San Jose Sharks Draft: Intrigue Abound About Sharks Selection
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Nikolay Goldobin shakes hands with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after being selected as the number twenty-seven overall pick to the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
With the NHL Draft fast approaching at the end of this month, it’s mock draft season. The San Jose Sharks hold the ninth overall selection in the upcoming draft which will be held in Sunrise, Florida on June 26-27.
As you may know, the FanSided NHL Division has been conducting their own mock draft, and with the ninth pick, I had the Sharks selecting Pavel Zacha, a six-foot-three center/left wing out of the Czech Republic. You can read more about the reasoning behind the pick here.
Earlier today, Damien Cox of Sportsnet in Canada conducted his own mock draft, taking a look at the Top-1o picks. While the first two picks in this draft are a give, the rest of the Top-10 offers plenty of intrigue.
Cox has the Sharks selecting Swiss forward Timo Meier of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).
Here is a breakdown of what Meier can bring by Curtis Joe of Elite Prospects:
"A physically dominant winger with the ability to play in a skill or character role. In the offensive end, Meier is very aware and gets himself into spaces where he can easily make seeing eye passes or snap hard, accurate shots. Can impact the game in a number of different ways, and is very consistent in his efforts. All-in-all, the kind of versatile player that you can put on a skill line, and trust to create dangerous chances, or on a shutdown line, and trust to help stop pucks from going into your net."
Meier, who stands six-foot-one and 210 pounds, exploded this year after an average first year with Halifax. After posting 17 goals and 17 assists in 66 games in 2013-14, Meier deposited 44 goals and 44 assists in 61 games for the Mooseheads this past season. Meier added 10 goals and 11 assists in 14 playoffs for Halifax this season.
Regardless of who San Jose decides to select, they should be in prime position to add an impact talent. There will be plenty of speculation on who that will be between now and the draft, so stay tuned for more updates.