San Jose Sharks Draft: Who Might Be Available At Pick No. 9?
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of the complete draft board after the completion of the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
The NHL Draft is fast approaching and the San Jose Sharks will be looking to add another impact prospect into their organization. This has been part of general manager Doug Wilson’s plan to bring in more young talent to San Jose.
With that in mind, the question always arises: who will the Sharks select when the ninth selection comes up?
Well, longtime hockey writer Bob McKenzie of TSN, finalized his draft rankings and, to no surprise, Connor McDavid went wire-to-wire as the number one prospect.
Of more interest to Sharks fans, McKenzie had Mathew Barzal of the Seattle Thunderbirds ranked as the number nine prospect.
Barzal, who stands five-foot-eleven and 175 pounds, has posted good numbers with Seattle in his two seasons there. In 103 games with the Thunderbirds, Barzal scored 26 goals and 85 assists with a plus-16 rating. As evidenced by those numbers, Barzal is a creative offensive playmaker who can find his teammates.
Here’s what TSN’s scouting director Craig Button had to say about Barzal:
"Strong with the puck and exudes a great confidence when he has it. He’s quick but never hurried in his approach and because of his patience and poise he can break down defences and create grade ‘A’ scoring chances. With an improved willingness to shoot, he becomes that much more dangerous."
In FanSided’s 2015 NHL Draft, Barzal was the sixth overall selection by the New Jersey Devils, so the Sharks would gladly take someone of Barzal’s caliber should he still be around at pick number nine.
In that same mock draft, I had the Sharks selecting Pavel Zacha from Sarnia of the OHL. You can read that breakdown here.
All-in-all, San Jose should be able to add an impact prospect at this spot in the draft. The draft will be held in Sunrise, Florida on June 26 and 27.