"Won't see NHL for 7 years" "What's Trump gotta say about this?": Hockey fans react as Sharks select China's Simon Wang with 33rd pick of 2025 Draft

The NHL saw some history made to begin the second round of the 2025 Draft.

Simon Wang of the Oshawa Generals was selected 33rd overall by the San Jose Sharks, making him the highest-drafted Chinese-born player in NHL history.

The Beijing, China native becomes the third player selected by general manager Mike Grier and the Sharks in this draft. He's a 6'6', 215-pound defenseman who produced 24 points (four goals, 20 assists) in 70 games split between the OJHL and OHL in 2024-25.

Hockey fans have started reacting to the historic selection on X (formerly Twitter).

"He won't see the NHL for 7 years," one fan wrote.

"What's Trump gotta say about this?" another fan wrote.

"No it's fine, I just didn't think it'd be Chinese," added another fan.

More fan reaction has come in on X.

"You don't draft the biggest what if player in the draft with the first pick in the second round. Fiddler was right. There," one fan wrote on X.

"I should have been picked," one fan added.

"So freaking excited for him," wrote one last fan.

Wang is just the third Chinese-born NHL draft pick, along with Andong Song and Kevin He. Song was drafted 172nd overall by the Islanders in 2015, while He was selected 109th in 2024 by the Winnipeg Jets.

NHL draft analyst provided a great breakdown of Simon Wang

Steven Ellis, Prospect Analyst for Daily Faceoff, has been giving his thoughts on every pick throughout this year's draft.

He turns out to be quite high on Simon Wang and said he's one of his favorites from the 2025 class. Here was what he shared following the pick on X.

"There’s high upside here. He only started to play at a high level competitively a few years ago, and he’s learning how to use his 6-foot-6 frame to his advantage. He can skate well and has good offensive instincts. Moving forward, reading plays on the rush will be something he needs to work on, but the raw talent is there," Ellis said.

At just 17 years old, Wang has plenty of room to continue growing physically and maturity-wise. But as Ellis said, he possesses all of the raw talent and ability that could make him a very effective player in the big leagues.

Fans should continue to follow along with his journey as he attempts to become the first Chinese-born player to actually suit up in an NHL game.