The former Union College defenseman had impressed during an Amateur Tryout with the San Jose Barracuda during their Calder Cup run in 2017. It was clear he had the trust of the organization from the start, immediately slotting into the blueline and making an impact. He was third among rookies in playoff points during that run, behind only Danny O’Regan and Kevin Labanc. Those 13 games, plus the final four regular season games, showed the organization all they needed to know and DeSimone signed a two-year contract with the Sharks.
The small sample size dialed the pressure up for DeSimone’s first full professional season.