Sheng Peng
Chicks dig the longball, hockey fans dig goals.
That might explain Brad Lambert or Jonathan Lekkerimaki or Frank Nazar emerging as the type of prospect that San Jose Sharks fans want the team to select with the No. 11 pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.
In fact, I spoke with two NHL scouts who thought that Lekkerimaki or Nazar would be the Sharks’ pick on Jul. 7.
The scouts also shared extensive scouting reports about potential scoring stars Lambert, Lekkerimaki, Nazar, Matthew Savoie, and Joakim Kemell with San Jose Hockey Now.
But there appears to be another type of forward that the San Jose Sharks might be targeting with their first-round pick.
Conor Geekie, Marco Kasper, and Danila Yurov fit the profile of future two-way, all-situations forwards, the kind who can do a little bit of everything that you need to win games.
In fact, one of the scouts said that Kasper falling to the San Jose Sharks would be a “dream scenario.”
So why is Kasper shooting up the Draft rankings? How worried should we be about Geekie’s skating? Why is Yurov such a wild card?
Conor Geekie
Scout #1: He’s your stereotypical Western guy. Good 200-foot center. Really, really tough kid. Plays hard.
The skating is the issue.
Other than that, really, really smart player. Kills penalties, plays power play.
He got the tougher matchups. He got the heavier defensive minutes. He did pretty well with it.
I think [the skating] gets better. I don’t think he’s ever going to be like a burner. But I think he’ll get to NHL average.
Scout #2: I think [his skating will be enough]. He’s funny. There’s some [scouts] that are like he’s as good as anybody [in this Draft]. Other guys are scared to take him even after the top-10. So he’s kind of a polarizing player.
But he’s a big body up the middle, he’s got great hockey sense, great hands, playmaking ability. His biggest thing is his feet, and then he needs to mature as a person and his consistency needs to catch up. He’s not a bad kid, just a little bit of immaturity to him.
Mark Stone’s skating is god-awful. But he’s such a smart player. It’s a similar thing with Geekie. Geekie is a smart enough player to know his limitations, where he needs to position himself to be effective.
If he matures, gets more consistent game in and game out, and with his preparation and training, his skating takes off. You’re gonna have a heck of a player.
If someone took him at No. 5, I’d get it.
Marco Kasper
Scout #1: I love Kasper. He’s done really well [against men] at the World Championships.
Very, very competitive. Super-hard puck hound. Really good shot. Gets right in home plate. That’s where a lot of his goals come from, fishing for rebounds.
He’s good in his own zone. There’s really no deficiency with him. He’s pretty good all around.
He doesn’t have enough game to be anything higher than probably that second line. But he’s got a ton of like secondary game.
He will be a real pain in the ass to deal with [for opposing teams].
His style in a seven-game series would be very, Oh dude, we gotta go out against this guy again?
Scout #2: If he’s there at No. 11, I could easily see the Sharks taking him. I can see him going higher as well.
He’s performed well against men internationally for Austria and he was awesome in the SHL playoffs.
He’s kind of a do-it-all guy. He’s highly competitive. That really jumps out when you watch him is how hard he plays. There’s a lot of energy and grit there. He’s got good feet, good hands, and makes good plays.
Realistically, you’re probably getting a second-line center that can play in all situations, power play, penalty kill, high character. He’s been kind of a buzz riser.
Danila Yurov
Scout #1: This was a little tough. I watched him a bunch, but he barely played in the beginning of the year. He was good when he came in.
And then he went down to MHL, put up a boatload of points. But when you watched him, he just did not want to be there.
But he’s good all-around.
No holes in his game. The offense, he’s really creative. Great skater, plays hard.
But sometimes, he just would go missing. He doesn’t take over games or come to the forefront. So sometimes, he seems more like a complementary player.
I don’t know what’s gonna happen with the Russians [who played in Russia this past year]. People will take a chance on [Yurov and Ivan Miroshnichenko]. But I have no idea what’s gonna happen outside of that
Scout #2: Really smart, high-skill, two-way guy.
Yurov is the guy you gotta watch more to really appreciate. He looks cerebral. He looks skilled. He looks well-rounded.
He didn’t get a ton of ice time this year. So he’s just a little bit more of a tough guy to peg.