The San Jose Sharks are taking a chance on another former first-round pick.
The Sharks have acquired Oskar Olausson from the Colorado Avalanche for Danil Gushchin.
The 6-foot-2 Swedish winger was the No. 28 pick in the 2021 Draft.
Olausson, 22, spent most of last season with the Colorado Eagles, putting up 11 goals and 26 points in 61 games. He has also played four NHL games over parts of three seasons, going scoreless.
Olausson is in the last season of his ELC, so it’s going to be a make-it-or-break campaign for him.
Gushchin, a pending RFA, was a San Jose Sharks’ third-round pick in 2020.
The 5-foot-8 Russian winger was selected as an AHL All-Star in 2024, and has piled up 70 goals and 150 points in just 182 games over parts of four seasons with the San Jose Barracuda.
But like Olausson, Gushchin hasn’t been able to carve out a path in the NHL, recording two goals and five points in 18 games over parts of three seasons with the San Jose Sharks.
Like Thomas Bordeleau, fellow 2020 pick and pending RFA, there didn’t look to be a path with the Sharks this year for the smaller Gushchin.
It’s a classic change-of-scenery trade for two once-prized prospects. Will it work for either?