline when General Manager Mike Grier sent Anthony Duclair and a 2025 seventh-round puck to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Thompson and a 2024 third-round pick.
Position: Defense
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 189 lbs.
Age: 22
Date of Birth: March 19, 2002
Draft Year: 2020 (93rd overall by Tampa Bay Lightning)
Shoots: Right
2024-25 Team: San Jose Barracuda
Thompson just completed his second full season in the AHL, splitting time between the Syracuse Crunch and the San Jose Barracuda. Last season, he scored 41 points (6 G, 35 A) in 62 games and was one of the players who represented the Crunch at the AHL All-Star game in San Jose. It was a solid improvement over the 2022-23 season when he scored 23 points (8 G, 15 A) in 71 games as a 20 years old.
Steven Ellis of the Daily Faceoff is high on Thompson as a prospect, saying the defenseman’s ability to put up points in the AHL at such a young age is a big positive for Thompson. He believes the Lightning moved on from the young defenseman simply because there wasn’t a clear path forward to the NHL for him.
What we like
Thompson may not have been around to make our list last season, but he was on Raw Charge’s Top 25 Under 25 list, coming in at number 8. Thompson was the highest defenseman under the age of 25 on the list, and our friends at Raw Charge couldn’t say enough good things about him.
In September of last year, Hardev at Raw Charge said Thompson had “power play value and transition skills.” However, his most valuable asset is his shot and his skating.
“Thompson’s best skill is his shot, which is very good. It, along with his skating and lateral footwork, allows Thompson to be a very useful player on the power play, and in the NHL could lead to second unit time,” wrote Hardev. “Over the years, Thompson has built on his one skill to have a very effective defensive game. His mobility and positional awareness allow him to play against rushes and in the defensive zone without much fuss.”
Ellis of the Daily Faceoff offered up a Marc-Andre Bergeron comparable on the Puck Poolies podcast.
“This is a guy that kind of reminds me of, you know, the way he moves the puck, sort of like a young Marc-Andre Bergeron,” said Ellis. “He’s a bit bigger. He’s 6-foot-1, so he does have a bit of that frame there, but he’s not really going to throw hits. His thing is moving the puck, doing things with that, playing on the power play. When it came to Tampa’s system, it just didn’t seem like there was a clear path up for him.”
Areas of improvement
Thompson did precisely what he needed to do at the AHL level. He came in and had an impactful first season in 2022-23. Then, he upped that game in 2023-24. For him, the next step is proving he has what it takes to play for the Sharks out of training camp.
The tools are there, now Thompson just needs the experience. He will need to prove that he can transition his two-way game to the highest level.
What’s next for Thompson?
Which leads to what’s next.
It’s no secret that San Jose is in desperate need of right-shot defensemen. Ceci, Jan Rutta and Matt Benning are the only players on the current Sharks’ roster that shoot from the right. On the Barracuda, there are just two right-shot defensemen currently, Thompson and Gannon Laroque.
Given the potential for injuries and trades this season, Thompson has a very real chance of getting games in with the Sharks and it could be soon.
Expect to see him moving back and forth between the Sharks and Barracuda this season, and if all goes well, he’ll have earned himself a spot on the roster by the end of the season. While Thompson won’t solve San Jose’s need for a high-end, right-shot defenseman, he could offer the team the depth it needs to compete in the future.
Highlights
We’ll start the highlights out with Thompson’s first goal in teal. Notice how he finds open space on the ice and then gets a shot on goal that beats the diving player and the goaltender.
#26 JACK THOMPSON – 1ST IN TEAL🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/1lW9JthWDK
— SJ Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) March 31, 2024
Then there’s this clip from April of 2023. Start from the 2:07 mark and watch Thompson once again find that open ice and then score.
