Who Will Sharks Draft at No. 9? Experts Leaning Towards One Player
· Yahoo Sports
Who will the San Jose Sharks select ninth-overall?
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After dealing William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and Brandon Svoboda to the Ottawa Senators, the Sharks now have a second top-10 pick and three total first-rounders. Given all the recent trades in the first round of the draft, experts updated their predictions ahead of Friday’s draft. And despite all the recent movement, five draft experts had the Sharks selecting the same player at ninth-overall.
It is worth noting that every mock draft had the Sharks filling Eklund’s vacancy with Ivar Stenberg at second-overall.
In fact, every mock draft had some combination of these eight players going ahead of the Sharks at No. 9: Gavin McKenna, Stenberg, Caleb Malhotra, Viggo Bjorck, Chase Reid, Carson Carels, Alberts Smits, and Keaton Verhoeff. Without the “consensus” top-four forwards and top-four defensemen, these experts had the Sharks addressing the same need.
“San Jose fills that pesky right-side defence hole with Daxon Rudolph,” Elite Prospects’ Cam Robinson predicted. “He brings a potentially dazzling offensive toolkit wrapped in a 6-foot-2 frame on the right side. Between him and Sam Dickinson, the makings of a young, exciting blueline core are there.”
Rudolph put up 28 goals and 78 points in 68 games with the Prince Albert Raiders last season, and is committed to the University of Denver for next season. In Robinson’s “consensus rankings,” Rudolph was the ninth-ranked player and fifth defenseman. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler sees the Sharks going the same direction.
“The Sharks get the best of both worlds and take Stenberg at No. 2 and their right-shot D of the future opposite lefty Sam Dickinson at No. 9 with Rudolph,” Wheeler wrote. “A win-win for the Sharks, who position themselves with the league’s most enviable young core.”
Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis foresees the Sharks making the same pick. In Ellis’ own rankings, he rates Rudolph as the sixth-best player in the draft and ahead of Smits.
“Rudolph has a booming shot, makes great breakout passes and can knock guys down,” Ellis wrote. “Rudolph’s two-way game is intriguing, as is his ability to get himself out of trouble consistently with and without the puck. I think there’s still work to be done to make him more aggressive in the D zone – he’s a bit too passive for some scouts’ liking. But with the puck, Rudolph should become a top-four threat who can play on one of the power-play units.”
NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman and Mike Morreale, in their mock drafts, both had Grier selecting Rudolph. Kimelman noted that the pick would be “setting a nice foundation on the back end” and Morreale said “his all-around game has drawn comparisons from some scouts to Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty.”
It is worth noting, this consensus could switch based upon what the Sharks do at second-overall. While all the drafts mocked Stenberg to the Sharks, Wheeler does think the Sharks like the top defensemen in the class, like Chase Reid and Carson Carels.
Winger Ethan Belchetz or defenseman Malte Gustafsson could also be up GM Mike Grier‘s alley at No. 9, if he keeps the pick. It’s believed that the Sharks offered the No. 9 to the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram on Tuesday.
As for No. 27, which the Sharks acquired in the Mike Kesselring trade, most drafts had the Sharks doubling down on defense.
The Athletic and Daily Faceoff mocked toolsy right-handed defenseman Tommy Bleyl, Elite Prospects had 6-foot-8 lefty Maksim Sokolovskii, and Morreale predicted Boston University commit Xavier Villeneuve. NHL.com’s Kimelman, however, mocked winger Mathis Preston to the Sharks, who he feels has “dynamic speed and game-breaking skill.”
San Jose Hockey Now also spoke with a scout about a forward like Ilia Morozov, among others, or a defenseman like William Håkansson, among others, at No. 27.
The Sharks could also trade any of these picks to acquire a current top-four defenseman, or package the picks with other assets for a star like Zach Werenski?
Buckle up! The NHL Draft starts tomorrow in Buffalo at 4 PM PT.
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