Sheng Peng
The San Jose Sharks clearly need to add high-end defensemen to their prospects pool.
Up front, the Sharks can boast soon-to-be 2024 first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, and Quentin Musty.
But on the backend, only Shakir Mukhamadullin stands out as a future top-four blueliner.
The San Jose Sharks could address that deficiency with the No. 14 pick, perhaps with Carter Yakemchuk, Stian Solberg, Adam Jiricek, or EJ Emery.
San Jose could also add a defender in the second round with picks No. 33 or 42.
San Jose Hockey Now spoke with two NHL scouts about defensemen, in alphabetical order, Dominik Badinka, Harrison Brunicke, Ben Danford, Gabriel Eliasson, Charlie Elick, Lukas Fischer, Alfons Freij, Cole Hutson, Aron Kiviharju, Adam Kleber, Luca Marrelli, Henry Mews, Jesse Pulkkinen, Leo Sahlin Wallenius, and Matvei Shuravin.
According to a scout, the San Jose Sharks seem to be very interested in one of these defensemen.
Some of these blueliners may be long gone by the time that the San Jose Sharks pick at No. 33 or 42. On the other hand, they may also fall out of the first round.
Dominik Badinka
Scout #1: Good size, right shot, good feet. Played well in the SHL, played well in the J-20.
Scout #2: When he played in the SHL, it was very controlled. Methodical, very good puck mover, showed no signs of intimidation or anything when he went and played with the men. He was impressive. Very calm, composed, made the right choices.
Defended okay, just okay. That part of the game needs to get a lot better for him. He was exposed a little bit defensively when he played up.
He was a hard, physical defender, but just kind of reads, the quickness of the game. A little bit slow thinking.
But go watch him play juniors? He’s just trying to do everything. Overcomplicating things, messy.
Is he a shutdown D? Not really. Is he an offensive D? Maybe not, maybe fall somewhere in between, like effective two-way.
Harrison Brunicke
Scout #2: Brunicke is a mess. Exciting, for sure. Very exciting. When you go watch him, he plays with a lot of intensity. Tries to make plays, plays he shouldn’t try.
Skating, no issues there.
His skating and size and his willingness to go for it and try to do things, if you think you can kind of rein him in, you might have a player with something to work with.
Ben Danford
Scout #2: He’s more of a defensive defenseman.
Like Elick, once he started kind of trying to do things and be overcomplicated, it fell apart a little bit for him. Very, very intense and competitive defenseman, skates pretty well.
Good, within his limits, hitting the first guy, making the simple plays.
Low ceiling, high floor.
Gabriel Eliasson
Scout #1: I don’t know if it’s true, but they’re rumored to be in on Eliasson.
I’ve heard that in a few places.
He’s a little bit like Elick, but he’s just more naturally competitive and mean. He’s a big guy that can get around and skate. He’s really physical, really competitive. Strong kid too, maybe a more mobile Doug Murray.
My comfort level would be a third [round], but historically, like mid-second, those guys that have like extraordinary bite and toughness and physicality, they all just go. Like last year, Brady Cleveland went 44.
Scout #2: He’s different. You don’t see a ton of guys like this come out of Sweden.
Mean, aggressive. Almost like a schoolyard bully.
His puck-moving is not great. [His hockey sense is] not dumb, but it’s average, at best. His skill is probably below-average. He does move pretty well for a big guy. His defensive game is just okay.
Everything’s kind of a work in progress with him.
But what would absolutely turn teams on is you think this guy’s like a legitimate enforcer. Not an enforcer in the sense of like the old-school enforcer that’s gonna play like five minutes.
You’re hoping you can teach the guy to be a No. 5 or 6 defenseman that sets a tone.
If he gets 17-18 minutes and he sets that physical tone and makes guys pay for being up against him, some team is really going to value that.
Charlie Elick
Scout #1: He really struggles with the puck. That’s why he’ll drop a little bit.
He’d be like more of a 33rd-overall guy for me. Does have size, can skate, there’s a path to play in the NHL, for sure.
He reminds me of Kaeden Korczak, who went to Vegas a few years ago. He’s harder than Mirco Mueller, but he can’t move pucks like Mirco did.
Puck play is pretty concerning.
You’re looking at a third-pairing penalty kill guy.
Scout #2: He’s very, very erratic.
Got the physical tools. He’s also uber-competitive, wants to kill guys physically. Will fight.
There’s things that jump off the page for you when you first watch him…then he touches the puck. Then he tries to make a pass. And it’s like a complete mess.
I think he thinks he’s way better with the puck and he needs to just accept the fact that he is a very hard, physical shutdown D and stop trying to do stupid shit. Stop trying to look guys off and make a two-line pass. Just move it to the first guy that you can and do your job.
That being said, the physical tools are really impressive and there is something there that you can mold.
Emery is polished. This guy is a work in progress.
He’s a good high pick on the second day.
Lukas Fischer
Scout #2: I can see a team trying to think there’s a lot of upside.
Lots of work with, he’s big, skates really, really well. Very good skater for his size.
But messy. Messy. Maybe not the smartest. Defending can be a little bit erratic at times, but not bad. He knows how to defend, he just kind of gets caught running around. Sarnia didn’t help him either.
Alfons Freij
Scout #1: He’s a guy, when I watched the U-18 Team Swede team, I didn’t really notice 5-on-5. I noticed Wallenius much more. But then on the power play, Freij’s the guy, because he can quarterback it and shoot it. He does have that dynamic ability up top.
Maybe the Sharks at 42? That would make sense for him?
Cole Hutson
Scout #1: I can see the Sharks being in play for [Hutson]. A true power play quarterback in the pipe.
Scout #2: Hutson is the anti-Elick, where it’s all offense. All the time.
But defensively and effort-wise? Not a lot there.
He is kind of physical, which is funny. He’s a little bit of a dick [on the ice]. He will go at guys and he’ll run his mouth and he’ll take runs at guys. He’s just not very good defensively and he’s very small and doesn’t defend well.
He knows his game is offense, and that’s what he plays to.
High-end mobility. He’s smart enough to put himself in [good] spots. Deceive guys and look guys off, it even makes his skating look even better. His short-area stuff, trying to get around guys on the offensive blueline and escape out of corners and stuff, is really tight. Really good. He can maneuver out of small spots.
I don’t think his straight-line skating is high-end.
Aron Kiviharju
Scout #2: Really tough year. At the beginning of the year, he was thought of as a lock first-round pick.
Very intelligent. Skilled, undersized. That’s maybe the biggest knock on him, he is a 5-foot-9 defenseman. And the skating is not outstanding for a guy his size, which is also a big knock. Because if you’re gonna be small, you better be at least mobile.
But very, very smart, skilled transitional defenseman who pretty much got his year handed to him when he got hurt.
Adam Kleber
Scout #2: Big, big kid. Skates pretty good for a guy his size.
People think maybe the offense is a little bit more there with him?
He’s not overly heavy. He’s not like an ultra-competitive, in-your-face guy. But his defensive game is good. Probably needs to learn to use his body a little bit more, he is pretty big. He would be like an Emery-lite.
Luca Marrelli
Scout #2: He’s a really talented puck-mover. Little bit thin. Little bit skinny. Not real tough. He doesn’t defend hard. But he can transition a puck really well. He’s very smooth skater.
Henry Mews
Scout #1: [Mews and Sahlin Wallenius are] both dynamic skating defenseman. Really good at transitioning pucks. You kind of wish there was more offense there, but their skating is elite. Because they’re not big guys. They don’t have a dynamic offensive game.
Scout #2: All offense, actually. Not so much the other way.
Moody, can get lackadaisical, can get in and out of games consistency-wise.
That being said, he does have some higher-end puck-moving tools. Good shot, good on the blueline.
He is small, he struggles defensively. So you’re drafting him, hoping he’s going to end up hitting as a high-functioning power play quarterback.
Jesse Pulkkinen
Scout #2: He’s a giant. 6-foot-5 or so.
Very, very bad draft year. I don’t know what happened, if it was a shock to him.
He got completely passed through, but he came in this year, worked on getting in better shape. Took a lot of people by surprise this year, played a lot of Liiga with the men’s team. The pro team was not very good, so there was opportunity there for him. But he seized it.
High, high confidence. Very skilled. Really smart, but then he does a lot of dumb shit. (laughs)
Skating is solid. He’s just a bit of a mystery.
Like how do you go from having such a good year this year versus the abysmal year you had last year? There’s some wavering on what guy are we getting?
If you think you’re getting the guy he was this year, for parts of it, it’s a great pick, it’s a first-round pick.
But if it’s the other guy, and you’re still afraid that there’s a little bit of that still in him?
Leo Sahlin Wallenius
Scout #2: Tough one to put a thumb on, what he is going to be.
Really good skater. Very fluid. Yeah, remarkable skater. Into the game, competitive, involved.
Can be a little bit all over the place. That’s when it becomes an issue for him. Defending is not great. His puck-moving is very good when he’s not trying to do too much. Little bit on the lighter side of things, so I think he kind of leans more towards an offensive guy.
It’s just a question of whether he can pull back and not force the issue.
Matvei Shuravin
Scout #1: 6-foot-3, smooth. I wonder if they see some [Shakir] Mukhamadullin here.
Scout #2: Excellent mobility, size, reach, uses it well shutting down rushes and containing players. Very good defensive brain. In the right spot a lot.
Excellent moving a puck. That’s the separator for me for him against like an Emery. He can stretch it, skate it, make first passes.
Only negative is he isn’t overly physical for his size. Not a huge problem.