If there is one player who has benefited from the NHL lockout, it is James Sheppard.
The fifth-year player has endured setbacks in his young NHL career after being selected ninth overall in the 2006 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. A 2010 ATV accident and less than substantial play in his first three seasons in Minnesota gave the Sharks the opportunity to give him another chance in professional hockey.
San Jose traded for the now 24-year-old in 2011.
Two years of rehabilitation later and Sheppard is starting to get back into the hockey groove as he works his way back onto an NHL team. The NHL lockout has given him the opportunity to catch up to the skill set of the current NHL players, while not losing any time to the NHL schedule.
He has already lost two years of his once promising NHL career, and playing in Worcester, Massachusetts with the Sharks’ minor league affiliate has given everyone the chance to see how he has grown since the accident that threatened his NHL career.
In 27 games with Worcester this season, Sheppard has seven goals and nine assists, including 44 PIM.
There is still a long way to go fo ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Scott Semmler
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December 25th, 2012 by Scott Semmler Leave a reply »
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