NEWS

Ontario Junior Hockey League grads Ethan Cardwell (left) and Artem Guryevl signed three-year, entry-level contracts with the San Jose Sharks Friday. (Photos by Amy Deroche & Andy Corneau / OJHL Images)

San Jose Sharks General Manager Mike Grier announced Friday that the club has signed Ontario Junior Hockey League graduates Ethan Cardwell and Artem Guryevl to three-year, entry-level contracts. 

Cardwell accumulated 28 points playing for the OJHL’s Trenton Golden Hawks, Wellington Dukes and Pickering Panthers from 2017-19. 

Guryev played in 20 games for the Lindsay Muskies during the 2019-20 season.

"Ethan had a significant improvement in his OHL career this past year being one of the go-to players for his team in nearly all situations," said Grier. "He has the ability to produce offensively and has helped be a driving force on a quality team as Barrie continues their postseason play."

On April 8, Cardwell was named the 2023 "Sharks Prospect of the Year" presented by Kaiser Permanente.

Cardwell, 20, recorded 90 points (43 goals, 47 assists) in 62 regular season games with the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) to enjoy a decorated final chapter of his junior career. He led all Colts skaters in goals and shots (258) this season and ranked second on the team in both assists and points and was third in plus-minus (23). He co-led the OHL with three overtime goals and ranked seventh among league skaters in goals.

The forward began the season red hot, with points in each of his first 17 appearances (12 goals, 18 assists) of the year from Oct. 14 to Dec. 3, 2022. By the OHL's definition of a point streak, those 17 games would stand as tied for the third-longest point streak in the OHL this season and included eight separate multi-point contests. 

He ended the regular season as strong as he started, with a 13-game point streak (15 goals, 10 assists) from Feb. 23 to March 24. With a pair of points (one goal, one assist) in his final OHL regular season game on March 24, he reached 200 career OHL points.

Cardwell is currently amid an OHL playoff run with Barrie, having recently advanced to the second round with a 4-2 series win against Hamilton, where he had a standout four-point (three goals, one assist) performance on April 10, scoring a series-winning goal with 9.9 seconds remaining in regulation to mark his first career playoff hat trick. He posted seven points (six goals, one assist) in five appearances in the first-round matchup, two of which were game-winning goals.

In his major junior career, Cardwell played in 189 games between the Saginaw Spirit (2018-20) and Barrie Colts (2020-23), registering 200 points (94 goals, 106 assists), a plus-38 rating, and 92 penalty minutes. He travelled overseas to play with Surahammars IF of Sweden's HockeyEttan in 2020-21, and while in Sweden's third-highest professional level, Cardwell logged 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) and finished first on his team in points-per-game (1.50) and plus-minus (10).

The five-foot-eleven, 180-pound native of Oshawa was selected by San Jose in the 2021 NHL Draft (fourth round, 121st overall).

"Artem is a gritty and competitive defender," said Grier. "He showed continuous improvement in the OHL and uses his size to his advantage against opponents."

Guryev, 19, is coming off a career-best year on the offensive end with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in addition to highs of 53 shots on goal, two game-winning goals and one shorthanded tally. 

After a trade from the Peterborough Petes to the Flint Firebirds in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) on Nov. 12, Guryev helped the Firebirds earn a playoff berth before falling in a hard-fought, seven-game series in the opening round of the OHL playoffs.

In 98 career OHL games, Guryev has 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists), 102 shots on goal, two game-winning goals, one shorthanded goal and 158 penalty minutes.

The six-foot-four, 225-pound native of Moscow, Russia was selected by San Jose in the 2021 NHL Draft (fifth round, 135th overall).