2015 Entry Draft Thread

[sjrules99]

I was just thinking about the roster, and I think the wild card this year may well be chris tierney. I wonder if he wont put up 20G, 50+ points and emerge as a top 6 forward this year if given the opportunity.

he started last year slowly, but went a point per game for 29 games in the AHL, then put up 19 points in the last 29 NHL games, with a +6, and all in just 12:41 mins of ice. By the end of the year, in the last 10 games, he was a point per game averaging about 15 mins/gm. Seems like he might be ready to just take off. Id like to see him get the 3rd line C role to start the year and get some good linemates, like maybe Wingels and nieto.

Jumbo-pavs-ward (around 17 mins/gm)
Cooch-Marleau-Hertl (17 mins/gm)
Tierney-Wingels-Nieto (15 mins/gm)
Karlsson-Smith-Torres (10 mins/gm)
if Torres is out, then goodrow, brown, or a rook.

If Tierney makes the leap that I hope he can, that could be amongst the best top 9 forwards in the NHL and one of the top 3rd lines out there. nice to have karlsson too in case of injury to one of the top 9 as he can easily slot into the top 3 lines.

 

[sjrules99]

id also love to see DeBoer balance the ice time among the forwards. Jumbo and Patty cant handle 20 mins/gm as they used to. I also worry about pavs getting 20 minutes as at 31, he's not old, but he's not a spring chicken either especially given his style of play. Ward also shouldn't be overused. Given their depth, I would love to see the lines rolled as they have threats on all 4 lines and should be able to spread ice time and keep all their guys fresh all year.

In fact, barring injury, I would love to see the vets get the occasional day off, particularly on back to back on the road as 3rd games in 4 nights. That happens a few times throughout the year, so keeping guys fresh and not overused is gunna make a big difference. One of the main reasons the dubs won the NBA championship was their depth and not overusing their top guys. One of the main guys who got those kind of days off was iguadala, as Kerr knew that he's an older vet who needs breaks. Then of course, he goes on to be fresh and energetic in the fianls and win the MVP. Thats why they had no major injuries and were able to outbench any team. It would be nice to see Deboer use the forward depth wisely and put everyone is a position to succeed.

 

[MrChangoT97]

Wish I had your optimism about this roster, but I personally dont have high expectations. Too many "what ifs" floating around this team.

Hope im proven wrong and get surprised once the season begins.

 

[sjrules99]

Wish I had your optimism about this roster, but I personally dont have high expectations. Too many "what ifs" floating around this team.

Hope im proven wrong and get surprised once the season begins.

Im not optimistic about the D. The top 4 are solid, but after that its a massive fall off. I have no faith in dillon, tennyson or mueller to play a regular shift. I also figure the chances of at least one injury to the top 4 is high. However, the forward depth gives fodder for acquiring a dman later on during the season. As such, I think if dougie plays his cards right and gets good value, the D issue can be resolved. The goaltending is a total hit or miss but who knows...

Lots of questions, but lots of potential.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

According to Friedman St. Louis made a serious offer for the Sharks 1st round pick. My guess is it was something around Oshie. Also says SJ, Edm, and Avs where the top teams for Sekera. Edm offering a 6th year put them ahead of the others.

 

[sjrules99]

According to Friedman St. Louis made a serious offer for the Sharks 1st round pick. My guess is it was something around Oshie. Also says SJ, Edm, and Avs where the top teams for Sekera. Edm offering a 6th year put them ahead of the others.

The Oshie rumor makes sense. Good that dougie didnt move the #9 pick for him. 2 years at around 4.2M is a very good price for a 55-60 pt player, but not giving up a top 10 pick. they also didnt need a top liner. Theyve got those. They needed a solid 20 goal scorer to add depth to the forwards and to take some pressure off the kids. Ward does the job fine, so Id rather have ward, 1M in cap space, and a #9 overall pick than oshie.

As for sekera, I don't think the sharks were in the front there. Martin fit's their needs just as well, and has proven himself over a much longer period than sakera. I think martin was the target from day one...

 

[sjrules99]

What I really really wanna know is what happened behind the scenes with the dougie hamilton trade. What did dougie offer, or what did sweeney want? what other teams were involved? and most of all, why did he go for a petty price of a midround 1st and 2 seconds? Chances to acquire 22 year old #1 dmen come about once or twice a decade, so I am so so curious what happened there, or if there is some back story (cancer in the locker room? hidden injury?...)

I tried to ask dougie at the town hall about shattenkirk, but didnt get the chance. I am pretty sure he would have said "we are happy with our defense...Mueller is going to be a stud... etc etc etc...". However, his answer to the hamilton one was interesting so maybe the shattenkirk one would be too. Dougie is fooling himself to think we have a very solid D. its serviceable, and if mueller is a different player than last year and dillon leaps ahead, then maybe, but if they arent much improved from last year and martin gets hurt, its 2014-15 all over again.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Sekera is better in every aspect of the game than Martin is. If he wasn't their top target then there is a huge problem. Having a 29 year old Sekera for six years is a much better option than a 34 year old Martin with injury problems for four years.

The St. Louis GM denied that Shattenkirk was even made available so Wilson probably wouldn't even comment if asked.

 

[Cbrower91]

Allegedly pavelski and deboer both lobbied for Martin. That being said interesting to read that both Golboldin and Mueller bulked up this off season. Mier being 210 at 6'1 already is crazy considering his age

 

[Cbrower91]

What I really really wanna know is what happened behind the scenes with the dougie hamilton trade. What did dougie offer, or what did sweeney want? what other teams were involved? and most of all, why did he go for a petty price of a midround 1st and 2 seconds? Chances to acquire 22 year old #1 dmen come about once or twice a decade, so I am so so curious what happened there, or if there is some back story (cancer in the locker room? hidden injury?...)

I tried to ask dougie at the town hall about shattenkirk, but didnt get the chance. I am pretty sure he would have said "we are happy with our defense...Mueller is going to be a stud... etc etc etc...". However, his answer to the hamilton one was interesting so maybe the shattenkirk one would be too. Dougie is fooling himself to think we have a very solid D. its serviceable, and if mueller is a different player than last year and dillon leaps ahead, then maybe, but if they arent much improved from last year and martin gets hurt, its 2014-15 all over again.

Don't be shocked to see Mueller become a Brent SeaBrooke type defenseman, he's was 19 last season and out muscled I think he might be this seasons biggest surprise

 

[Cmon_WTF]

I know Wilson has said he consulted with Deboer about Martin but I would think it was a plan B if they didnt sign Sekera.

It will be really interesting to watch Mueller this season. I was very impressed with him last year when he kept things simple but he got in trouble really fast when he started trying to do too much.

 

[Cbrower91]

I know Wilson has said he consulted with Deboer about Martin but I would think it was a plan B if they didnt sign Sekera.

It will be really interesting to watch Mueller this season. I was very impressed with him last year when he kept things simple but he got in trouble really fast when he started trying to do too much.

Agreed I think physical maturity will be huge for him, he'll be better able to play his type of game

 

[MrChangoT97]

Jordan Leopold rumored to sign a cheap deal with Sharks.

 

[sjrules99]

jsut got back from the scrimmage. Very fun to watch all the sharks prospects in one place (with a few exceptions... where was rourke chartier? I really wanted to watch him...) Few thoughts:

1. Mueller was so dominant in the D zone. Like he was playing in slow mo always making the perfect play. it almost looked lke he wasnt trying when everyone around him was. He also looked really big.

2. Goldobin has mad skills. Not sure about the defensive game, but he really reminds me of patrick kane. Smallish, but great hands, great speed, cute plays, and slick. Obviously, the defensive side will be key and hopefully Sommer can teach that, but if he learns to play in his own half, he really could be special.

3. jevpalovs has some nice mitts too. He tried a few little dangles and kinda pulled em off at full speed. Easier in a prospect scrimmage than an NHL game of course, and in the nhl if you try that cuteness you can pretty much assure yourself to be on your butt the next shift. However, he doesnt look that far away...

4. Mcnally looked better than I expected. He has an outside chance of seeing time this year, though demelo looked better.

5. Two guys who really really impressed me: Jeremy Langlois and Dylan Sadowy. Not so much that they scored but they were all over the puck on their shifts. I know langlois bounced around the echl and ahl in 2013-14 but he scored 16 goals last year in wooster. of course, its kinda cheating when you are 25 playing against 18 year olds. Sadowy looked solid at both ends as he had at least two nice blocks in the Dzone to go with his goal. I think he might be a solid 3rd liner down the line.

6. Meier looked nowhere near the NHL, yet. He had some flashes, but did not stand out much to me. I sure hope he improves alot in the next few years. I thought as such a highly touted pick that he would really dominate out there.

7. None of the D, outside of mueller stood out. Roy was OK, but nothing too special yet. No defenseman really contributed too much offensively in the entire game. The sharks clearly lack that offensive punch from the blueline in their system, and while Roy and Mcnally may get there, they didnt stand out in that regard this time.

8. Tierney and Goodrow were likely the best two forwards overall, Tierney being #1. Makes sense...

The whole game looked played at high speed but not well played. Tons of open space, poor dzone coverage, and basically no hitting. not sure if this was supposed to be an actual development competitive event or just an exhibition. Either way, great to be in the Tank in july.

 

[sjrules99]

Jordan Leopold rumored to sign a cheap deal with Sharks.

Where'd you see this? Hard to believe given the lack of cap space. Also, not a particularly good signing, no matter the price. he's not a great #6/7 option even for only 600-700k.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

I was most impressed by Donskoi. He showed a very high skill level, great wheels, outstanding ability to read the play in the defensive zone, and was an amazing puck hound in the offensive zone. I know it's just a prospect scrimmage but, outside of Tierney, he looked the most NHL ready of any of the forwards. If he shows that sort of game against NHL players he might be Wilson's dark horse signing this off season.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Cartier is injured. Still recovering from a shoulder injury he suffer during the Memorial Cup.

 

[sjrules99]

I was most impressed by Donskoi. He showed a very high skill level, great wheels, outstanding ability to read the play in the defensive zone, and was an amazing puck hound in the offensive zone. I know it's just a prospect scrimmage but, outside of Tierney, he looked the most NHL ready of any of the forwards. If he shows that sort of game against NHL players he might be Wilson's dark horse signing this off season.

Yeah, I thought he was good as well, though not as much as you obviously. I watched him alot and he didnt stand out tremendously as making nice plays. He was solid, kinda like a Melker karlsson, but he lacked the flash of some of the other guys. Clearly has NHL potential, but I didnt see him look as dominant as you did.

I thought Langlois looked the closest of the non-nhlers. Not nearly the highest skill guy, but the closest to NHL level quickness. Langlois wasnt on my radar of guys to watch going in, but I was really impressed. After seeing that he had 16 goals in 42 games in wooster last year, it made some sense. Thats a 30 goal pace and not only did he score at a better pace than anyone on the team, he was also a +4 which was solid on a team with many minus players. All this in just his second pro season and first full AHL opportunity. I'll be watching for him down the line even though he's already 25 and behind like a dozen guys on the depth chart

back to your thoughts, I do hope you are right. It would be great to see Donskoi emerge as an even upgraded Melker Karlsson. It would be quite a find if you are right...

 

[sjrules99]

Cartier is injured. Still recovering from a shoulder injury he suffer during the Memorial Cup.

Got it. Yeah I figured. I saw that he had some injuries throughout the year last year. Still I saw him on the development roster so i was hoping to see him skate. he was among the top 5 to watch on my radar... oh well...

 

[Cmon_WTF]

I like Langlois but I don't see him as a regular NHLer. He has some decient offensive skills but not enough to really be a top nine regular and he isn't the type of player you want on the 4h line. He might stick on a bottom feeder team but other than that I think he will bounce back and forth as an injury call up.