The Sharks have added a pair of defenders to their pool in the 4th round today with picks 115 & 124.
4th round 115 - Ilya Magomedsultanov, D, MHL
Admittedly, I am not very knowledgeable about Magomedsultanov, so I will rely on Elite Prospects for the analysis of his game.
According to Elite Prospects, “Magomedsultanov kills play early in the sequence, spotting puck carriers as they exit the zone and enveloping them with his four-way mobility and range. He disrupts rushes and barely gives time to attackers to make plays in the defensive zone, closing on them as soon as they get the puck.”
It sounds like Magomedsultanov is more of a defensive defenseman, and continues the trend of the Sharks placing a high value on skating on the backend, which makes sense in today's game. Magonmedsultanov is currently slated to play for Lokomotiv in the MHL next season. With this pick, the Sharks complete the Luke Kunin trade, who was traded to the Blue Jackets at the deadline.
4th round 124 - Zachary Sharp, D, NCAA
With their second 4th round pick, the Sharks double-dip on the backend, selecting Zack Sharp out of Western Michigan. This is Sharp’s 3rd run through the NHL draft.
Elite Prospect said this about Sharp Back in 2023, “Sharp is an activator, never passing up an opportunity to join the play. He flies up the weak to become a lead pass option, sprints the middle to take a forward's role, and becomes the trailer. He blends his activation into gap control. When moving, he gets early stops, pushes attackers to the perimeter, and neutralizes off-puck threats.”
Sharp will continue his development at Western Michigan as he looks to improve on his 9 points in 42 games in his Freshman season. With this pick, the Sharks complete the Granlund/Ceci trade, receiving Josh Ravensbergen along with Sharp.
Sharks add two more defenders to their pool, but they still have yet to add a right-handed defenseman to the backend, and their pool is heavily leaning on the left side. The Sharks have two more picks remaining at this time, with a 5th-round and 7th-round pick.