San Jose Sharks take Colton Roberts early in round five to add more to the system

Colton Roberts is the latest draftee of the San Jose Sharks as the team in teal traded up to take the 6'4 defenseman from the Vancouver Giants. At that size, someone will always be interested in the player, and the Sharks were the team that could add the Giant. He'll offer a lot more to the Sharks blueline in the future as someone who could create shadows for some of the smaller forwards just by being in the same arena.

While he's a massive man at 6'4, 205 lbs, you can be extensive and not be a great defenseman. It affects most defensemen, whether that is because of poor coordination or the inability to move. That is different here, as Roberts is one of the more agile defensemen the Western Hockey League offers. At his size, it's an impressive feat for him to be as slick on his feet as well.

A competitor that will give you everything, there's a lot to like. He's not a poorly-scoring defenseman, either. In 62 games this year, he had seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points. As a defenseman, that's not awful. We'd all love to find a point-per-game defenseman in round five like this, but that wasn't an option for the Sharks. This is a solid option, and there's much to like.

Even if he doesn't develop, a big player like this could have value that could be flipped to another team and recoup assets. Taking a player of size at this point of the draft is never a bad idea, just to see if there is anything there before recouping assets. Savvy management from Mike Grier as the rebuild continues to come along. This is a deep draft for defensemen, and the Sharks add another here. I like this selection.