Sheng Peng
The San Jose Sharks, naturally, are going to tout their 2020 Draft.
But they weren’t the only ones.
Just for example, J.D. Burke of Elite Prospects gave the Sharks a B+. Ryan Wagman of McKeen’s Hockey told San Jose Hockey Now: “I really liked their picks through Coe. Great upsides, reasonable floors.”
But what did other NHL teams think of the San Jose Sharks’ draft?
San Jose Hockey Now caught up with an amateur scout from another NHL organization who gave San Jose a B.
He shared his team’s thoughts about Ozzy Wiesblatt, Thomas Bordeleau, Tristen Robins, Danil Gushchin, Brandon Coe, and Alex Young.
In his mind, which San Jose Sharks’ 2020 Draft pick has a first-line ceiling? Who has the most well-rounded game? Did Wiesblatt go a “shade high”? Who was the best value selection?
Scout, on the San Jose Sharks’ future and why his grade for their draft was just a B:
You’re fooling yourself if you don’t think they don’t have a re-build very shortly.
I can’t speak for [the back-end of their draft] — I know they had four seventh-rounders.
The front half of their draft, Wiesblatt through Coe — there’s a really good ceiling with all those guys.
That’s a talented draft. I’d give it a B.
It’s a small draft. I don’t know how their defense looks like. So it’s not super-diverse.
But that’s a good draft.
Scout, on Ozzy Wiesblatt:
He was maybe a shade high. But that’s just personal preference.
Talented player, good character.
At least one time a game, he was crushing somebody. Physical. He worked his ass off.
He’ll be a good guy to have around. He excites guys, gets guys going.
He’s skilled, though I don’t know if you’d call him a top-tier offensive talent.
He’s a solid pick, he’s just small. But that doesn’t get in his way.
Scout, on Wiesblatt going a little high:
I’m looking at that second group behind him in the top half of the second. Heineman, Evangelista, Gunler. Wiesblatt goes toe to toe with those guys. It’s all in your preference.
Like if San Jose was looking for a massive D, Wallinder was sitting right there for him. Jarventie is a very risky player, but has a high-end offensive talent. If you didn’t want to take that pick, Wiesblatt is there.
Scout, on Thomas Bordeleau:
Top-six offensive creator, facilitator. Really skilled. Good short-course skating, good agility, stuff like that. Small-area skating.
Again, size is going to be his issue. Is he going to be able to create space for himself? Manipulate space?
He’s really talented. High-ceiling offense. The other stuff, eh. The defensive and physical side of things, that’s what people are going to point to if he doesn’t make it. But everything else for him is really positive.
He facilitated a lot on USA’s power play last year.
Scout, on Tristen Robins:
He had a sneaky amount of points for Saskatoon, led their team by a bunch.
He’s competitive. He’s skilled. Really good offensive tools. A little bit of an agitator to him. Smart player.
His skating is probably where you might knock him a little bit.
The guys around him, he’s right there. Finley, Hanas. Hirvonen is not that different of a player. That was a good pick where they got him.
Scout, on the San Jose Sharks’ 130-deep draft list:
That sounds right. I can’t say our exact number, but that sounds about right. It was a deep draft. There were a lot of good players, even going in the seventh.
Scout, on Danil Gushchin:
Great start, the second half of the year, according to our guys, seemed like he broke down a little bit. Earlier in the year, they were like, Holy shit.
The USHL is not an easy league. The second half is really challenging. It’s an older league. They’re more physically mature. The second half of the year is a big measuring stick for a lot of scouts.
Just like Bordeleau and Robins, there’s high-end offensive skill and sense. But he’s very small. He’s not going to give you a whole lot on the defensive side of the puck. He has to be scoring. If he’s not scoring, he’s not adding a whole lot.
He’s a bit of a one-way player.
Scout, on how Wiesblatt differs from Bordeleau, Robins, and Gushchin:
Wiesblatt, if he doesn’t fill a spot on your power play or isn’t playing in your top-six, he’s going to be a really, really annoying third-liner. He’ll be a pest, in your face all the time. He’ll kill penalties.
I’m not as sure about Bordeleau, Robins, or Gushchin.
They got a lot of a similar type of high reward, high risk guys. At least three of them — Bordeleau, Robins, and Gushchin — are similar-style players.
Are those guys ever going to have a back-up game? Maybe not
Scout, on Brandon Coe:
Excellent skater. Maybe one of the better skaters in the Draft, we’re talking top-five, top-10, straight-line speed. Powerful.
Short area, because he’s a taller guy, that can improve.
But he’s inconsistent as they come. Involvement in the game, body language.
He’s really skilled, he can score — I don’t know if he’s the smartest hockey guy — but skill and speed and size, he checks off three boxes.
But consistency: If you go see him one night, he’s skating around, doing nothing. The next night, he blows by a defender, dekes a goalie.
For a middle-round player, those tools, that’s a really good pick.
Scout, on Alex Young:
He’s smart. He’s good on both sides of the puck. But you’re not sure if he’s going to be a checking-line center or if he’s going to have a higher-end creativity?
His skating is just okay, a little below-average.
He goes to college, gets stronger, finds a gear in his skating, there you go, you got a third or fourth-line center.
Scout, on which San Jose Sharks’ 2020 Draft pick has the highest ceiling:
It would probably be between Bordeleau and Gushchin, just because of their ceilings. If they hit, wow. Bordeleau is my favorite.
Bordeleau has a first-line ceiling. Gushchin will probably be more of a secondary scorer.
Scout, on San Jose’s best value pick:
If Coe figures it out, that’s a great pick in the fourth.