SJHN Daily: Sharks 1st Team Officially Eliminated From Playoffs, Draft Lottery Will Be on May 8

The NHL just announced potentially the biggest day in San Jose Sharks history since the 2016 Stanley Cup Final.

The NHL Draft Lottery will be held on May 8 at 4 PM PT.

For the San Jose Sharks, and several bottom-dwelling NHL teams, this event will cement who drafts potential generational talent Connor Bedard. The 17-year-old phenom has 61 goals and 125 points in 51 WHL games with the Regina Pats. He also put up nine goals and 23 points while securing a gold medal with Canada at the World Junior Championships.

The Sharks, with their loss to the NHL-worst Columbus Blue Jackets, were the first NHL team officially eliminated from playoff contention. San Jose has never selected first-overall and will be chomping at the bit to rebuild around a top talent like Bedard.

The NHL Draft Lottery will be broadcast on ESPN. As a reminder, here are the current odds for the first-overall pick:

Tankathon Standings 3/14 pic.twitter.com/oRRqbT9WAh

— JD Young (@MyFryHole) March 15, 2023

AT SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW…

William Eklund‘s first NHL goal gives hope to tired San Jose Sharks fans.

Sharks To Wear Pride Night Jerseys, But Will Everyone Wear Them?

Olympic champion Brianna Decker discusses her transition to coaching.

The San Jose Sharks “lose” the Bedard Bowl.

OTHER SHARKS NEWS…

The Sharks could have some line changes tomorrow, including Eklund joining Logan Couture.

#SJSharks might have some line changes tomorrow, what I'm seeing at practice right now:

Johnsson-Hertl-Barabanov
Eklund-Couture-Labanc
Gregor-Sturm-Svechnikov
Lindblom-Lorentz-Zetterlund

Pouliot-Karlsson
Vlasic-Knyzhov
Ferraro-Benning

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) March 15, 2023

The Hockey Writers argue the Sharks could be far from contending.

The Sharks need Nikolai Knyzhov play at least 10 of the final 14 games to keep him under team control past this season. Jeff Viel, though, will be free to sign elsewhere if he wants https://t.co/kUXZJyBZri

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) March 15, 2023

The Sharks welcomed Indian actress Huma Qureshi to drop the puck at South Asian Culture Night.

The San Jose Barracuda give out adorable activity book at Cuda Classroom Day.

This was the giveaway today at Tech CU Arena. Eight-year-old me would have thought this was the coolest thing ever. pic.twitter.com/4xydXbWvTI

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) March 15, 2023

AROUND THE NHL…

Philadelphia Flyers interim GM Danny Briere comments on video of son pushing a student’s empty wheel chair down the stairs.

1st-overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky appears to have returned home to complete high school exams.

Dneska absolvoval písomná časť maturity zo slovenčiny aj posledná jednotka draftu NHL Juraj Slafkovský. #slafkovsky #Habs #Montreal #Canadiens #NHL @Totik96 @Sigi_JE @JVitek94 pic.twitter.com/7GBKQIdQGL

— Maťko 😉 (@Matkostrucik) March 14, 2023

The NHL has options, but is not looking to expand.

Elliotte Friedman provides an update on next year’s salary cap.

With GMs indicating they are expecting cap to only go up $1M, Commissioner Gary Bettman leaves open a window for conversation with NHLPA to possibly raise it higher (1/2)…

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 15, 2023

Samuel Poulin will return to hockey after three-month mental health break.

The Vegas Golden Knights given big boost from trade deadline additions.

Rasmus Sandin staying focused amid historic success so far with the Washington Capitals.

Joonas Korpisalo and Vladislav Gavrikov prepare to face former team.

The Montreal Canadiens ink Jayden Struble to an entry-level-contract.

The NHL and Disney broadcasted the first “NHL Big City Greens Classic.”

Tonight, Disney is airing an animated, alternate broadcast of the Caps-Rangers game — the "NHL Big City Greens Classic."

It's using live, real-time animations of players modeled after Disney's show, "Big City Greens". pic.twitter.com/tRhaAJwuAY

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 14, 2023