Ranking The San Jose Sharks Prospects Heading Into The 2024 NHL Draft

Ranking The San Jose Sharks Prospects Heading Into The 2024 NHL Draft

the Sharks Prospect pool has grown by Leaps and Bounds over the past couple Seasons how do we rank them you’re locked on sharks your daily podcast on the San Jose Sharks part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello welcome to locked on sharks the premere hockey podcast covering your faite team in the Bay Area my name is JD young caretaker at The Reef also co-host of Western Conference Tuesdays on the locked on NHL network uh want to thank you for making locked on sharks your first listen probably part of the locked on network we cover your team every day if you want to be in every day or all you have to do is just F wherever you get podcasts of course you can watch on YouTube as well and today we’re going to rank the Sharks Prospect pool um before we get into the draft here and I’m sure after the draft we will rerank it again as we’re going to have new players joining uh the the the pool the ranks whatever you want to call it um so before we get into all that though do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel uh make every moment more as playoffs wind down the Sports Stop sporting like we want them but this summer fandel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long visit fanduel.com lockon to get started so we’re going to rank the Sharks uh Prospect pull their top 10 players um gonna have some honorable mentions but we have to set ground rules with this and I have my own personal because that’s always the big question is well what’s a prospect and what isn’t a prospect and you know like there’s there’s some sort of you have to to set some rules so I’ve come up with some rules I I’ve kind of been using these the past couple Seasons um but here are my rules of what makes a prospect and what doesn’t under 50 NHL games played so you won’t see William eckan and Henry thr on this list because they are NHL players now at least in my eyes right um like we know William ecin is never going to be playing on the Barracuda again Henry thron May maybe but like he’s I feel like he’s established himself as an NHL player at this point so um those that’s kind of where I kind of draw the line is 50 NHL games um has to be under 25 except for goalies who can be 26 because goalies take a little bit longer and I always swing for upside um that’s just my personal uh opinion I always swing for the upside um I I would rather guy who I think can be a better player than a guy who is a safer pick if that makes sense so um let’s start with some of the honorable mentions so I have four players here who just missed the cut off um so in no particular order Tristan Robbins just misses the cut off uh of course uh Robbins who played last season with Barracuda had a really kind of underwhelming season with a barracuda but lost a lot of time due to injuries so the hope is this year uh playing a full season with the Barracuda hopefully being healthy um I really think he’s going to be a kind of top 10 or top six sorry excuse me top six forward for the Barracuda and work to be a a fourth line can maybe third line type of player for the Sharks going forward especially as they’ve added so much Talent as we’ll get to here in a little bit um but Reno I think it’s is going to be really kind of a solid NHL player uh or like a really good AHL type of player I think is kind of where his his career is kind of panning out right now so um next on my list of uh honorable mentions again no particular order uh Matias havid so um havid last year played uh started the season on fire uh in Linko ping um but cooled off and eventually got uh saw his his playing time really kind of shrink and then eventually started playing on the u20 team for Linko ping um for havl I think playing on the u20 team was he wasn’t going to be playing in the shl they were making a playoff push or they were kind of playing in the playoffs and they’re very like they’re not just going to put young kids out there remember like even Phil beasted um was playing third line minutes for them um even as a a first round pick for for the Sharks but I think for hav this next season is gonna be big for him to to try to really establish himself as a a top four defenseman for link oing um and then kind of go from there for for the shark I still think he’s gonna spend the next couple seasons over in the shl there’s no rush to bring him over um I would expect he still has not signed his ELC I would I would hope that gets done here when he’s in town for training camp um but for for hav I think like the mobility is there like you see enough for the offense um needs to continue to work on his actual defensive game um but I think this next season hopefully he can really kind of establish himself as a top four defenseman for link oing I think uh again he’s only you know he’s 2021 like it’s there’s still plenty of time for for these guys like don’t it got especially defenseman it takes a while for these guys to kind of uh continue to develop so uh next among my uh honorable mentions Georgie Romanov um a year ago we had never even heard of Georgie Romanov um and now you could argue he’s the best goalie in the Sharks Prospect pool and I don’t think you’re going to get like yes it’s a very shallow Prospect pool but Romanov I thought really showed well especially behind a porous young uh defensive unit with the Barracuda last year you saw you see that extreme athleticism um his ability to make lateral saves um is a sight to be hold um and you you’ve seen where the sharks have really gravitated towards um big athletic goalies and Romanov kind of fits that so hope for Romanov is that he continues to kind of develop um the Barracuda defense is probably going to be young again this this season but U made his NHL debut last year and you know I think you have to be excited about a potential kind of you know diamond in the rough and Romanov who again none of us had heard of a year ago at this time so um continue to kind of see where where his his career goes here so uh and then I I think it’s player who’s going to be a bit surprising and that’s Thomas bordalo doesn’t make my top 10 here um bordo you know we I thought he played well in the NHL last year but you know it’s very much power play driven for him when it comes to his scoring and production um so need to kind of he’s gonna be fighting for a playoff spot here or for a playoff spot for a roster spot here um with the sharks this off season and I think is a big offseason for him needs to kind of come into training camp and hit the ground running here um especially with some of the pieces that the sharks have added and will continue to add throughout the off season um but I just think right now kind of I don’t want to say his game’s kind of plateaued but we haven’t really kind of seen him make that jump I think a lot of us were hoping for him to see and I just think that some of the other younger players have again more upside and kind of swinging for the fences with some of the guys here so uh let’s get into our actual my actual top 10 so um at number 10 Ethan Cardwell uh from the 2021 draft Cardwell ma massive season for the Barracuda played 71 out of 72 games hit 23 goals also 20 assists um playing in all situations for the Barracuda on the power play on the penalty kill um and I expect Cardwell to go into this season being a Topline Winger for um for the Barracuda I know the Barracuda did just get potentially get eor afanasev um and if aasv bastad and Cardwell are your top guys like that’s a pretty solid I think first line of younger players there or if that’s like your second line and maybe you get a veteran type of guy kind of first line there still I think though what we saw from Cardwell um his ability to play in all situations and I think he’s really trending to be a really nice third line forward for the Sharks kind of going forward and a guy who can play in all situations play on the penalty kill uh if you need him to to chip in on the power play um and I think just the way he’s really rounding out his game um looks like to be a really solid piece for for the Sharks kind of going forward Ward so um and then we’re going to do number nine here and then we’ll we’ll take a break here so the number nine player on my list Eric pamp um over rager of course from last year’s draft um massive season with beiji State just uh transferred over to University of Denver uh where he’s going to be playing on the defending national champions uh there but Paul Camp really you you see the offense but the the way he shuts players down at the Blue Line uh where it’s it’s like hitting a brick wall for Fords trying to enter the blue line um not the biggest guy like he’s only 5 foot 11 but just big but he’s big like stocky and sturdy um played on the US national team for in the world juniors um kind of as has been one of those guys any time he’s taken it been given an opportunity he’s taken advantage of it and I think if he has a massive season for University of Denver there’s gonna be some whisperings and Rumblings about him potentially turning pro um because I think his game is getting to that point where he’s probably going to be ready so um this gonna be a huge jump up in competition though from going from bidi state to playing with University of Denver but again anytime this guy gets an opportunity he’s been able to take advantage of it and I expect to see that continue with him and I think pole Camp is uh looking like a really solid pick by the Sharks especially uh in the fifth round so we’ll continue looking at some of these other middle guys and of course look at at um who is the cream of the crop for the Sharks Prospect pool here in just one minute I love sports I love them so much I never want them to stop but as the playoffs wind down we get fewer games right uh and these Sports aren’t sportsing like we want them to but with FanDuel lets me keep on betting uh Sports because fanduel’s great all I have to do is open up the app dream up bets anytime and I’m in the mood and this summer FanDuel is hooking up all customers with a boost or a bonus daily that’s right there’s something for everyone every day all summer long so head over to fanduel.com lockon and start making the most out of your summer FanDuel official sports betting partner of the Major League Baseball all right uh let’s get into number eight um so another new addition to the Sharks Prospect pool uh David edstrom who of course his sharks acquired in the tomash hurdle trade um at the trade deadline uh edstrom had him a really nice season for uh foronda fully he’s going to be back in foronda next year like don’t expect him to to kind of make that jump over here quite yet especially with b i i kind of figure my thinking is um edstrom will kind of follow in the beasted uh kind of tracks here but um I maybe at the end of uh if the once there his shl season’s over maybe he kind of makes the jump over um to San Jose but had a really nice season in foronda uh 19 points in 44 games had another six points in 14 playoff games um for for them and um and kind of I I expect him to to play Big minutes he’s already kind of playing firstline minutes for foronda um there I I fully expect that I think it’s going to be very interesting between him and Beast said and what kind of who’s going to be long-term fighting for that 3C role especially with celebrini who’s not on the list yet because the Sharks haven’t drafted him but celebrini being you know kind of the first line Center you hopefully Will Smith pans out as your second line Center then that third line Center of either edstrom or beasted um is going to uh be a really interesting matchup and battle over the next couple uh of Seasons as these guys continue to devel I think uh it’s it’ll be interesting we’ll talk spoiler I’m going to talk about B said next so we kind of combine the two here but um I think eum’s defensive game is much it’s a much higher floor uh and a bit safer but I think bastet’s offensive game um is much higher than edstrom and you know me I always tend to lean offense over the two so um but I I think though like or maybe you just end up throwing them on the same line together and maybe edstroms the center and Bs is the wing on that line but um I’m I think though edstrom like he’s gonna be a really solid pick for the Sharks and just kind of develop into a really solid like shut it down defensively Center um for for San Jose and um if again if we’re talking about a first round pick who’s now your eighth best Prospect potentially um that’s not too bad uh for for San Jose so um of course Philip bed who I have ranked at number seven um he I think really imp I think really impressed us coming over to San Jose and and his limited time with the Barracuda um I think his game just kind of tailors to playing on the smaller Ice uh a bit more was playing first night minutes for the Barracuda at the end of the the season you know and him and well showed some really really nice um chemistry between the two of them you know uh Beast said who had 17 points and 47 games in the um during the regular season shl then two points in four games um in the playoffs started out first line kind of ended up as as a third line and then jumped up to the second line winning at times for for Linko ping but when he jumped over to in the AHL four goals three assist at seven points in eight games it just really kind of felt like it felt more natural to him I think so far in in his time with it so um I fully expect him just to kind of spend the season with the Barracuda and getting used to um playing a full season uh of North American Hockey um but I think though like bead’s offensive game touch higher than EDR that’s why I have him touch higher so next guy on the list is Daniel Gan uh at number six uh Gan of course massive season with the Barracuda was named to the AHL allar unfortunately didn’t make it because of injuries and we saw kind of the end of his season get wiped out because of injuries um but I think Gan gonna be kind of like borlo fighting for a playoff spot I think is a or not why do I keep saying playoff spot fighting for a roster spot for for the Sharks this season and we’ll be interesting to kind of see where he fits in right we know he produces anytime he’s in the NHL um well there is concerns of course being a little bit smaller guy of you know his defensive game and such but still I believe in Gan I think he’s just I think he’s good man and just needs a chance to play more than like four NHL games at a time um wouldn’t be surprised if he starts in the Barracuda and then and then gets a chance to go play um at some point with the shark uh and you know could you imagine like Cel lebrini or Will Smith or Ean slinging passes to Gan like he’s going to make the most of those opportunities and um pure sniper underrated passer um has a little bit of tenacity I think he’ll needs to continue to get stronger and stuff but um yeah I think Gan gan’s well on his way so um number five so this this was my big debate between four and five on who I was going to kind of put where and it’s my debating Luca Canon and Casper Halton in and I went back and forth back and forth on where I should put these guys uh and who should go number four and who should go uh number five and I eventually like by the the thinnest of margins I decid to go Casper Halton in at number five even though hton in Monster season in the OHL like you see the goal scoring I thought I really like the way his game grew and developed over the playoffs um I think he’s like I think he’d be best suited to be playing professional hockey next year um whether that’s go back to Europe whether that’s on the Barracuda what like the nice thing with him is you have a lot of options of what you can do with him um because of him being in Europe when you drafted him uh originally but Halton in though like there’s still the I I think it comes down the upside on kenon and uh which I’ll get to kenon when I kind of talk to about him but um Holton in of course like he doesn’t drive play as as well as maybe some other guys we know the shot which is freaking ridiculous right like he has an NHL caliber shot I think he’s a really good four Checker I think he needs to clean up some of his skating uh a little bit and make him I think that’ll make him a little bit more especially that first step a lot of times when uh especially if he has to kind of like pivot or kind of like get on his horse a little bit that first step kind of feels a little choppy to me I’m not a big like breaking down skates but if I can see like uh i’ like to see that a little bit cleaner um I think that would really help his game a little bit more but uh I still can see Halton and just being like a super sick like power play Merchant um and then when you’re playing with potentially celebrini or Ecklund or Will Smith it’s very much like just get open and they’re going to get you the puck and you’re just gonna Crush one-timers here so um yeah hon in like his game has really grown on me over the the past season but I just like Canon a little bit more we’ll talk about Canon and kind of the rest of the the top guys here in just one minute passion drive and patience the formula for winning championships is also what keeps your ride or die alive eBay Motors is everything you need to maintain your vehicle and leveled up to Peak Performance superchargers roof Rex exhaust kits LED headlights and more whether you’re into speed power or style eBay Motors has got you covered over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you always find exactly what you’re looking for with the eBay guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your ride every time or your money back because with eBay Motors you’re burning rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want is easy to make your car the MVP and bring home huge wins keep your ride or die alive at eBay motors.com elra items only exclusions apply eBay guarantee fit only available to to us customers all right so number four uh Luca Canon he’s really good uh and I I’ve said it before and I will continue to say it like I know he’s a five foot n defenseman um and there’s always going to be questions because he’s a 5 foot n defenseman but if you look like smaller defenseman in the NHL they’re either really good or they just don’t make it and I’ve I anytime I talk about Luka Canon just the way that he works he’s got that that chip on his shoulder because of one wasn’t draft in the WHL draft two should have been a second round pick a lot of us projected a lot of people projected him to be a second round pick the NHL draft slid down to the fourth round with the sharks got him at 123 um and he just continues to produce even this season right I was working on my defense I still put he put up 90 points like something that a WHL Defender hasn’t done in 30 years um and I fully expect him to make the Barracuda next year and would you be surprised if by the end of the season he’s the best defender on the Barracuda I’m not saying it’s gonna happen but those are world and I think with Canon’s upside I just that’s why I went kenon over Casper h and just because I I think there’s a world where we’re looking at Canon as a like legitimate awesome second pairing defenseman who moves the puck can run a power play um and while there’s a legitimate world world hton in like a 25 goal score um where he’s just crushing one-timers on the power play and you know from the oetkin spot like I still think kenon just had will have a bigger impact all around because I think one he can play defense even for a smaller player two he’s great in the transition and three he’s a freaking wizard in the offensive zone I just think he has a he will have a bigger impact in all three zones compared to Halon him who feels more like a little bit of a one- trick pony even though like I just mentioned his game has really grown on me and I’ve seen a lot of improvements um in this game I just feel like kenon has a the upper upper ceiling of both players I feel like kenon has a more impact on the ice when he is on it and that’s again we’re I’m making a dumb list and I’m splitting hairs on a very dumb list here you could talk me into you could ask me next week and I could be like you know it’s halting in over Canon but um that’s that’s what I went with today is is I went with uh with kenon over Halton and just and short King love there so um number three so we’re in the top three now is probably not too much of a surprise here especially if you’ve been listening to lockon Cher follow me for a while uh number three Shakir mukad I love Muk Madan and the way his game is um I know there was questions again kind of when he got to San Jose and you know how his game improves and I’ve seen so much improvement over his game I love the way he plays defensively um I know there’s still some issues with him kind of kind of pivoting especially for a little bit bigger defensive men um and I know the end of the season got washed out because of injuries but I just I feel like he’s got the makings to be a really good two-way defenseman for the Sharks and limited time with San Jose last year up in the NHL but he looked he looked the part um for him and being 6′ three 6’4 doesn’t hurt um but I think he just he plays with a calmness to him um and his ability to move the puck his his defensive game has grown a lot especially being over the past year being in North America um and I think he’s going to be on the Sharks this year I think he’s that’s the next step for him is playing in the NHL for more than three games and I think he’s going to be an NHL player this year um and the Sharks should do what they can to try to put give him that opportunity to play NHL games and whether that’s move off or from some of their kind of olders established defenseman whatever he need to do M Mullan needs to be playing NHL games this year that’s that’s the best way for him to get better um and find him the right partner um but he needs to be playing NHL games and I I think Muk Mulan has um per you know maybe he’s your second or third best defenseman on on a really good team but the way the sharks are kind of putting their their blue line together like I think it’s going to be very much a kind of Defense by committee approach um especially when it comes to generating offense and I think Muk Mullan can be a really good piece of that uh committee so number two of course Quint musty uh musty put up a bajillion points in the OHL um absolute Monster uh he’s one of those guys where he gets hurt by the the CHL NHL agreement uh where he can’t play in the AHL uh next year because I think he is also ready to be playing professional games um he’s just going to go back in the o i I fully expect musy to play nine games in the NHL before heading back to OHL even if Will Smith and celebrini and whoever else are on the shark um I think they want to give him a taste let him kind of experience it that way he knows what’s coming and he can kind of go back in the OHL and uh one put up another bajillion points this year but two kind of continue to round out his game um I expect him to be just a kind of a monster power forward kind of a uh for for the Sharks here um and yeah he’s good man like when he puts his head down and just kind of drives to the net it’s it’s a thing to watch um he can shoot it from anywhere he’s got great passing he’s gonna play bajillion minutes for sberry again this year and um he’s yeah Quint musty is Miker Miker probably goes to bed every night laughing that he got Quinton musty at 26 overall um yeah it’s it’s ridiculous so um and of course number one wil smth um the shark’s best Prospect um and by the end of the year probably won’t isn’t going to be a prospect anymore because of the way I uh rank him but Will Smith what have we not said about Will Smith this year but uh amazing freshman season I’m glad he signed his ELC I think that is the best course of action for him is to play NHL games um and yes I’ve said it before I know the NHL is not a developmental league but Will Smith is going to develop more by playing in the NHL than he would by going back to Boston College and putting up a bajillion points um and just kind of being a big fish in a little Pond um in the NCAA he already put he put together one of the best freshman Seasons we have ever had and if celebrini didn’t do what celebrini did we’re probably talking about Hobie Baker winner uh Will Smith because uh yeah he was absolutely ridiculous last year and got to be questions about you know his defensive game and I think finding the right line mates for Will Smith is going to be really important for Ryan wowski um this season I just but like he’s good guys like he’s so freaking good especially generating creating offense in the offensive zone finding his teammates utilizing his teammates putting them in the best position to succeed um I think him especially if you get like a four checking monster type of of player with with him um who that is right now on the sharks that kind of you know up up to debate but if you get someone who can kind of do a little bit of the Dirty Work in the corners and and kind of get it out to Will Smith Will Smith’s GNA make teams pay all season long and I yeah it’s it’s G to be fun to watch so um that’s going to be it for me today so here’s kind of uh the map of right now the the week Miker has his press ail ability kind of pre-draft press availability on Monday so we’ll have reactions to that for you Monday night for Tuesday’s episode um Tuesday is is uh we at Bob McKenzie’s final rankings so we’ll go through that kind of look at who’s available for San Jose um at that point so that’ll be kind of Wednesday’s episode um Thursday be day before the draft so we’ll kind of have uh continue to look at you know kind of potential whatever news is kind of coming up of course we’ll also look at potential options for for San Jose um see what kind of other people are mocking and then going into the draft uh we’ll have kind of I’ll kind of probably rank my best options for the sharks at 14 who like I would realistically kind of pound the table for there um of course plenty of draft stuff as I will be in Vegas for the draft um so going to have plenty of draft stuff for you guys there we’ll have a first round reaction Monday or Friday night after we’ll have another episode Saturday after the draft to kind of make sure we catch around all the new prospects 2 through S then I’ll be home and we’ll get ready for free agencies so plenty of stuff uh make sure you guys are just following along wherever you get podcasts and of course you can watch on YouTube as well uh follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at lockon sharks follow me on Twitter at my fry hole till tomorrow by friends [Music]

The San Jose Sharks prospect pool has been developing nicely over the past few seasons, but how do all the players rank compared to each other? Start with the rules, what is considered a prospect, and the grading criteria for making the list. Then, some honorable mentions, including Georgi Romanov, who takes the claim as the Sharks’ best goalie prospect, and the 10th best Sharks prospect, Ethan Cardwell. Next, discuss Filip Bystedt vs David Edstrom, who has more upside between the two, and what we should expect from both this season. Danil Gushchin had a great season with the San Jose Barracuda. Where does he fall on the list? Then Kasper Halttunen and Luca Cagnoni had great seasons; who should be ranked higher, and why was it such a struggle to pick between them? Finally, Will Smith is the best Sharks prospect in the system. Who sits right behind him?

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