No. 7 Henry Thrun: Using defense to drive the offense

Number 7 on our list garnered a lot of attention from Sharks fans late last season, and there is plenty to be excited about. In the past year, the Massachusetts native has captained his team at Harvard University, made his NHL debut with two assists, and represented the United States at the Men’s World Championships. Now, Henry Thrun enters the Sharks training camp in direct competition for a spot on the opening night defensive core.

Position: Defense
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 190 lbs.
Age: 22
Date of Birth: March 12, 2001
Draft Year: 2019, 101st overall by the Anaheim Ducks
Shoots: Left
2023-24 Team: San Jose Barracuda (AHL)/ San Jose Sharks (NHL)

Thrun grew up in Southborough, Mass., where he eventually played for his high school team, St. Mark’s School. In his two years playing for St. Mark’s, Thrun led the way as a freshman and sophomore defenseman. By his sophomore season, Thrun was second on the team in points, finishing only behind Montreal Canadiens’ prospect Sean Farrell.

Interestingly enough, Thrun and Farrell would share many hockey experiences together as they progressed in their careers. Thrun supplemented his prep school hockey with some additional games for the Neponset Valley River Rats 16U and 18U AAA teams.

Then, in 2017-18, Thrun made the leap to play for the National Team Development Program. The defenseman put up some big numbers, including 23 points in 28 games against USHL competition in 2018-19. Plus/minus isn’t the most reliable statistic, but Thrun’s +44 with the NTDP overall in his final season is quite impressive.

Alongside Thrun at the USNTDP was his neighborhood teammate, Sean Farrell. That 2018-19 NTDP team boasted the likes of Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield, Trevor Zegras, Matt Boldy, Matty Beniers, and Spencer Knight. It wasn’t fair.

In the autumn of 2019, Thrun moved back to Massachusetts to play for Harvard University. That season was cut short, but as a freshman in the NCAA, Thrun played a solid game. He put up 21 points in 31 games and led the team in +/- by a significant margin.

As a rookie, Thrun was a finalist for the ECAC Hockey Best Defensive Defenseman. Harvard didn’t have a season during 2020-21, so Thrun played for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL and was nearly a point-per-game player with 22 points in 24 games. He also represented Team USA at the Men’s World Juniors in 2021, winning the Gold Medal.

His final two years at Harvard were impressive. It was where he really accelerated his growth to who we now see as an NHL-level defenseman. Combining his junior and senior years, Thrun scored 63 points in 68 games and was a +29 overall. As a senior at Harvard, Thrun earned the captaincy and was the team’s top defenseman. Of course, alongside Thrun was Farrell as well, who led Harvard in points in Thrun’s senior year.

It was at this stage that Thrun made it clear to the Anaheim Ducks, who drafted him, that he would not be interested in signing an entry-level contract with the organization. Sharks General Manager Mike Grier wisely picked Thrun’s signing rights up for a 2024 third round pick on Feb. 28. As soon as his final season at Harvard ended, Thrun signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks.

Thrun famously earned two assists in the first period of his NHL debut against the Vegas Golden Knights. David Quinn certainly gave the young college grad plenty of ice time for a rookie on defense. In his eight games last season, Thrun played an average of 19:51 per game. Not high-end minutes, but not sheltered ones, either. To end the 2023 hockey year, Thrun joined Quinn to play for Team USA at the Men’s World Championships, where he played ten games.

What we like

Thrun plays a reliable, smart game and uses his excellent skating to provide high-end defense. When he is at his best, he can slow down an offensive attack by keeping a good gap with his foot and stick work.

He can project to be a long-time steady top-four defenseman on an NHL roster, with a specialty in his defensive game. There is definitely the potential for a Marc-Edouard Vlasic or a Justin Braun type of tenure with the Sharks. Both defensemen were critical parts of the Sharks’ 2016 Stanley Cup Final run and of the many playoff series wins throughout the 2010s.

Perhaps Thrun can become the Sharks’ top shutdown skater to patiently guide the team through the most challenging games.

Areas of improvement

Of course, there is always something that could be improved upon. If, while developing his NHL game, Thrun could find another level of offense similar to one he displayed at Harvard and the USNTDP, we could see an incredibly valuable defenseman that provides at both ends of the ice.

He has the ability to earn points, as demonstrated throughout his college and junior hockey career. We even saw it through his first NHL period, even though the point production dried up immediately after that during his very brief NHL tryout.

He will be in competition with several defensemen, but we expect Thrun to get at least a fair share of NHL games this season, given the trust Quinn seems to have shown him. Perhaps all he needs is an opportunity on the Sharks power play to see how he distributes the puck.

Highlight

Let’s throw it back to Thrun’s NHL debut on March 30, 2023. Right off the faceoff, Thrun calmly feeds Mario Ferraro an excellent pass to get a one-timer off. He later teamed up with Ferraro again, intercepting the puck in the neutral zone, then feeding Ferraro with a two-on-one opportunity that ultimately was finished off by Oskar Lindblom. Good defense can definitely lead to offense.

Also, if you haven’t had the chance to yet, make sure to check out Tara Slone’s interview with Thrun from earlier this offseason. It’s a fun interview that details more of his upbringing through hockey, his offseason plans, experience at the World Championships under David Quinn, and more.