San Jose Sharks
Doug Wilson Jr. on How Sharks Ended Up with All Forwards, Trading Up for Gushchin

“Think small.”
For the San Jose Sharks, a couple trends emerged during the second day of the 2020 NHL Draft.
In the first two rounds, 10 5-foot-10 or smaller forwards were selected. San Jose used all three of their first or second round picks on such forwards.
Also:
First time in #SJSharks history they've drafted ALL forwards and all in any position (forward). Naturally, this is also the first time they didn't pick a defenseman in Draft
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 7, 2020
So that’s nine forwards in nine draft picks.
Anyway, we’ve already talked about four of these forwards: No. 31 Ozzy Wiesblatt, No. 38 Thomas Bordeleau, No. 56 Tristen Robins, and No. 76 Danil Gushchin.
Get to Know Thomas Bordeleau, Tristen Robins, Danil Gushchin
Let’s talk now about picks No. 98 Brandon Coe, No. 196 Alex Young, No. 201 Adam Raska, No. 206 Linus Oberg, and No. 211 Timofey Spitserov.
Doug Wilson, Doug Wilson Jr., and Joe Will also offered a post-Draft recap that touched on the aforementioned trends.
Speaking of Coe, the San Jose Sharks acquired No. 98 from Montreal for a 2021 third-round pick (from Washington).
The Sharks also traded No. 127 to the Rangers for the No. 196 and No. 206 picks.
Doug Wilson Jr.
Doug Wilson Jr., on whether or not San Jose Sharks were confident that Thomas Bordeleau would be there at No. 38:
We weren’t confident he was going to be there. It was a calculated risk to move down from No. 34 to No. 38 to get No. 100.
Wilson Jr. on why San Jose traded up to pick Gushchin:
We really did not want to move back up into the draft. Our goal was to continue to move down. But at some point, when you get a player of that caliber, it’s worth more than two picks.
With Danil, he was just one of 3-4 guys who we highlighted, if they get past a certain threshold, we got to try to find a way to get him.
He’s training right now with Ivan Chekhovich. They’re very close friends.
He was on a bad team this year in Muskegon. But he was the leading scorer on the team, even strength points. It’s a small stat, but on that team, he was a +21. I think the next closest was -2 or -3 for guys who played over 20 games.
Besides being so offensive, he’s conscientious on both sides of the rink.
We thought he was worth the risk to move back up.
Wilson Jr., on how San Jose Sharks ended up with all forwards in this Draft:
We just went with Best Player Available. We signed Brinson Pasichnuk. Our last couple drafts, we drafted Ryan Merkley, Santeri Hatakka, Artemi Kniazev, Mario Ferraro.
We had some D on our list, they just didn’t fall.
Wilson Jr. on if all four seventh-rounders were also on San Jose’s 131-deep draft list:
We won’t draft anyone who’s off our list. If they’re not on our list, we’ll try to trade the picks to future years.
Doug Wilson
Wilson, on if picking smaller forwards was looking toward how game will be played in future:
A little bit. But I think you’re looking for hockey players. You’re looking for the type of ingredients, guys who can be successful in this league irregardless of their size. We’ve got guys who can skate, a lot of right-shot guys. 6 of the 9 guys are right shot. They all got compete, they can think the game at a high level.
Brandon Coe
Brandon Coe, on what spurred his growth in second half of season:
Just finding the confidence in my game. Once I made the Top Prospects Game, I thought to myself I could be a top player in the OHL.
In the second half of the year, I had a lot of confidence in my game.
Coe, on long-time North Bay Battalion head coach Stan Butler’s impact on him:
Stan’s been great for me. Took me in as a 16-year-old right off the bat. Was tough on me but that’s what coaches are meant to be.
He’s taught me a lot of wise things in the game of hockey, taught me how to be a more consistent player. Can’t thank him enough for that.
Wilson Jr., on trading for pick that was used on Coe:
We highlighted a few goalscorers who were bigger but we wanted all of them to be able to skate. I’m not sure how he ended up slipping.
6-foot-4 right shot with 25 goals in the OHL, they don’t grow on trees.
Bryan Marchment knows him better than anyone.
Elite Prospects on Coe:
“There’s plenty of skill here, too — waiting to be harnessed…hand-eye coordination is among the best in class, getting wood on just about every puck in a metter-and-a-half radius.”
“He disappears for lengthy stretches. It’s not for a lack of trying.”
McKeen’s Hockey on Coe:
“Major allure of Coe’s game comes from his size and speed combination…explosive and powerful for a 6-foot-3 teenager…it is rare to find 6-foot-3 forwards who can skate like Coe does.”
“Does Coe think the game well enough to be more than just a change of pace energy player at the NHL level?”
Alex Young
Doug Wilson Jr. on Young:
We should’ve drafted Alex Young last year.
Really like the pick at 196 for @SanJoseSharks picking up D+1 Canmore center Alex Young. Kids a smart playmaker who finds soft spots and is a driver for his club team who has the smarts to make detailed plays to maintain possession and create chances all over the ice @FCHockey
— Justin Froese (@FroeseFC) October 7, 2020
(Future Considerations)
Adam Raska
Sharks at 201 take physical import winger Adam Raska. Loves to hit. pic.twitter.com/eyjjKPsg9A
— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) October 7, 2020
Linus Oberg
206. SAN JOSÉ. Linus Öberg W. 20 yo. Intense hard working winger who has shown improvement for every year. Recently had a hattrick in the SHL. More of a bottom six winger, good forechecker and likes to go to the net. #SJSharks #nhldraft2020
— Jimmy Hamrin (@jimmyhamrin) October 7, 2020
Small Oberg detail, 20-year-old overage player, scored just 4 goals (in 37 games) in SHL last year…and has already potted 5 goals in 4 SHL games this year. Wonder if that helped his stock
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 7, 2020
Timofey Spitserov
Per The Hockey News, who rated Spitserov as a sleeper: “Playing for a prep team that often got dominated by other high-end programs, Spitserov was a bit of a one-man army for the Eagles: He led the team with 49 goals and 76 points in 40 games, while the second-leading scorer notched just 46 points.
“So it was tough for scouts to get a read on Spitserov, who came over from Russia and is committed to UMass. A hardworking kid who stops on pucks and has a heavy frame, Spitserov is a bit of a mystery even to NHL scouts, but there’s definitely talent there. Muskegon owns his USHL rights.”
Great stuff Sheng, I’m quite excited about this draft. Skating is the thing. If any of them turn out to be a Brendan Morrison clone, I’m thrilled.
Thanks! Yea, I’d think they’d be pretty thrilled with that outcome
Wish there was a prospects game to attend after this draft year now! Sounds like we did well
Yes, it’s a shame. Hope things are back to normal next next season
Wiesblatt was taken too soon (mid 2nd rd). Bordeleau was a good pick at #38 a few picks earlier than i had him ranked. Robins at #56 was taken too high. he would’ve been a great mid draft pick in the 3rd or 4th round. Gushchin at #76 is a great pick. Coe’s a great pick and worthwhile trade at #98. lots of intriguing tools if he can find more consistency in his game at the next levels. Alex Young at #196 with Alexander Pashin still on the board was NOT BPA! Pashin has like a high 60% probability to… Read more »
On the BPA thing, that’s SJS list. Would be fascinating to know what Pashin’s red flags were. DW Jr. said everyone drafted was on their 130 or so list, in that case, a Pashin didn’t even make the list or he ended up behind 4 deep sleeper 7th-rounders
If Pashin was such a good player why did be slip to round 7? I am not saying the sharks didn’t miss on the player but them and about 29 other teams decided to pass on him mutiple times. I wonder what they saw in Pashin that made him a DnD.
i guess by that logic Pavs and Banc were bad players. the concerns with Pashin were: size (5’8, 154), physicality, and play away from the puck. strengths: puck pursuit, soft/quick hands, skating/edge work, shooting/quick release. bottom line, with more consistency he’s got top 6 F talent; at worse he’s a 3W PP specialist. high risk/high reward player. he’s also been a big contributor in international play, which speaks well of his compete.
By this logic, there were obvious red flags that made Pashin (and Pavelski and Labanc) fall and fall…at the time. Guys develop and surprise of course.
So maybe Skyler should’ve said, “If Pashin was such a good player [right now] why did he slip”? The point is, that much passing of someone expected to go much higher should raise eyebrows. Could be other concerns, off the ice — bad interview? Signability? But I wouldn’t just assume it’s a stupid GM (or director of scouting).
Dylan Griffing scouts the MHL almost exclusively had this to say about Pashin: “Alexander Pashin is first on this list (top 5 underrated Russians) because he does have some hype being ranked as a second-rounder by most outlets. The undersized Russian has the 20th-most star potential, according to Hockey Prospecting at 25%. In addition, his NHLer probability is 68%, which is extremely high. Some prospects who are currently playing in the NHL don’t have an NHL probability that high. Drake Batherson of the Ottawa Senators, for example, has played 43 NHL games over two seasons and is still only 59%… Read more »
I don’t doubt that Pashin impressed a lot of observers. But doesn’t take away from fact that he was passed over for a long time. And as I noted, may have had not to do with on-the-ice performance. I don’t know for a fact on that. But teams generally do not pass over OBVIOUS talents
Great article. Will be a fun draft class to follow. I didn’t believe Doug Jr saying the defensemen didn’t fall for one second. Losing Joe Pavelski was a death blow. Stats don’t always show everything, but whenever they needed a goal it was usually number 8 coming through.
Thanks! But I do believe what DW Jr. was saying. They’re not going to replace Pavelski’s scoring with nine 18-year-olds who won’t be ready for 3-5 years. Also, a draft list 130-player deep is going to have d-men for sure
Poirier had a 1st rd grade and he fell all the way to the 3rd.