The Ryan Lin Deep Dive

With the twenty-first overall pick, the San Jose Sharks drafted Ryan Lin, a slightly undersized defenseman who played in the WHL with the Vancouver Giants. He is heading off to the University of Denver to help replace departed defenseman Eric Pohlkamp. What are the Sharks getting with Lin?

Ryan Lin
Defenseman
5'11" 180 pounds
Birthday: April 2008 (18)
Right-handed

Source: Ryan Lin @ Elite Prospects

Ryan Lin already defends very well, especially given his size. He has a great blend of physicality and skill and rarely gets caught out of position.

End of game 5 on 6 scenario. Lin kills the play by being physical along the boards, then separates his man from the puck with a nice stick lift and carries it out of the zone to help drain the clock.

Here, Ryan Lin takes on Carson Carels. Carels has 3 inches and 20 pounds on Lin, and he's able to absorb the contact and make Carels give up the puck as Carels is trying to drive inside.

Another smart play to break up a two-on-one. Lin can read the play and get into the proper position without having to get down in the starfish either.

Lin is excellent at his zone entry defense, so much so that the other team rarely tried to enter the zone on his side. It was much like a shutdown cornerback who takes away half the field. When teams tried to enter, he was successful at killing the play at the blueline.

Ryan Lin has all the details and mentality to be a good defenseman in the NHL. While he will need to continue to fill out and gain more muscle and mass, the tools and skills are already there.

Lin really shines in the transition game. He is extremely good at absorbing pressure and finding a release.

Ryan Lin is a one-person breakout machine.

While the offensive numbers are pretty impressive, it didn't feel like Lin was forcing the offense. In fact, it felt like he could've put up monster numbers if he was more aggressive. When Lin did push the offense, it typically worked out for him.

If Ryan Lin is to hit his ceiling as a potentially dominating two-way defenseman, he will need to be more consistent in creating offense and picking his spots. Usually, for offensively gifted defensemen, it's about getting them to play quality defense; for Lin, he will need to try to unlock the next level of offense. Whether it was the Giants asking him to be more defensively oriented or just a focus by Lin to be more responsible, there is more meat on the bone when it comes to his offense. While Lin will probably not be a Luca Cagnoni on the blueline, he definitely has more give there. Luckily, David Carle is getting his hands on Lin for the next year or two.