Which D-Men Might Sharks Be Interested in During Late 1st Round? (+)

What traits will the new San Jose Sharks prioritize in the Draft?

We don’t know – it’s director of player personnel Scott Fitzgerald, director of player development Todd Marchant, and director of amateur scouting Chris Morehouse’s first time helming the Draft for second-year GM Mike Grier – but we’re about to find out in two weeks.

“You want competitive skill,” Fitzgerald said three weeks ago in a Sharks’ 1991 Club town hall.

Fitzgerald Says Sharks Looking for ‘Competitive Skill’ in Draft

“They seem to value big guys who can skate,” an NHL scout from outside the San Jose Sharks organization suggested.

“Don’t get me wrong, I think skating, [the Sharks come] off as an organization that really values skating,” another scout volunteered. “But I think they’ll take a competitive 5-foot-11 guy over a softer 6-foot-2 guy.”

So…competitive skill?

“Some of it is looking at some of the comments that Grier’s made publicly. Some of it is questions I’ve gotten from Sharks [employees] over the years,” the scout shared. “Just Morehouse’s track record [with the New York Rangers]. Like even his most recent picks like Othmann and stuff.”

Between Brennan Othmann's ability to stir the bot, Adam Sykora and Brett Berard's I'm-going-to-bug-the-shit-out-of-you styles, and Will Cuylle's physicality, if some of these #NYR kids make it, they're going to be a pain in the ass to play against.

— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) June 2, 2023

We’re probably going to start to get a good sense of what the Sharks value most with the No. 26 and 36 picks. Of course, they’re picking No. 4 too, but that selection might be more about pure skill than fit.

With a wide range of prospects in mind, I checked in with a couple NHL scouts to get their thoughts about some of the defensemen that the Sharks could be interested in during the late first or early second round.

Tom Willander and Dmitri Simashev probably won’t be there.

But maybe Caden Price, Jakub Dvorak, Maxim Strbak, Andrew Gibson, Oliver Bonk, Lukas Dragicevic, or Mikhail Gulyayev will be?

We’ve already talked about the goalies that the San Jose Sharks could grab at No. 26 and 36 – we’ll get to the forwards later this week.

Which Goalie Should Sharks Draft? Scouts Pick Their Favorite (+)

Tom Willander

Scout #1: Yeah, seems like he’s getting a lot of momentum.

Before the World U18, he would have been there.

He wasn’t that good at the Hlinka in February. He was good at the Five Nations, not great.

But at the U18’s, he led Sweden in icetime in the back end. He’s a really good skater. Got good size.