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With the 39th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, the San Jose Sharks select….
Someone.
The second round isn’t as clear cut as the first round. Not because there’s less talent available; but because there are 38 unknowns that will happen before the Sharks are back on the clock.
One thing is certain; the Sharks should not trade their second round pick this year. If they’re going to acquire a goaltender at the cost of a 2nd round pick (or 2nd+) it should be next year’s second round pick, SJ or COL, not this year.
There are several avenues to explore in round two. If the Sharks draft a forward in round one, do they go defense in round two? If they draft a defender do they go forward? Do they go after a goaltender regardless of who they select in round one? Do they simply go best player available?
Personally, if the Sharks miss out on Provorov and Werenski in round one I think they need to take a defender in round two simply because the defensive system is terribly weak. That same argument could be made for the goaltending position as well, though.
With the Flyers and Blue Jackets being very likely to grab both of those defenders it’s likely the Sharks will draft a high end forward at number nine, so that’s going to put pressure on the defense for the next pick.
That being said, and personal preference aside, there’s no point in reaching into the late second to grab a defender. This draft is still solid in the second round and it wouldn’t be wise to overlook certain players because they aren’t of higher positional need. So, my final answer is: if the Sharks miss out on a defender in the first, draft a defender in the second only if the defender is the BPA. There are organizational needs from top to bottom.
The Sharks draft board for round two is going to be much bigger than in round one because of the unknowns, and it’s likely to feature players that may get picked up in the first round.
Here’s how my Sharks draft board would look like for round two:
1) Jacob Larsson - D 2) Gabriel Carlsson – D 3) Noah Juulsen - D 4) Ilya Samsonov – G 5) Daniel Sprong – RW 6) McKenzie Blackwood – G 7) Nicolas Meloche – D 8) Zach Senyshen – RW 9) Dennis Yan – LW 10) Filip Chlapik – C
Should the Sharks land, say, Werenski in the first round then I’d think long and hard about skipping to number four on my list and starting from there with who’s left. It would be very hard to pass up on Larsson or Carlsson if they’re still available, though, so I’d have to see what happens. Defenders, generally, take longer to develop so there would be nothing wrong with drafting two solid defensive prospects in the first 39 picks of the draft. Think future.
The Sharks have a great opportunity to grab two great prospects to add to the system in the first two rounds of the draft. I’d really like to see them gain an additional second round pick since they don’t hold a third round pick this year. There really is a great amount of talent all the way through round two and into round three.
Who’s your pick for #39 overall?
Pre-Season Schedule
Mon. Sept. 21 @Vancouver Tue. Sept. 22 @Vancouver Fri. Sept. 25 Arizona Sat. Sept. 26 Anaheim Tue. Sept. 29 Vancouver Fri. Oct. 2 @Arizona Sat. Oct. 3 @Anaheim
Cam Talbot Rumors
According to Darren Dreger the Sharks are putting a strong effort into the Cam Talbot sweepstakes.
Should add Buffalo to the list of teams chasing Cam Talbot. Edmtn, Buf, SJ pretty eager. Dal, Fla and Cgy have some interest as well.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) June 18, 2015There’s also some chatter on media outlets that suggest the Rangers should package Kevin Klein with Talbot for a higher return. To that I say no thanks. Nearly every New York Ranger is better without Kevin Klein on the ice and he held a -1.64CF%rel for 2014-2015. Klein rode the success of the team and at first glance looks better than he actually is.
The Sharks shouldn’t pay more for Talbot to pick up a bottom pairing defender.
Thanks for reading.