The San Jose Sharks draft Simon “Haoxi” Wang with the 33rd overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The defenseman is a very large player, measuring in at 6-foot-6 and 223 pounds. Wang is just the third Chinese-born player to be drafted in the NHL, though he has trained in North America for the last few years, playing as a teen in Toronto and most recently in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). General Manager Mike Grier has a type, so it’s no surprise that Wang is committed to Boston University. Grier likes his Boston colleges, whether it’s Boston University (Macklin Celebrini) or Boston College (Will Smith).
Simon “Haoxi” Wang – Lindsay Muskies (OJHL)
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 223 pounds
Age/DOB: 17, July 27, 2007
Shoots: Left
King Rebellion (OJHL): 38 games, 22 points (4 G, 18 A), 73 PIMs
Oshawa Generals (OHL): 32 games, 2 points (0 G, 2 A), 2 PIMs
Oshawa Generals (OHL Playoffs): 21 games, 3 points (0 G, 3 A), 8 PIMs
For Sharks fans worried about the Sharks selecting Wang above some of the others, just look at some of his stats from the combine. Wang was physically in some of the top categories.
His left hand grip strength was second in the group. His right hand grip strength was eighth. Wang’s wingspan was first out of all the players at the combine with 82.25 inches.
More importantly, Wang can skate, which can be extremely rare for a player of his size.
What the scouts say about Wang
On an instant analysis from The Athletic’s Corey Pronman: “He’s a premium athlete; there aren’t many 6-foot-6 defenders who can skate like he does. Wang has a powerful stride that allows him to easily get up ice and close on checks. He’s a great defender due to his wingspan, mobility and penchant to lay the body. The questions will be his puck play at higher levels. Wang shows good skill at the OJHL level, but when he got to the OHL he didn’t look like a natural puck-mover, often forcing decisions and not seeing his options effectively. The physical tools and edge in his play should get him NHL games, but his hockey sense is a major question on whether he could stick.”
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler is also very high on Wang as a Day 2 draftee.
“Wang’s an extraordinarily mobile player for his size, with impressive skating technique through his inside and outside edges laterally and flowing mechanics going north or back to pucks. And while his handling still needs a little refinement, he’s got some skill, can play with fearless confidence (which I wanted him to show more of and skate more pucks in the OHL instead of deferring) and has the heavy shot you’d expect,” said Wheeler. “There’s work to do to tighten his gaps, but there’s a lot to like. The skating component is clear but his reads are coming, his on-ice communication is really strong (he’s constantly talking to his partner), he has learned to play a more physical style and it just feels like once he learns the decision-making component on offense a little better (he’s got a real ability to join the rush and make plays) and gets stronger on his feet (he’s big and he can bowl guys over but he can get knocked around when they engage in contact) that there could be something really interesting there. He covers a lot of ground quickly and is cast in a mold that teams are excited about. He’s also a summer birthday and it feels like he’s still very, very early in his development curve.”
“This is a prospect who is just scratching the surface of what he can be,” said FloHockey draft analyst Chris Peters said in January. “He’s got the size and there’s some real skill to go with that. Players that have that combination are harder to find. There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of getting him physically stronger and refining some of his reads and decision making, but you can see the tools, which is exciting.”
