San Jose Sharks: Ranking every draft class from the 2010s
By Matt Hawkins
2018 – Could be something special
Best pick: Ryan Merkley, defenseman (21st overall)
San Jose had five picks back in 2018. The most notable and best pick being defenseman Ryan Merkley 21st overall. Merkley tore it up this season for the London Knights of the OHL, posting 76 points (15 goals, 61 assists) and a plus/minus of +20 in 60 games.
At just 19-years-old, it’s quite possible we could see Merkley in the NHL for the Sharks as early as next season. Other notable names from this draft are center Linus Karlsson (87th overall) and left wing John Leonard (182nd overall).
Karlsson is just 21-years-old and scored 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 48 games between playing for Karlskrona HK and Bofors IK of the Swe-1 league.
The Sharks recently just recently signed Leonard to his entry-level contract after he had a great season for UMass-Amherst, scoring 37 points (27 goals, 10 assists) in 33 games.
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2019 – Your guess is as good as mine
Best pick: Artemi Kniazev, defenseman (48th overall)
Last year, the Sharks didn’t have a first-round pick due to there trade to acquire defenseman Erik Karlsson. So, their first selection was defenseman Artemi Kniazev in the second round.
So far, Kniazev seems like the only selection that’ll be anything decent, recording 43 points (11 goals, 32 assists) and a plus/minus of +15 in 51 games for the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of QMJHL.
However, Kniazev’s offensive production should be looked at with a grain of salt as the QMJHL is a high scoring league, the highest-scoring of the three junior leagues in Canada to be exact.
But he is still the best prospect and pick from this draft as no one else from this Sharks’ draft class has this type of production and success in their respective league(s).
San Jose Sharks: Ranking every draft class from the 2000s. dark. Next
After all this research and typing, I’ve come to notice that the Sharks had every type of draft imaginable during the 2010s — from terrible to amazing to anything and everything in between.