The Sharks are picking ninth, so they’re going to get a solid prospect. They haven’t been in the top ten since drafting Logan Couture at 9th in 2007. In the following seven drafts they made four selections in the first round. Needless to say, this is an important pick – which is probably why Doug Wilson has already said they aren’t trading it.
Wilson is a guy who isn’t afraid to reach at the draft and risk looking like a fool, but this year is different. It’s all about pick location. Being in the top ten is a different animal than picking after 20 and I highly doubt Wilson is ready to go off the board at 9 – especially after the circus season he was just ringleader of.
Here’s a look at the top ten rankings from Bob McKenzie, ISS and McKeen’s. Green players appear in all three rankings, yellow appear in two of three and red appear in only one.
The Sharks target draft board should look like this:
1. Ivan Provorov 2. Zach Werenski
If those two players are no longer available at 9 – which is more than a possibility – the Sharks will have to turn to the forward group. If this was considered a weak draft without as much talent then the Sharks could go off the board and reach for a guy like Jakub Zboril. That wouldn’t really be a great decision this year with the quality of prospects Wilson would leave on the table if he did it.
After Werenski, this is how my Sharks draft board would look:
3. Mathew Barzal 4. Pavel Zacha 5. Mikko Rantanen 6. Lawson Crouse
The way it stands now we know that McDavid, Eichel, Strome, Marner and Hanifin are very likely to be the first five players selected at the 2015 NHL Draft.
We can assume that the Devils are interested in going offensive – a guy like Mathew Barzal – which leaves the defensively challenged Philadelphia Flyers and Columbus Blue Jackets. Having both of those clubs ahead of San Jose does the Sharks no favors.
The best case scenario is that Ron Hextall thinks the Flyers defense isn’t horrendous and they draft a forward, leaving the Sharks with one of Provorov or Werenski. Perfect world, everyone’s happy.
Regardless of whom the Sharks draft at number nine they will immediately become the team’s top prospect, so June 26th will be a very positive and exciting day for the San Jose Sharks.
Where it will get some negative press is if Doug Wilson elects not to draft, say, Zach Werenski if he’s still available and grabs one of the highly talented forwards remaining. The digital riots are sure to begin – but they shouldn’t.
Yes, defence is of the utmost importance at the draft this year – and it’s hard to imagine that’s not a front office consensus – but if the Sharks do end up with Pavel Zacha, or some other offensive stud, there’s no need to panic and light your computers on fire. It doesn’t matter who they pick, there is a star prospect coming to San Jose and that’s good for the organization because there aren’t many of those lying around – mostly late picks with pretty +1 draft seasons.
Who do you draft at #9 Sharks fans?
Thanks for reading.