7. San Jose Sharks
When your team makes the Stanley Cup Final, there is no reason to be upset if the draft didn’t go too well. Unless you lose the final, that is.
The San Jose Sharks started the season playing worse than the Canucks, but got better and better as the season progressed. By the end of it, they not only played in the final, but they had a legitimate chance to win. It didn’t happen, and it might have been the closest the Sharks will get for a while. We feel ya, San Jose.
In the draft, things didn’t get much better. Of course, the Sharks only owned five picks, with a second-round selection being the only pick in the first three rounds. But they could have done better than they did. It kind of went like this: head scratcher, big-time steal, head scratcher, head scratcher, head scratcher, head scratcher. Here are the names to those picks:
| Rnd | Pick | Overall | Team | Player | Pos | Country | Height | Weight | Amateur League | Amateur Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 30 | 60 | SJS | DYLAN GAMBRELL | C | USA | 5′ 11″ | 179 | NCHC | U OF DENVER |
| 4 | 20 | 111 | SJS | NOAH GREGOR | C | CAN | 5′ 11″ | 175 | WHL | MOOSE JAW |
| 5 | 29 | 150 | SJS | MANUEL WIEDERER | C | DEU | 6′ 0″ | 171 | QMJHL | MONCTON |
| 6 | 29 | 180 | SJS | MARK SHOEMAKER | D | CAN | 6′ 2″ | 208 | OHL | NORTH BAY |
| 7 | 29 | 210 | SJS | JOACHIM BLICHFELD | LW; RW | DNK | 6′ 2″ | 176 | SWEDEN | MALMO JR. |
While Vancouver’s third-round pick was almost a second-rounder, San Jose’s second was just two picks short of a third-rounder. But still, the Sharks managed to go a bit off the board with their first one, selecting overage center Dylan Gambrell of the University of Denver. The reasoning is much the same as it was for Vancouver and Lockwood: the Sharks only picked 60th and 111th, so if they wanted him, they had to get him early.
Related: Noah Gregor Prospect Profile
Then came the big-time steal. WHL Moose Jaw Warriors center Noah Gregor fell all the way to the fourth round. Most saw him going off the board in the late second round while some even expect him to become a better player than Warriors first-rounder Brett Howden.
In the later rounds, the Sharks went with another overager in Manuel Wiederer and two players not many had on the radar. As a German, I am happy to see Wiederer picked, and he has good potential, but none of those final three players were locks to be drafted.
Grade: C
Next: No. 6