Adding to a list of current and future Sharks that includes incredible and possibly made-up names like Barclay Goodrow, Melker Karlsson and Konrad Abeltshauser, San Jose has signed Latvian forward and undrafted free agent Nikita Jevpalovs to an entry-level contract. The 20-year-old Jevpalovs currently has 38 goals and 71 points in 45 games with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in his overage QMJHL season.
Jevpalovs hails from Riga, which not only means he can expect to be voted into a NHL All-Star Game but also that he shares a hometown with former Sharks greats Arturs Irbe and Sandis Ozolinsh. Jevpalovs is described as an “attacking Latvian wing with a relentless motor. Makes good puck decisions and never seems to stop moving and working. Is patient and displays good hands, and passes. Good in traffic and in close.” Here he is scoring the overtime winner in Game 7 of a playoff series between the Armada and Rimouski Oceanic last spring, followed by a great celebration:
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