Grading the Sharks goaltenders and the season as a whole, heading into the break

Now that we're at the Olympic Break, it's a good time to take a look at the Sharks' season so far and grade each individual player's performance to this point. Since there are many players to grade, I will split my grades across 3 articles: Forwards, Defensemen, and Goaltenders, along with my grade for the Sharks and their season. 

For this exercise, I will only be grading players currently on the Sharks 23 man roster or on IR. So players like Igor Chernyshov or Nick Leddy won’t be graded in this exercise. We already covered the Forwards and Defensemen; today, I will be grading the Goaltenders, in addition to the Sharks' season as a whole.

Yaroslav Askarov - Grade B

Askarov has had an inconsistent season; he had a dreadful start, rebounded in November, when he was one of the best goaltenders in the league, then fell somewhere in between, with both strong and woeful starts mixed in. All in all, Askarov has a 889% save percentage and a 3.53 GAA in 35 games, far from where you want your future number 1 to be, but also given the context of the situation, his youth, and what he looks like at his peak, the future is still looking bright for him between the pipes.

Alex Nedlkjovic - Grade B

Like Askarov, Nedeljkovic had a dreadful start to the season in October, but has been consistent ever since, posting a 899% save percentage and 2.91 GAA through 25 games. Not bad numbers given the context. Nedlkjovic lacks Askarov’s ability to steal games on any given night, but he also isn’t prone to many blowups in net and has been a steady 1B for the Sharks this season. 

The Sharks Grade - A+

When it comes to the Sharks' season as a whole, you can’t give them any grade other than an A+. If you told Sharks fans this team would be 5 points out of the playoffs in the midst of the Olympic break, they would have thought you were crazy. Even the most optimistic Sharks fans wouldn't have the team sniffing the postseason.

The Sharks may not make the playoffs, and that's looking more likely than not at this point, but the name of the game for the Sharks right now is development, and they've had that in spades this season. Not only have the prospects, not named Celebrini or Will Smith, started to grab jobs in the NHL, but the team is also set to play meaningful hockey, win or lose, down the stretch, and that is only gonna further help these young kids grow as winners when the team is ready to turn the corner out of the rebuild. 

I still think the Sharks need to stay the course and continue stockpiling assets at this year's deadline, but this season has been a blast for Sharks fans and a major departure from the norm over the past 3-5 years. It’s exciting to be a Sharks fan right now, and that in itself is an A+ for the Sharks and their fans.