When Ozzy Wiesblatt’s name comes up, most Sharks fans usually think of the heartwarming draft night gesture made by Doug Wilson, Jr. upon his selection, as well as the incredible odds that he overcame to ever get to professional hockey in the first place. Since then, however, the 2020 first-round draft pick has seen his progress stall and be surpassed by several other prospects, including several chosen after him in his draft year.
Position: Right Wing
Height: 5-foot-10
Weight: 185 lbs
Age: 21
Date of Birth: March 09, 2002
Draft Year: 2020, 31st overall by the Sharks
Shoots: Right
2023-24 Team: San Jose Barracuda
At first glance, Wiesblatt’s first professional season did not go to plan, with the 2020 first-rounder finding his ice-time severely limited on a middling Barracuda squad. He played in just 45 games and put up 15 points in a depth role for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, averaging just 11 minutes of ice-time per game. He even found himself temporarily reassigned to the ECHL, practicing with the Stockton Thunder before promptly being called up to the Barracuda again in the wake of a rash of injuries for the AHL club.
Coming off the back of a fairly underwhelming end to his junior hockey career, where he dipped below the point-per-game mark for the first time since his rookie campaign in the WHL, this was almost certainly not what San Jose wanted to see from its former first-round selection. In fact, things looked so bad midseason that the club considered re-assigning him to juniors, and the Portland Winterhawks even traded for his rights in anticipation of a possible move back to the WHL.
However, the Sharks decided to keep him in the organization, with Barracuda General Manager Joe Will citing the need for him to get acclimated to the standards of professional hockey and praising his improvement over the course of the year. This sentiment was echoed by Barracuda head coach John McCarthy, who claimed that Wiesblatt was actually ahead of schedule for his age and noted that such development bumps were expected for many prospects.
Is this confidence well-founded? Maybe. It is true that many prospects hit obstacles in their development, and it is true that spots are limited at the top level. But the vast majority of prospects don’t make it to the NHL in the first place, and clubs usually expect their higher picks to be the standouts and the exceptions to these trends. Sending a former first-rounder down to the ECHL and considering a reassignment to juniors does not track with the path taken by most successful NHLers, regardless of the reasons for such decisions.
But while there is no papering over Wiesblatt’s lack of production, the surface-level statistics may be a bit harsher on him than he deserves. While he certainly had an exceptionally bumpy start to his season, he did turn his game around significantly towards the tail end of the campaign, breaking into the Barracuda’s top six for the first time and netting his first professional hat-trick in April.
Wiesblatt will begin the next season battling for a spot in the Barracuda’s top-six, and the improved set of opportunities could lead to a significant jump in production as a result. There is still time for him to turn into a regular depth player at the NHL level, and he has overcome significantly more challenging obstacles on his way to the professional leagues. It would be tough for anyone to count him out at any stage, no matter how long the odds may look on the surface.
What We Like
A livewire of energy, Wiesblatt is one of the scrappiest and most hard-working players around, with a motor that never seems to stop running. With above-average skating and soft hands, the 5-foot-10 forward is a sneaky-good playmaker who also happens to be an excellent player in transition. This means his likely ceiling is a third-liner who can contribute a bit offensively as well, making him a valuable future depth piece to a contending team.
If you’re looking for a player comparable, current Sharks player development coach Tommy Wingels would be a good start.
Areas of Improvement
Wiesblatt’s two biggest areas of improvement remain his offensive game and his physique. Given his draft position, his offense has been fairly limited throughout his time in juniors, and his statistical profile does not match up with that of a high-impact scoring forward in the NHL. If he is to make it as a scrappy third-liner, however, he will almost certainly need to put on some weight and withstand the physical challenges of the league better.
Highlight
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