The 2020 draft was an important one for the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks were coming off their first time missing the playoffs since the 2014-15 season, and it wasn't even close. The Sharks, coming off a Western Conference final appearance, bottomed out entirely with a bottom-five finish. Worst of all, they traded their first-round pick to Ottawa as part of the Erik Karlsson trade, which ultimately resulted in arguably the best player in the class, Tim Stutzle. The Sharks still had a chance to salvage this class with three picks in the top 60, including a first-round pick acquired from the Lightning for Barclay Goodrow. Unfortunately, they missed the mark.
The Sharks 2020 Draft Class
Round 1 - Ozzy Weisblatt - W - 5 GP, 1 pts
Round 2 - Thomas Bordeleau - C - 44 GP, 18 pts
Round 2 - Tristan Robins - C - 3 GP, 0 pts
Round 3 - Danil Gushchin - W - 18 GP, 5 pts
Round 4 - Brandon Coe - W - 0 GP
Round 7 - Alex Young - C - 0 GP
Round 7 - Adam Raska - W - 13 GP, 0 pts
Round 7 - Linus Oberg - W - 0 GP
Round 7 - Timofey Spitserov - W - 0 GP
The Sharks' 2020 class was actually highly regarded after the draft, with the first five picks all viewed as solid value at their respective slots, and there was potential at points for all of these players. Thomas Bordeleau and Danil Gushchin showed the most hype post-draft as potential future pieces, while Brandon Coe and Raska also showed some promise as late-round picks. Unfortunately, nobody worked out at the NHL level or, in some instances, the pro level. All but one player is currently with the Sharks in Danil Gushchin, who may be on his way out the door himself. Bordeleau has had the most success but is unlikely to make an impact at the NHL level at this point in his career, and was traded to the Devils for an AHL vet in Shane Bowers. First-round pick Ozzy Wiesblatt failed to show any progression beyond his draft year, and the speedy winger was dealt to Nashville last off-season after struggling in the AHL. Overall, it's been a massive whiff for the Sharks.
When you look at what the Sharks could have had, it gets worse. JJ Peterka was available in 2 different instances for the Sharks and was passed over twice, despite being one of the top names on the board at the time, in the first round and in the 2nd before they opted to trade back. Peterka would have been an excellent addition at the time, as a veteran Sharks team needed NHL wing depth badly. Brock Faber is another name the Sharks passed on twice, in a draft where the Sharks took no defenseman. Adding a top-pair D-man like Faber in the second round would have been a massive boon to a Sharks team that has been in desperate need of a high-quality defenseman to this day. Finally, Will Culye was available with all 3 of the Sharks' top 60 picks. The talented power forward is just coming into his own with the Rangers.
The draft is hard, and it’s easy to criticize when you know the outcome, but there is no denying that the Sharks' poor drafting during the final part of Doug Wilson’s tenure played a significant role in their demise. The Sharks made 27 picks from 2018 to 2021, and only one player, the 2021 7th overall pick, William Eklund, has played over 100 games to this point. The next player in games played is 2018 6th-round pick John Leonard with 70 games. Only three players (William Eklund, Ethan Cardwell, and Danil Gushchin) remain with the Sharks of those 27 picks, with Eklund likely being the only contributor of that group. This stretch of drafting was a major contributor to the Sharks' inability to compete with their cap-strapped veteran roster and contributed to them bottoming out as hard as they did.
Time will tell if everything was for the best, as the Sharks are geared up for a bright future. However, there is no denying that the 2020 draft presented a significant opportunity for the Sharks to change their fate with the old core. Out of all the failed draft classes, 2020 was the only year where the Sharks had more than one pick in the top 60, and unfortunately, they whiffed on all of them, leaving fans wondering what could have been.