Grading The San Jose Sharks Prospect Pool After The 2024 NHL Draft

Grading The San Jose Sharks Prospect Pool After The 2024 NHL Draft

over the past couple Seasons Mike and the sharks have built up a prospect pool that can be envied by most the NHL how good is it actually 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 Lo locked on sharks the premere hockey podcast covering your favorite team in the Bay Area my name is JD young caretaker at The Reef also the co-host of Western Conference Tuesdays on the lockdown NHL channel want to thank you for making lockdown sharks your first listen probably part of the lockdown Network recovery your team every day if you want to be an every day or all you have to do is just follow wherever you get Podcast or you can watch this on YouTube as well and today we’re going to kind of dig into the prospect pool and see how good it actually is so the first segment here is going to be our good friend Sebastian high from Dober prospects and also one half of the locked on um nhr prospects hosts where he’s going to discuss these sharks prospects uh at kind of pool at large and kind of give his thoughts of it and then we’re going to talk about kind of the areas of strength for for the pool uh and then the areas I think that they still need to kind of Target here as they continue their rebuild so before we get into all that do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply all righty let’s keep this going here with the prospect pool breakdown and the San Jose Sharks are spoiled for riches in this part here uh Beyond just adding the players that we just uh discussed in the last segment they already have a a real wealth of prospect that that they’ve accumulated in the past couple Seasons uh whether it be a player that doesn’t quite qualify for this in William Eckland who took a massive step for San Jose last season or Will Smith who will be making his NHL debuts alongside M celebrini this fall and adding a ton of skill Beyond just those players there’s a bunch of depth and uh a lot of skill as well uh in the perhaps slightly below a level prospects it could be Quenton musy a six foot three High skill player who has a wicked shot really good playmaker and really really silky mits who has been a dominant forward in the OHL for the subury Wolves for a couple Seasons now and uh could really be a top six contributor long term in San Jose he might need a couple more years to develop and and iron out some of the decision-making woes in his game and some of the immaturity in his habits but uh if he hits his upside this is a fantastic and really entertaining player uh Beyond him at at the in the forward pool you still have Philip bastad who didn’t quite pop off quite as as much this past season as the year before but has made the switch to North America and he looked really good in the AHL minutes that he did see danil gin can still make his uh his big leap to the NHL this this upcoming season with all the skill he brings to the table the gorgeous goals he can score he’s able to pick corners from far out and has really really nice combination of Mobility speed and handling ability uh the the the pace of offensive play with this player is one of the reasons that he’s been a favorite of for almost a handful of years at this stage you also have a complete opposite end of the the Spectrum in terms of forward uh a guy like like David edstrom who was acquired in the Thomas hurdle deal who was a first round selection by the Las Vegas golden knights last last year and uh while he doesn’t really have the same top six upside that other players in this pool do he doesn’t need to celebrini Smith Eckland musty there’s a lot of these high-end forwards that are going to slot into top six roles long term which is going to allow um edrm to be a bottom six presence and a real solidifying Force down the middle a solid two-way Center who plays with physicality and grit uh who makes Smart reads in all three zones gets to the dangerous areas offensively as a net front presence and can really lock things down defensively uh Beyond him you still have a guy like Casper Halton as well who’s worth the mention who played a really solid season with the London Knights this past year playing a middle six role on the wing on their Ro on their road to an an ol championship and an a Memorial Cup run where they ended up losing out to The Saga Spirit but really put in a good fight and Halton has a wicked shot he was able to round out his game a little bit uh this past season and he could also be a middle six scoring Winger for San Jose and obviously eigor chesha celebrini goes without saying also very exciting pieces uh there at forward long term on the defensive side of things the selection of Sam Dickinson really really helps the Outlook of the defensive prospect pool they had been missing a play that could project as a clear top pairing guy long term uh and and I think that he brings a lot of what they’re going to value a two-way impact a true two-way impact uh with physicality and uh aggression and really offensive potential as well that’s been underrated over the course of the last year but the defensive ability the transition defending are clear area of strength in his game as well and there’s so much to like in his overall NHL projection I was talking with quite a few scouts at the NHL draft who had Dickinson as their top ranked defenseman available period on draft day having him ranked as high as third overall so this is a player who has a lot of really big proponents in The Scouting community and I’m quite certain that San Jose was elated to have them available where they picked there at 11th overall but you also have kakir mukad Dulan who seems to finally be taking the big leap into a top four NHL role this upcoming season uh having been been utilized very carefully in his development in San Jose since being acquired in the team of Meer trade with the New Jersey Devils and uh he was playing big minutes in the AHL all season long and played a couple NHL games where he also loged big minutes uh but this is going to be the year where the massive defenseman might make the big step into that top four range but beyond those big defensemen you also have a variety of undersized intelligent skilled players in that defensive pool as well the favorite among those in my opinion is uh Luca Canon who was a fourth or fifth round selection in last year’s draft and took a massive step this past season in the WHL this is a highly intelligent player who is a bit undersized not an elite elite level skater but he uses his his intelligence to solve problems he’s a very effective defenseman in closing his gaps he’s able to cover a surprisingly wide range in the defensive Zone whether it be on the cycle or against the rush and uh his intelligence really translates offensively into high-end playmaking ability uh combining him at five on five offense with guys like celebrini and Smith and musy and Eckland and chernishov is going to be incredibly exciting long term and especially having uh now acquired Sam Dickinson being able to insulate uh Canon into a bit more of a of a middle pairing role long term is really going to serve his development a couple other defenseman that that deserves shout outs are Leo Salin Venus we covered in the last segment uh Henry thrun who uh could be making another step this upcoming season to a consistent NHL role and Matias havet who continues to be chugging away in his development over in Sweden who is a really intelligent defenseman with a booming shot uh decent handling and mobility and uh improving playmaking and defensive abilities as well so a lot to like on the defensive side of things but they are still missing a projected number one right shot defenseman in my opinion uh to really complete their Prospect pool and in goal uh they added kir and corello to Magnus Crona uh who is progressing quite nicely uh for the Sharks but we’re going to see if he’s at at the level to be a projected starting goal tender in the NHL uh and yeah so I I would say that this is overall an A+ Prospect pool they have the elite level skill they have projectable talent they have a bunch of soft skill and dynamism they have physicality and aggression uh they have players for a variety of roles and I think that this group of players is going to mature into a contending lineup in the NHL in about three to five years time and I’m really excited to see how that continues uh what in terms of players that they might still want to add into their Prospect pool and they’re they’re going to have one more year at least uh of being close to the NHL basement and with highend draft picks uh to to kind of round out that Prospect pool I’d be looking at adding a big uh like potential first pairing right shot defenseman as a clear area of need as well as some as a hopeful starting goal tender and clearly San Jose believes that kir and corello can kind of fulfill those roles as they were the two top goal tenders that they had ranked in this past draft class I still have a few questions around that but uh if they’re confident with that uh with their goalie pool at this stage then they’re even more confident in their overall pool than I am and uh I’m giving them an A+ rating so a lot to look forward to in San Jose all right before we continue uh and we look at where the prospect pool needs to get some help and where the prospect pools I think it’s at its strength uh just need to take a quick break if you’re looking to go catch a baseball game or maybe want to go catch a summer concert um or whatever it is you need to get tickets for you need to check out game time game time is an authorized ticket Market Place of Major League Baseball which makes getting tickets faster and easier pric on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets to 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right and it is the forward group um you know and I know eckan is in my eyes he’s kind of graduated as a prospect but he’s still considered like a franchise piece that you’re going to be building and when you talk about kind of the totality of the prospect pool you I think you have to include him in there even though I I I think he’s graduated from that Prospect but he’s still like again he’s he’ll be 22 here um by the time the season starts but you know looking at right you you have that blue chip like franchise changing player in mlin celebrini you know you have high-end pieces in Will Smith um and William Eckland uh both you know top 10 picks in in their draft years um you have guys like Quinton musy who has top six upside Casper Halton in who has H insane upside as well you know there’s some questions there for him in his game um and then you have you know guys like Phil beasted and David edram which are going to kind of fill on those middle bottom six type of roles but still provide um I think be excellent in their what they do right uh then you guys have like Daniel Gan um and then uh players like Thomas bordalo like there’s still this this group of Fords um I think you can kind of up and down like put it with just about anybody’s Prospect pool in the league right I think the Ducks kind of doing this last week when or was it earlier this when I did the kind of like Will Smith and celebrini verse everybody you know I think the Ducks is is the other Prospect pool that you can kind of or like really try to look at and see how can we match this especially as a division rival um and I think the sharks can now especially with the addition of celebrini kind of go like blow for blow with the Ducks that’s what you’re going to have to do um as these two Powers start to kind of exit their re rebuilds and start to become you know uh hopefully especially in the shar’s case hopefully kind of take that step into being you know the fun frisky team and then eventually the the contender that we uh hope and expect the the Sharks to be someday um but you know you have to kind of keep an eye at what your division is doing and what your Rivals are doing and I think with the Ducks right um you know you look at Leo Carlson um you look at Mason McTavish whatever if Trevor zerra sticks round or goes you know CL goer like their forward group is just as deep and just as dynamic as what the sharks have put together here um and they have a little bit more on the back end we’ll talk about the back end here in a little bit but I think for the Sharks building through you know this forward group they always say right you have to win down the middle and if you can run out celebrini Will Smith be said in edstrom eventually as you’re down the middle um th that is four first round picks that you could be uh eventually running down uh down the middle of your lineup here and yes I mean they some of these you know homegrown talents um some of them that you know you acquired by as part of your your rebuild process and you know making smart trades and right and kind of realizing where this franchise was headed and what it needed to do and making tough decisions with trading guys like Tomas shtle uh or trading back from under number 11 because you like the guys who were there right I mean Mike Greer has done a you have to you know I know a lot of people were very skeptical about Mike Greer and the job he would do coming into San Jose but I mean he he has a plan and he’s been sticking to the plan and he has a type right um the sharks are they they they’ve gotten much bigger much more aggressive um and much more skilled since my career got here right you know kind of looking back at that 2020 class we very excited and there’s still a lot of promise I think with guys like Gan and Robbins and you know bordalo I know there’s some question marks about him going into this season but you know like what Greer has done to kind of ADD and and those guys were all small guys with the exception of Brandon Co who’s kind of not really been able to to to find his game consistently um but what is done in adding guys like Quint musy who’s 6’2 right 200 pounds um Casper hton who’s you know 62 200 pounds um David edstrom Philip bed um and the four group but then also not shying away from you know guys who might be a little bit smaller and Will Smith and M CBR who are both six foot right um but just supremely skilled like supremely supremely skilled players um so I I think there’s a a nice blend of what the sharks have done here and I’ve never been a like you know the Sharks need to get bigger type of guy I just want good players and if you can get good players are also big that helps but just get good players um and and Mike career I think has done that and it’s just been very painful at times watching you know some of your favorite players get traded away and Eric Carlson and or Brent Burns or to much hurdle or you know who whomever Teo Meer um you know losing some of these guys who were part of that previous core and but it was all they were the right decisions and you can you know decide if maybe he got enough or didn’t get enough for his process of getting there but um right now you have to look at this forward group and think this is one of the best forward Prospect groups that that are in the NHL right now and if not all these guys are going to hit right um and some of them aren’t going to hit you know maybe get up to their expectations but if they do and some the guys hit and maybe some guys exceed expectations you know like a guy like eigor shern sheres who who the Sharks got in the second round and maybe he comes in with a chip on his shoulder of going you know he said himself he’s disappointed um for going in the second round like you know there’s there’s a lot to be excited about with this the C Prospect group and that doesn’t mean as we’ll talk about the defense here in a little bit um that I think the board group is done I still very much you just pick the best player available especially if the sharks are picking top five again next year as we kind of expect them to to be um one of those teams picking in the top five and if the best player is a defenseman then you just pick a or defenseman or the best player is a forward available then you just pick a forward um you try to figure things out later but um you have to be super excited about the direction of this uh forward group and what Mike GRE has kind of been able to do in such a short amount of time right and it feels it feels much longer you know because if you kind of think about with the sharks right it was after that 2019 run losing to the blues and then you kind of was like okay maybe it’s just a step back GE and then things kind of like Doug Wilson was was trying to just kind of hold on and kind of keep put some band on it um before mik career got here and finally just decided like this thing needs to get torn down to the to the Bare Bones and rebuilt so it feels much longer because of you know I don’t want to say Wasted Years but kind of Wasted Years and not having a pick in the 2020 Draft when you picked should have picked third and that going to Ottawa because of you know previous trades um makes it feel worse because you could have had a guy like Tim sual like in your program already to kind of but anyway you still though like what Greer has done in such a short amount of time and then going into this season when you’re going to have two more first round picks um in guy in your pick and then whatever V and the Vegas pick that’s unprotected um the sharks have really set themselves up with the best ability to acquire high-end talent and that is a draft highend talent and the best way to draft highend Talent is to have very high picks in the draft and the sharks have done that so um still a long way to go with the draft and development model um and now it’ll be how do you add pieces and kind of make sure guys fit the timeline and are uh getting put in the best position to succeed and for their development but um this Ford group I would I would put it up with anybody else’s prospects uh Ford Prospect pool in the NHL right now I think it is um you have everything you have everything you need um maybe another like Blue Chip player is not going to hurt but and they could potentially get one in next year’s draft but man landing celebrini and Will Smith and back toback plus William ekin and his the way he developed and it just and the way Quinton musty and Halton in and like the way they’re they’re putting this thing together um there’s going to be a lot of exciting times coming in San Jose so uh we’ll look at some of the areas of need that my career is going to kind of need to to try to figure out and ways to kind of do that here so we we’ll talk about that here in just one second all right guys before we uh continue into that just want to let you guys know uh when you’re done checking out this podcast make sure you guys go check out one of the other great lockon podcasts if you want to go check out one of the other lockon NHL podcasts or maybe you want to go check that out lock on Giants uh lock on niners start getting ready for new season lock on a locked on Warriors whatever it is we got you covered here at the lock on NHL network uh so for your second listen of the day go check out one of the other Bay Area shows um plenty of good stuff going on in the bay right now in sports so um let’s get to of course the areas to of kind of need and Target um and I think you have to start with the go tending um I think is the biggest area kind of glaring hole right in the Sharks go tending Prospect pool and you can’t say it’s not without trying you know you look at they drafted Ben Gad you know in the third round a couple years ago they drafted a mason bowet in the fourth round a couple years ago um neither one of those guys earning their ELC um last year I know in the 2023 draft like mik G said we we had guys targeted and they just got snaked out before us and that happens in the draft process right um I think JS have done a good job you know I know Sebastian talked about Magnus Crona I think crona’s done okay I think Georgie Romanov is maybe a guy I’m a little bit more excited about right now than Crona personally just because uh where his story and where he’s come from and I think he’s shown higher end flashes last year on the Barracuda um then we have seen from Crona so and I think those guys are gonna be fighting for you know uh for starts here with the Barracuda depending on what uh what Mike Greer and Joe will decide to do if they get another ply whatever but we we talked about that earlier this week if you want to go check out that I I highlighted some names um that I guys I would be intrigued by as as the uh it’s getting very very uh very very quiet in in the free agency market right now but um though I think trying to find a goal and I know there’s a bajillion sharks fans like uh anytime it’s just asro asov asgarov and like asgarov is really good don’t get me wrong asov is really really good um I don’t know if he fits okay um and not to say like asov is going to be NHL ready here you know probably another year or so um and I think asov is going to be a a great goalie at some point but I just I don’t know if he’s a good fit um for San hos and kind of some of the goal tending issues that they’ve had maybe you know with Thomas spear kind of getting more involved and and having a bigger say here hopefully uh with with the way the shark skull tending is and um maybe this can kind of alleviate concerns but um asov is a bit of a wild card um and I say this in the best possible way like the dude’s a really fun dude and he’s a little out there um and he plays like that too if you’ve ever watched him play um and I I think the sharks are probably looking for something um a little calmer and so um I know they just drafted two in this in this round and in this past draft and you never know with these goalies who’s going to hit and where they come from and such so we’ll kind of keep an eye on how these guys do but um I think that is kind of the missing missing piece is that like goal tending Prospect where you can be like okay I can see this guy being a dude here so um and then I think the other as our good friend uh Sebastian said is another like a right-handed defensive like kind of first line Prospect um and it’s really weird the sharks have been very kind of left oriented with their kind of Puck moving defenseman you know and their prospects right you look at the Shakir madula who has been you know I I’ve his game has really grown on me and I really really come to like what I’ve seen out of Muk Mullan but you know left-handed guy even Jake wman who the Sharks acquired this season I know he’s not a prospect but right uh he’s a left-handed kind of Puck moving defenseman uh Luca Canon left left-handed Puck moving defenseman maybe there just a left-handed team uh who knows but um I still think like getting yourself some Sam Dickinson Insurance not that I think Sam Dickinson’s gonna be a bust I’ve been watching his tape I’m gonna probably really ear really really early next week do the Sam Dickenson Deep dive episode where we talk about what I’ve seen from him kind of what he needs to work on his projection all that fun stuff um but getting like right you look at like the Ducks again look at all the defensive guys that they’ve drafted and and developed um and you know Jamie Dale who they they thought the world of right drafting him what was he like six overall no longer with this in the system um because things just didn’t really work out for him and they saw an opportunity to trade him for who they think was a better player in Cutter go um who stock was at a low you know as as the Flyers are trying to kind of Pawn him off because he didn’t want to play for them and um there’s more than one way to fill up your prospect pull right um you see even the way the Sharks Scott Shakir Muk Mulan um who during at the team of Myer trade right we were all like who’s this guy right um and now we’re seeing he’s really he’s going to be NHL ready you know he’s basically NHL ready now he’s gonna be fighting for an NHL job and um whether the sharks make another trade um you know you look at like Jack Thompson who they acquired last year from from Anthony CLA I think has some upside is going to be probably on the Barracuda this year and at least to start the season but like there’s there’s more than one way and I think with Sam Dickinson as what we’ll kind of get to like there’s like expecting him to kind of jump in and be an NHL player you know in a year is is a lot to ask for him um and I I I know it’s he he’s he’s very good he’s a big boy he can esape um but I don’t we’ve seen the way the sharks have especially with the defenseman right um they’ve taken their time like Muk Mullan could have been playing NHL if if he wasn’t hurt last year at the end of the season he’s probably playing more NHL games you know um but they’ve been very careful and cautious with the way they develop their defenseman um and I think they’re going to continue to do that especially with what’s projected to be a young team for the next couple of Seasons so um I think those the two big areas is um getting getting a a goal tending prospect that you feel good is going to be an NHL player here soon and you can continue to you know there’s not a ton of those type of guys right where um if you have one you don’t want to give one up um and they’re really really hard to find but I think that’s the thing you can also just kind of keep just signing goalies to twoyear contracts and try to figure things out until you find one which is the way to go to be honest it just keep signing goalies to two-year contracts and see if you can um kind of ride out those two years and and what happens after that then you figure it out um but yeah finding a goalie and then I think also um whatever like getting another high-end defensive prospect in this system whether that’s through the draft next year you’re GNA have two first- round picks um or acquiring one maybe you move off of some of your maybe a little bit older prospects or maybe when you uh at the trade deadline when you start trading away some of your um NHL players whether it’s granin whether it’s Nico Sturm um whomever you your pieces that you’re going to be looking to to move this offseason or this during the season um trying to Target one of those guys and I would actually almost rather have one of those guys than a draft pick at this point because you want these guys to kind of all start to be in the same group and bucket of anger AG especially for dman who take a little bit longer uh to develop so um but yeah overall those sharks fans like this is why you lose all those games I’ve said it before I say a million times right it’s why you lose all those games to try to get yourself in the best position um micer and the sharks have done that U we have the celebrini like we we’re celebrating all all summer because of um the Sharks inability to win games and I’d rather stink now for a couple seasons and then be really good for the next 10 years um and I think we’re going to be really good at some point uh at some point really really soon so um but overall My Career has done a I think my career has done an outstanding job at putting together a prospect pool that is uh Rivals almost anybody in the NHL right now so uh we’ll be back next week like I said we’ll do the Sam Dickinson um trade or the Sam Dickinson Deep dive we’ll probably start looking at some of the Barracuda offseason and kind of dig into what what’s kind of expected for the Barracuda here um and you know kind of start get plenty of good stuff so um that’s going to be it for me today be back next week uh so make sure you’re following wherever you get Podcast of course you can watch on YouTube as well follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at lockon sharks follow me on Twitter at my fry hole till Monday bye friends [Music]

After the 2024 NHL Draft, Mike Grier and the San Jose Sharks have built one of the best prospect pools in the entire league. Sebastian High of Locked on NHL Prospects gives his thoughts on the Sharks’ prospect pool, how the foundation is set with William Eklund, Macklin Celebrini, and Will Smith, and why Sam Dickinson was exactly what the Sharks needed on the blue line. Then, examine the Sharks’ greatest strength in their forward group and who the Sharks could have four first-round picks down the middle, as well as plenty of complementary pieces thanks to their recent drafts. Then, look at the areas Mike Grier will need to focus on as the Sharks continue their rebuild, including finding a high-end goalie prospect and another blue-chip defenseman.

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