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Peng: Why Sharks continue playing Gregor despite low production

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Sheng Peng provides the latest update on Tomas Hertl’s contract negotiations with the Sharks.

At first glance, there isn't much reason for Noah Gregor to keep getting inserted into the lineup.

Gregor, stuck at three goals in 38 games this season, has a 3.0 shooting percentage, the third-worst in the NHL for a forward with 90-plus shots. This is no small feat: As of Mar. 2, 178 forwards have 90 or more shots.

In fact, of this group, Gregor has the least number of points too with 11.

Suffice to say, the production hasn't been there for Gregor. But the 23-year-old has been a mainstay in the lineup since he was recalled from the AHL's San Jose Barracuda on Nov. 20, sliding up and down from the second line to the fourth like an abacus. For head coach Bob Boughner, Gregor has become his swing guy, his putty for any line, from skilled to grind.

Unlike higher-scoring, young teammates like Jonathan Dahlen and Jasper Weatherby, Gregor has managed to avoid a healthy scratch.

So what keeps Gregor in the lineup, even if he's not scoring?

San Jose Sharks

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First things first: The Sharks aren't deep up front. They have probably only four bonafide top-six forwards in Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, and maybe Alexander Barabanov. They're trotting out a third line that even Boughner acknowledges would be a fourth line on a better team

An NHL scout from outside the Sharks organization also noted that he doesn't see anybody with the Barracuda better than Gregor.

"The fact is that the Sharks just don't really [have much]," he said, "who else are you going to put up there?" 

That said, Gregor has done plenty to separate himself from the competition, albeit not on the scoresheet. And he's done it in all three zones:

Shot Volume

Per Evolving Hockey, Gregor is 15th among NHL forwards with 18.08 shot attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5. This is, by the way, out of 410 forwards who have skated more than 250-plus 5v5 minutes. 

The only Sharks forward who shoots more than Gregor is All-Star Timo Meier, who's third in the league in this category.

So what does a shot attempt matter if it's not going in the net? It creates offensive pressure on the opposition -- it's a tangible representation of the abstract "momentum" that hockey people constantly talk about.

So Gregor, literally, creates regular offensive momentum for the Sharks. He's constantly open because he's fast and smart -- he's always putting himself in a position to create offensive momentum.

"On a nightly basis, he generates chances with his speed," head coach Bob Boughner offered. "That helps push the pace for [Logan Couture] line."

And the scout believes that Gregor has more scoring upside than he's shown this year: "He can shoot the puck and he's got some hands."

We haven't seen enough of that yet, but Gregor was thought to have 20-goal potential coming out of juniors. He may never reach that, but if he can become a reliable 10-15 goal scorer, he'll be, coupled with his other skills, a very valuable player for a long time to come. 

Zone Entries

The Sharks, as a team, aren't blessed with a lot of speed carrying the puck. It's not just being fast -- it's also the ability to carry the puck at top speed.

At the All-Star break, according to SPORTLOGiQ, Meier led Sharks forwards with 19.5 zone entries per 60 at 5-on-5. Trailing the Sharks lone All-Star? Gregor again at 13.3. In fact, only three other regular Sharks forwards average more than 10 zone entries per 60 at 5-on-5 (Tomas Hertl, Alexander Barabanov, Matt Nieto).

This is a valuable skill: From the neutral zone in, other than Meier, there's nobody better at breaking into the zone with possession of the puck on the Sharks than Gregor. If you're entering the zone with possession, you can then set up your offense  -- as opposed to dumping the puck in, which means a temporary loss of puck possession.

"I love the motor, I love the skating, I love the energy that he gives," the scout offered. 

The Sharks benefit from Gregor's ability to gain the zone on the power play too: He's the primary option to carry the puck up and gain the zone on the Sharks' second power play unit.

Shot-Blocking

The Sharks block more shots than any other team in the league.

And on the front line of that is Gregor, who's seventh among NHL forwards with 3.71 blocks per 60 (of 386 forwards, 30-plus games). Among Sharks forwards, only Nick Bonino sacrifices himself more -- he's third in the league with 4.67 blocks per 60 and leads all NHL forwards with 68 blocks this season.

"That's a skill, it really is. Some guys can get out there and in the lane and they never seem to find a piece of it. But Noah does a good job," Boughner said. "He's got a little bit of a different style when he does it because he actually turns to the side and makes himself big. Some guys will come forward and get a little lower. He does a really good job of taking up that space and punching out quick at the stick and not the body."

Gregor quipped: “I don't know [where I got that style]. I think that's just trying to act like a bad goalie, maybe? Street hockey?”

Of course, blocking a lot of shots isn't automatically a good thing. If you're blocking a lot of shots in the defensive zone, chances are, you don't have the puck a lot on offense.

But regardless, when the chips are down, you want players who are willing to lay their body on the line.

Gregor is certainly that.

"Just watching him, from where he was earlier the year before, he's playing a more well-rounded game. He's blocking shots. He had a couple of nice backchecks. He was covering for his defenseman," the scout pointed out. "You can tell that he's doing the right things, and turning into a more well-rounded player."

So blocking shots is just one element of "playing the right way" that Gregor has added to his portfolio.

It's also a skill where he's shown demonstrable growth: In Gregor's rookie year in 2019-20, he averaged 1.27 blocks per 60 -- so this is player who is actively adding things to his game to stay in the NHL.

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"It's just trying to help the team in any aspects I can," Gregor said. 

"People might be frustrated with the production side of things, but I think they also need to be cognizant and realistic of who he is as a player," the scout concluded. "His ceiling is probably a third-line guy. On a contending team, he's probably more of a bottom-six role player [right now].

"But he's a valuable player for what he instills in this group, as far as speed and energy and the competitiveness."

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