• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
San Jose Sharks

James Sheppard Does a 180 in the Face-off Circle

By Andrew Bensch December 6th, 2014

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp
(John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)

(John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports)

No, James Sheppard didn’t actually jump and turn 180 degrees in the face-off circle in order to win a draw, but he might as well have. More on that in a moment, but first a bit of a background on No. 15 in teal. Many believe the Minnesota Wild rushed him into the NHL right out of junior which stunted his development. In the 2010 offseason, an ATV accident caused him to miss multiple seasons with an injured knee. During the 2011 offseason Sheppard was traded to the Sharks for a third round pick. He made his Sharks debut over a year later during the 2012-13 season, playing in just 32 of the 48 games. Last season though the 26-year-old center established himself as an effective bottom six player.

45 —-> 55

Sheppard really started developing his game a year ago as a fourth line winger with four strong games heading into the Olympic break. Furthermore, points in five straight games from Feb. 5 through March 4, really jump started his season. He would get bumped into the third line center position where he started racking up points in bunches. Sheppard finished the month of March with 11 points in 15 games.

Despite the offensive success, there were a couple of concerns with Sheppard at the center position. First and foremost was that he did seem to spend quite a bit of time in his own zone despite the offensive success. Part of the reasoning for that was his abysmal face-off percentage at just 45%. For the season, his corsi-for percentage was a respectable 52.8% but this year that is up to 55.9%. Speaking of 55%, amazingly, and I do mean AMAZINGLY, that was his current face-off percentage going into the last game against Boston.

.@jimmysheppard15 2nd on #SJSharks in FO% (55.5%); has won 50% or more of his FOs in 10 of last 13 games. Last 5 games 65.7% (44-for-67)

— Ben Guerrero (@brguerrero) December 3, 2014

Now perhaps followers of other teams have seen players make similar jumps, but a centerman improving his face-off percentage by 10% in a single offseason is something I’ve never heard of before. For his career, Sheppard is still just at 43.4%, but this year, his now 54% success rate (had a tough night in the circle against the Bruins) is still right up there with elite face-off teammates Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski (55.9 and 55.7 respectively). Going from a poor percentage to a fantastic percentage is something we simply don’t see very often, yet Sheppard has found a way to do it.

Much Needed Depth

While some will say face-offs are overrated in terms of possession analytics, starting with the puck is still advantageous no matter how small of a difference. We have all season games where goals are scored late in the third period to tie the game shortly after an offensive zone face-of win by the trailing team. Little things do add up over time, face-offs are just one of them.

Thus far on the season, Sheppard has picked up eight points in 21 games, which would be about a 30 point 82 game game pace. That is solid production from a third line center. The key though is being able to rely on him in all three zones. Now there is still little doubt that Joe Pavelski centering the third line would make the Sharks deeper and a harder team to play against but Sheppard is certainly growing his game. If he can continue to improve, and his line with Tyler Kennedy and Matt Nieto keeps playing well, perhaps the Sharks (gasp) could have three legitimate scoring lines with Pavelski remaining in the top-six. That play of the current third line is by far the biggest positive of San Jose’s current three game win streak as they haven’t had much depth during their early season struggles.

  • Tags
  • James Sheppard
  • Joe Pavelski
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 24th 6:15 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Find Success Against Red Wings

Jan 24th 6:10 PM
Column

Canadiens’ News & Rumours: Hot Start, Armia, Mete & More

Jan 24th 6:00 PM
Column

Senators News & Rumours: Road Trip, Lineups, Stützle & More

Jan 24th 5:50 PM
Other Leagues

Windsor Spitfires’ Notebook: NHL Players to Watch & Overseas Ice

Jan 24th 3:25 PM
Montreal Canadiens

3 Takeaways From Canadiens’ 5-2 Win Over Canucks

Jan 24th 3:15 PM
Montreal Canadiens

Prospects News & Rumors: Michigan, Gushchin & Gordin

Jan 24th 3:05 PM
New York Rangers

Rangers News & Rumors: Chytil, Dubois Traded, Lafreniere & More

Jan 24th 2:55 PM
Buffalo Sabres

Sabres Getting the Best of Curtis Lazar

Jan 24th 2:05 PM
New Jersey Devils

Devils Are in Good Hands With Jack Hughes

Jan 24th 1:35 PM
San Jose Sharks

Sharks Seeing Offense From Erik Karlsson But Defense Is Lacking

Editor’s Picks
2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini's Top 75 Rankings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Wayne Gretzky Almost Joined the Detroit Red Wings

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information