The San Jose Sharks’ training camp is well underway and they’ll have their first preseason game of the season this weekend against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday. One player who is looking to make a massive impact is their 2021 fourth-round pick, Ethan Cardwell, who had a great showing at the Rookie Faceoff but for the most part, has flown under the radar. Prior to that event, I released the first part of my interview with Cardwell and now it’s time to talk a bit more about Cardwell on a deeper level.
Who Is Ethan Cardwell Off the Ice?
Cardwell is from Oshawa, Ontario, and often spends his summers back home in the Greater Toronto Area. Hockey was a major part of his life from a young age, partially due to his family’s roots in the game. His grandfather, Steve Cardwell, is someone who long-time hockey fans may remember as he played parts of three seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1970s before jumping over to the World Hockey Association (WHA) and playing with the Minnesota Fighting Saints and Cleveland Crusaders. Cardwell’s father, Justin Cardwell, also played at a professional level but was never quite able to make it to the NHL. He did spend a considerable amount of time in the ECHL and made a few appearances in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins.
Despite all of his family ties to hockey, Cardwell wasn’t always certain he was going to follow in their footsteps. When I asked him if there was ever any thought about taking his life in another direction, he replied, “To be honest with you, I had a very tough decision when I was about 15 years old, going into my OHL (Ontario Hockey League) career. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to play hockey or if I wanted to pursue golf at the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) level. I was kind of caught at a crossroads there, and I didn’t really know what to decide, and kind of leaning on [Steve and Justin], seeing the lives that they’ve been able to live and the connections that they’ve made through hockey, it made me kind of realize how special a sport it is.”
He continued, “Just being able to go through it with the guys every year and with golf, obviously, you’re on your own. So, to be able to live my dream out and be able to play the game I love and make a living doing it, definitely looking back, I would make this decision 100 times out of 100.“
Cardwell on the Ice
As a kid, Cardwell was a fan of his grandfather’s former team, the Penguins, which ultimately led to him becoming a fan of their superstar, Sidney Crosby. When asked if there was anyone he modeled his game after as a kid, he replied, “Like you said, my grandfather played in the NHL. He played with Pittsburgh, and my favorite team was, without a doubt, the Pens growing up, so I would say Sidney Crosby. I’m sure that’s a pretty popular answer for the kids who are my age, growing up, kind of living off Sid and going through the years of him winning Cups and stuff like that, so definitely him.”
Once Cardwell made the decision to enter the OHL rather than pursue golf at the collegiate level, he went on to start his junior hockey career with the Saginaw Spirit. Halfway through the 2019-20 season, he was traded to the Barrie Colts where he’d play the remainder of his junior career, besides one notable exception. For the 2020-21 season, the OHL season was canceled so he, alongside fellow OHLers Jack Thompson and Blake Murray, played in Sweden with Surahammars IF in the HockeyEttan.
As Cardwell got older, his mindset of who he wanted to model his game after changed. “As I kind of got older, I wanted to model my game after a player like Travis Konecny. He’s not over the 6-foot mark, and he plays hard, he skates fast, he shoots the puck well, and he plays all those kinds of roles that I was touching on earlier. So, watching him through my junior career, kind of trying to build a mold of his game and trying to put it into mind and add that edge that he plays with has definitely been something I’ve been trying to strive for.”
We’ll touch on the roles Cardwell was discussing momentarily, but first, it’s worth acknowledging that watching him play, it’s clear that he shares quite a bit of similarities with Konecny as well.
When asked to describe his game, Cardwell said, “I try to bring energy every night and play with a certain pace that allows me to stand out at any level that I’m playing at. Just bring that energy, be able to play in all situations. I pride myself on the penalty kill, especially being able to be a reliable player and that a coach wants to put on when you have a penalty in the last couple minutes and an empty net situation, but also being able to be on the power play and be a guy who can produce offensively and then using my skills to my advantage. I like to say I’m a decently fast player out there, so to be able to use my skating and just get myself in good areas, and when I get the puck, try to give myself the best chance to score on every shot and make a play from there.”
Cardwell: Turning Professional
After going undrafted in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Sharks selected Cardwell in the fourth round in 2021. He spent a bit longer in the OHL after being drafted, making his professional debut with the San Jose Barracuda last season. That season was truly when his name started rising up the Sharks’ prospect rankings as he put up 23 goals and 20 assists in his first time out with the Barracuda in the AHL.
Late in the 2023-24 season, the Sharks acquired Cardwell’s long-time friend, Thompson, in a trade that sent Anthony Duclair to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two have quite a lengthy history and are going to be roommates for the upcoming season. Cardwell added, “We grew up neighbors as kids since we were about five years old, so played minor hockey together, and that’s been kind of the guy that I’ve kind of gone through all this with. [We’re] being able to push each other to succeed and make it to the level that we’re at and now we’re living together in San Jose this year.”
Cardwell described the moment he found out that Thompson was joining the Sharks by sharing a story about the night.
“I was at a dinner on the road with a bunch of the guys, and he was calling me. Obviously, he’s my best friend, so it’s easy to hang up the phone on him and just send it to decline because I know I can just call him back in an hour, or whatever it may be. So, I declined his call about three times, and I got a text. He said, ‘You have to call me right now.’ So, I’m like, ‘That’s weird, hopefully everything’s okay.’”
Cardwell then continued, “He called me then he goes, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna be a Shark.’ I was like, ‘This can’t be real.’ So, it got my head spinning a little bit and was a little bit of a whirlwind. He flew right into Texas and played with us the next night, and for the next couple of days, it kind of felt like we were living in a hotel. So, it’s weird because when you’re in junior, I feel like we would always get together. If I was at a hotel on the road playing his team or any of my other buddies, we’d always try to get together. So, it kind of felt like he was just on the opposing team. We were just hanging out for the weekend until it really set in. Now, especially this year, living together, it’s just like, I don’t know, it feels so normal now, but definitely a shock at first.”
Heading into his second season at the professional level, Cardwell knows there are still some areas he needs to focus on if he’s going to crack the NHL roster. “[I need to] play with a little bit more of an edge, kind of scan plays, process them quicker, so I don’t have to do so much quick-thinking on the spot. Also, just being more aware on the ice and really giving myself a little bit extra time to make the right play on every kind of thing that develops. If the big-time play’s not there, be okay with taking a chip-in and living to fight another day and move on from there. Other than that, just being a pest, being someone other teams hate to play against, and being someone that can be that bottom-six forward in the NHL to start and kind of carve out a role that way, as a guy teams don’t want to play against, and a guy you want to have on your team.”
Related: Sharks’ Ethan Cardwell Optimistic Heading into Rookie Faceoff
Overall, it seems safe to say that Cardwell made the right decision sticking with hockey rather than going to play collegiate golf. He’s right on the door of an NHL career, and now it’s up to him to break it down and make an entrance into the league. He undoubtedly has the right attitude, and his play on the ice is trending in the right direction. It only seems like a matter of time before we see him don the teal uniform at the SAP Center.
