San Jose Sharks' Ryan Vesce: Making a Splash His Second Time Around

Many of the Teal Faithful will remember the name Ryan Vesce .  In 10 games with the Sharks last season, they will remember that he did little to leave them yearning for more. 

But Doug Wilson still saw something in him and despite a handful of second guessers, he still re-signed him this offseason.

Thanks to the quarantine of the ailing Douglas Murray , Vesce (a former Cornell University teammate of Murray) received another shot, and this time he seems to be taking full advantage of the opportunity.

In front of several of his friends and family members, he did what every kid shooting pucks in his driveway dreamt of doing…scoring the winning goal against your team’s rival.

Born in Lloyd Harbor, NY, Vesce became a New York Rangers fan despite his close proximity to the Islanders and as luck would have it, Ryan’s first game back up would be against the team he grew up despising.   

Vesce's second period goal ended up being the game winner and despite the non-dramatic fashion of it, it was the perfect performance to get him on people’s radar.  But as it turns out, he wasn’t done.

Two nights later, playing in an arena where his hockey heroes took the ice to win one for his team, Vesce did just that…he helped win another one for the Sharks.

An early third period goal by Vesce allowed the Sharks to maintain the flying pace they had established in the first two periods.

Only three forwards (Patrick Marleau , Joe Thornton , and Dany Heatley ) saw more time on the ice than Vesce against the Rangers, which is a good sign that the coaches are impressed with what they are seeing.

While the thought of Vesce continuing on this pace maybe wishful thinking, he did lead Worcester last year with 71 points and averaged 1.05 points per game. If he can somehow translate these numbers to the NHL, he could be yet another addition to the box of amazing Doug Wilson signings.