LOS ANGELES — Haoxi (Simon) Wang began playing hockey when he was just 4½ years old, but he really didn’t start to learn the intricacies of the sport until a few years ago when he moved from China to Canada.

Now the 6-foot-6 defenseman is an NHL draft pick, and a player the San Jose Sharks were thrilled to bring into the organization.

The Sharks began day two of the NHL Draft on Saturday by taking Wang with the 33rd overall selection at the start of the second round. Wang, born in Beijing in 2007, became the highest-drafted Chinese-born player in NHL history.

“It’s an unreal moment for my family, for Hockey China,” said Wang, who started to go by the name Simon after he moved to North America. “Just a surreal, dream-come-true moment. Trying to soak it in right now.”

Defenseman Andong Song was the first Chinese player to be drafted, as the New York Islanders took him with the 172nd overall pick in 2015. Last year, winger Kevin He was taken 109th by Winnipeg and later became the first Chinese-born player to sign an NHL contract, as he signed an entry-level deal with the Jets in December.

Wang, who already has the size and is considered an exceptional skater, has set a new bar for kids in his native country.

“It’s definitely special, and I hope I’ve inspired a lot of kids back home, and hopefully one day my record will get broken again,” Wang said. “Someone will go in the first round, maybe even top 10. That’s probably the ultimate goal for Chinese hockey, and I think there will definitely be someone who’s going to make a huge impact on the game.”Wang, who turns 18 next month, loved hockey as a young kid and attended a game between the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks in China in 2017. But practice was an issue, as the nearest rink was 1½ hours away.

Later, Willa Wang, Simon’s mom, was able to help fund the construction of an ice sheet closer to home inside an existing soccer bubble. Willa Wang now owns several rinks in China.

With his love for the sport growing, Simon Wang and his family moved to Toronto when he was 12 to help him pursue a hockey career.

He’s progressed ever since.

This past year. Wang began the year in the OJHL, a Junior ‘A’ league, before advancing to major junior hockey and the OHL, where he recorded two assists in 32 games with the Oshawa Generals. He is slated to go to Boston University for the 2026-27 season.

Without question, Wang is considered a project. Along with his skating ability, he can kill plays in the defensive zone. But there are questions about his hockey sense and his puck-handling ability.

“Raw, untapped potential is probably the best way to put it,” said Chris Morehouse, the Sharks’ director of amateur scouting. “He’s such a unique story in terms of his hockey background and his hockey upbringing, and then look at the transition this year from starting in Junior A and then moving on to the OHL, you could see, slowly, some of those just raw physical abilities really shine through.

“For us, we’re going to draft the best player available and the best fit for us, and when you look at what Simon could be in the future, and even where his game has been over the last 18 months, it’s impressive. We really believe there’s a lot of untapped potential there.”

“I’m not a finished product whatsoever,” Wang said, “and I still have the hunger and the drive to become better every single day.”

The Sharks spent their second pick of the second round, at No. 53 overall, on center Cole McKinney of the U.S. National Team Development Program, where he had 61 points in 60 games.

The 18-year-old McKinney, who is going to the University of Michigan this fall, was the 32nd-ranked North American skater by Central Scouting.

McKinney, listed at 6 feet and 200 pounds and considered more of a two-way centerman, said he’s put on about 30 pounds over the last two or three years.

“With the physicality part, I think that’s such a big part of my game,” McKinney said. “I was able to really utilize that a lot this year, especially just being stronger on my feet.”

The Sharks began the second day of the draft with seven picks.

San Jose took Boston College-bound center Teddy Murtyn at No. 95 in the third round and defensemen Ilyas Magomedsultanov and Zachary Sharp at No. 115 and No. 124, respectively, in the fourth round. They also selected Penticton center Max Heise at No. 150 in the fifth round, and forward Richard Gallant with the 210th pick in the seventh round.

The NHL Draft began on Friday, and the Sharks made two picks, taking Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa at No. 2 overall and Prince George goalie Josh Ravensbergen with the 30th overall selection. Wang and Ravensbergen have recently become good friends.

As the second day began, the Sharks were not going to select primarily for need.

“It’s not the NFL or the NBA. These kids are all going to need some time,” Morehouse said. “When you get into day two, they need some time to develop and grow their games and get stronger and mature.”

NorCal connection: Fairfield native Ben Kevan was selected in the second round, 63rd overall, by the New Jersey Devils. Kevan, a center, played with the NorCal-based Golden State Eagles in 2020-21 and played with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings from 2021 to 2024. He’s played with Des Moines of the USHL the last two seasons, and last year, split time between them and the U.S. National U18 Team, recently competing at the U18 World Championships. He will be going to Arizona State.