San Jose Sharks: Andrew Desjardins, NHL Star That Got His Start in Laredo, Texas

San Jose Sharks forward Andrew Desjardins played his first professional hockey game in Laredo, Texas.

Take a minute to re-read that if you must.

Yes, this is the Laredo on the border of Mexico—located on the north bank of two-and-a-half hours south of San Antonio on the north bank of the Rio Grande.

Yes, this is the Laredo with an average temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit in June and a record high of 95 degrees in January.

Yes, this is the Laredo with a 96.8 percent Hispanic population.

This is Laredo, home of the Central Hockey League’s Laredo Bucks hockey club since 2002.

“I didn’t really choose it,” Desjardins says of the CHL, a third-tier minor league (behind the American and East Coast Hockey Leagues).

“It kinda chose me.”

Desjardins grew up in Lively, Ontario, a Sudbury suburb located north of Lake Huron—the lake that divides the Michigan-Ontario border.

He played his junior hockey in nearby Sault Ste. Marie, the Ontario Hockey League’s Greyhounds drafted him in the 15th round (296th overall) in 2002.

“I was the third-to-last pick of the draft,” says Desjardins with an exhausted chuckle.

OHL regulation did not allow Desjardins, a 16-year-old in 2002, to play until age 17. At the time he played, a 16-year-old had to be selected in the top two rounds in order to play during his draft year.

He would play four years for the Greyhounds, amassing 48 goals, 113 points and a whopping 264 penalty minutes in 254 games played.

“In junior I was a straight-up, hard working grinder,” says Desjardins. “I spent my last three years…playing against top lines—just a checking, defensive guy.”

Desjardins’ role changed when he joined the Bucks in 2007-08.

“[The grinder] was my role in junior and basically my whole career except that one year in Laredo,” he says. “It was a lower level and [it was because] I was one of the better players that I got that role.”

Having a more “creative” role as an offensive-minded forward on the top line helped him improve his shot and positioning because he did not have to worry about being solid defensively.

Fair to say, the move from Sault Ste. Marie to Laredo merited a dramatic cultural change for Desjardins.

“It was definitely a different place to play,” says Desjardins. “Laredo is known for its gritty, border town mentality.”

Last year, there were nine murders, 846 assaults and 8740 thefts in Laredo.

The city-data.com crime index for Laredo is 388.3. The national average is 311.4.

ABC Nightline has described it as a war zone.

“We just stuck to the way we went and it was fine,” said Desjardins.

It was in Laredo that Desjardins established his hockey routine.

Unlike juniors when he would practice after school at either 3:30 or 4:00 pm, he now practiced in the mornings and had meetings in the afternoon.

“Basically the same as today,” he told me after an 11:00 am practice at Sharks Ice.

“Practices were the same length, we were there for the same amount of time.

“Obviously, the biggest difference is you didn’t live the high life and you didn’t make that much money there,” said Desjardins.

Currently, the minimum salary in the CHL is about $17,479.45 per year.

Players that did not have wives and children lived in a townhouse complex that was enclosed by a gate—a “gated-kinda complex, like not gated” he says.

When he was not playing hockey, Desjardins spent time with his other teammates in the complex, bought groceries at a store down the street and enjoyed nights at Pete’s Pizza.

“Hockey-wise the level was lower,” he says, “but your day-to-day stuff was very similar to here.”

Desjardins would play 64 games for the Bucks in 2007-08.

Among the teams he played:

Colorado Eagles in Loveland: transferred to the ECHL last year.

Corpus Christi IceRays: replaced by NAHL franchise of the same name.

Odessa Jackalopes: replaced by NAHL franchise of the same name.

Youngstown SteelHounds: market replaced by USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms.

Austin Ice Bats: ceased operations in 2008.

Amarillo Gorillas: ceased operations in 2010.

“It’s a lot different now,” says Desjardins of the CHL landscape. “When I played it was booming more.”

The CHL currently has 14 teams, four of which are located in Texas.

The road schedule was difficult for the players. While Desjardins had played a 60-plus game season in junior and traveled extensively—Sault Ste. Marie is located far from many Southern Ontario teams—nothing could have prepared him for the long bus rides and choppy air travel in the CHL.

“The travel there was very rough,” he says. “We actually bused to Colorado one time, which I think was 22 or 24 hours.”

The long hours of travel and hard work paid off for Desjardins.

The next year, he was recognized by Brad Church, the coach of the ECHL’s Phoenix Roadrunners at the time and got a tryout in the AHL with Worchester—the Sharks’ minor league affiliate.

After training camp, he signed an AHL-ECHL deal. He played 74 games in Worcester and five games in Phoenix in 2008-09.

He started 2009-10 on the same deal, but then received the call in March.

His line was having a great year and the Sharks chose to offer Desjardins and his linemates, John McCarthy and Dan DaSilva, a contract before the trade deadline in March.

“It felt unreal, man,” he said of the two-way NHL/AHL contract he signed in 2009-10.

“You dream obviously to play, but the first step is to sign. Then you know you’re not only there, but you have something, you have that contract, you have that now.

“Your goal becomes clear.”

McCarthy has played 49 games in a Sharks uniform, including eight this season.

DaSilva never stepped on NHL ice. He began this season in Russia’s KHL, terminated his contract with his team and has since played with two teams in Switzerland’s National League B.

Desjardins became the second player in NHL history, behind “Mad” Mel Anglestad (The Mangler), to wear No. 69 in a January 3, 2011, contest against Vancouver.

On March 23, 2011, he scored his first NHL goal against Calgary.

He smiles as he recalls the goal:

“Oh man, it was pretty surreal because the first goal I scored in the NHL—”

He stops to snicker.

“—was probably one of the nicer goals I’ve ever scored in my life.”

He laughs again.

“Not to be—I’ve just never—not even in junior and maybe not in the Central League…”

His voice quiets as he says the last three words. He is silent for a few moments.

“It was an awesome feeling. And then you go back and look at it and you’re like ‘that was awesome.’

“I really loved it. I don’t know.”

Desjardins would only score one more NHL goal that season.

His second goal came in the playoffs against Vancouver.

“Andrew Desjardins earned it,” said Sharks GM Doug Wilson when asked about his spot on the playoff roster last season.

“He’s worked hard just to get to this point. He’s paid his dues. He’s a highly-competitive kid that will come in and compete for a spot on this team.”

Desjardins has yet to play in Worcester this season.

His formula is simple: go to practice, watch some film and hit everything that moves.

“I’m just trying to bang and crash,” he says. “I just play my game and if it works it works.”

“He is simple,” says Sharks coach Todd McClellan.

“And I mean that respectfully…but it’s meat and potatoes: straight forward, straight lines.”

“He’s solid. He’s simple,” echoes Joe Pavelski, who saw Desjardins jump up to the first line with him and Thornton during a few games this season.

“He hasn’t changed the way he’s played since he’s been up and that’s a big reason it’s worked.”

Says Thornton: “He’s very, very underrated: skates well, sees the ice very well, competes hard.”

Desjardins brings a little Laredo with him on the ice.

“He has got a grit factor to him…that he can use in those situations when you’re a simpler player,” says McClellan.

“Very few hit every step, but Desi has and it’s a great story,” says the coach. “I think it will keep Desi humble for his whole career, but it’s also a good motivator for players at that level now: Central league, East Coast league.

“Alex Burrows in Vancouver: similar path and he’s a hell of a player in the league right now.

“They both have a common denominator: they’re both here.”

“It ended up being a good spot for me,” says Desjardins of Laredo.

“It just ended up helping me get to the next level. It was just a stepping-stone, that’s the way I looked at it.

“I wasn’t thinking, ‘I’m going to play here for the next two years.’ It was just that year and that was it.

“I obviously wanted to play professional hockey.”

Tom Schreier is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. He covers hockey and baseball.

All quotes were obtained first-hand.

Follow him on Twitter @tschreier3.