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San Jose Sharks Draft: Get A Pick Between 39 and 106

June 22, 2015, 9:49 AM ET [235 Comments]
Tim Chiasson
San Jose Sharks Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The further down the draft you go the more unlikely it is to be hitting home runs but, in this draft, there’s still a relatively good chance in the third round to grab an excellent prospect.

The problem for San Jose, though, is they don’t have a third round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Had the Sharks still had their third round pick it’s possible a player like Jordan Greenway may have fallen down, or that Filip Ahl would still be available. Now, that’s not even an option. So, what are the Sharks going to do between pick 39 and pick 106? They should be trying to get another draft pick in there.

With a prospect system like the Sharks currently boast, not having a pick for nearly 70 selections in unacceptable. San Jose needs to get in between their 2nd and 4th round picks – whether it’s getting into the third round, or back into the second. A trade must happen for the Sharks to continue to get better young players.

Who could be candidates to get the Sharks back in that range? Tommy Wingels or Ben Smith could probably get them there.

I get that the Sharks want to win now – like DeBoer and Wilson have said. Really, with Thornton and Marleau still around, it’s foolish to avoid attempting to win now. The Sharks window closed dramatically because of the inactivity of Doug Wilson to add pieces between the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 seasons. Acquiring another pick between their second (39) and fourth (106) round selections would help them continue to build up a prospect pool for the future.

It is possible to do some building on the fly – you just can’t be trading away 3rd round picks for players like Tye McGinn, whom you will give away eventually for nothing.

The draft is a big game of chance and outside of the top ranked players the value of the Sharks pick becomes more directly related to the quality of the scouting staff. That’s where the Sharks picks from 106 and beyond come in to play.

The Sharks have hit a late home-run before with Joe Pavelski. Can they do it again? It’s possible, for sure, but it won’t be known right away. What I do know, though, is that getting another pick in the late second, early third, will increase the Sharks chances that they get another excellent prospect.

It’s easy to sit around and watch YouTube videos of a player’s highlight reel and come to the conclusion that they are diamonds in the rough – or that every single player taken in the late rounds could be the next Joe Pavelski. The honest truth is, well, that’s nonsense. Of course they could be, but the odds are against prospect in a dramatic fashion as the draft moves along.

That thought of winning the lottery on a 5th, 6th, or 7th round pick may even turn people away from wanting to give anything up to get into, say, the second round again. In my opinion, if you can turn a player who has a generally negative impact on the team into a prospect for the future then you have to do it.

Everyone has their own personal opinions on a team’s prospect system. Some are overly positive, some are overly negative. Somewhere in the middle of those two is reality – where the team goggles just don’t seem to fit and the world is seen as is.

There’s every chance that the Sharks will find a great player late in the draft – but there’s also every chance they won’t.

There’s much to be excited about with this year’s draft – namely the two picks in the first 39 selections – but the San Jose Sharks absolutely need to find themselves back in the second round, or getting into the third. This team’s core isn’t getting any younger and, five years from now, when the major pieces are either retired or out of their prime, they’ll need players to step into big roles. Right now they don’t have those people set in stone – it’s all undetermined hope – so they need to increase the chances of having those players readily available.

San Jose can attempt to win now without mortgaging their future. With the current makeup of the team, that’s what needs to be done. Shed the negative impact players, continue to draft, find the missing pieces.

Thanks for reading.
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