San Jose Sharks Number 9 Prospect

[Gecklund]

1. Ryan Merkley-94.6%
2. John Leonard-45.9%
3. Ozzy Wiesblatt-37.5%
4. Alexei Melnichuk-26.4%
5. Joachim Blichfield-31.4%
6. Alex Chmelevski-43.2%
7. Thomas Bordeleau-32.7%
8. Artemi Kniazev-32.0%

Let me know who I should add. Criteria for voting is whatever you want it to be. If you value just potential, vote for that. If you value just NHL readiness, vote for that. I imagine most of us will be a mix of many things.

I have Gregor and Ferraro as graduated last season.

Players I will add eventually (no order)
Jake McGrew
Zach Gallant
Vladislav Kotkov
Nikolai Knyzhov
Zach Emond

Click to read more...

 

[Barrie22]

Chek has fallen off the face of the earth to every one here apparently.

 

[Gecklund]

Chek has fallen off the face of the earth to every one here apparently.

He was VERY disappointing last year. Understandable why he has fallen so far.

 

[Desert Eagle]

Chekhovich scored in second straight game today so probably he will recover this season.

 

[Hobocop]

Chekhovich scored in second straight game today so probably he will recover this season.

I'm still not planning on giving him a vote in this thing for a while, but it's good to see him recover. He was just that disappointing to watch all of last year.

Went Robins again, would again say add Knyzhov. Guy has already appeared in the NHL at 21 (granted, maybe not because he completely earned it), surprised he's still not an option at 9.

 

[Sharksrule04]

I'm still not planning on giving him a vote in this thing for a while, but it's good to see him recover. He was just that disappointing to watch all of last year.

Went Robins again, would again say add Knyzhov. Guy has already appeared in the NHL at 21 (granted, maybe not because he completely earned it), surprised he's still not an option at 9.

I don’t think many people see him as anything more than a bottom pairing guy,if that. There are still plenty of options here who have top 6 capabilities.

 

[hohosaregood]

I don’t think many people see him as anything more than a bottom pairing guy,if that. There are still plenty of options here who have top 6 capabilities.

I don't think there's high upside with Knyzhov but he seemed to have progressed an incredible amount over the course of the year. He was straight up one of the worst defensemen that attended the prospect camp and at the end of the season, he looked pretty solid in the NHL. There may be a surprising amount of potential there. I'd be willing to call him a top 15ish prospect for us.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

I mean I like Robins too but how are these prospects that haven't even played AHL hockey being voted higher than guys who have and done pretty well? Just trying understand the thinking. I went Chekhovich here.

 

[Lebanezer]

I mean I like Robins too but how are these prospects that haven't even played AHL hockey being voted higher than guys who have and done pretty well? Just trying understand the thinking. I went Chekhovich here.

Upside, and they have youth on their side. Robins, Bordeleau and Wiesblatt still have an opportunity to make massive strides in their D+1 year, which is a large indicator of future success. The older prospects have more established floors and ceilings.

 

[themelkman]

I mean I like Robins too but how are these prospects that haven't even played AHL hockey being voted higher than guys who have and done pretty well? Just trying understand the thinking. I went Chekhovich here.

I mean thats kind of counter to your point isnt it? He played awful in the AHL for most of the season. People are thinking those guys have more potential

 

[Gecklund]

I mean I like Robins too but how are these prospects that haven't even played AHL hockey being voted higher than guys who have and done pretty well? Just trying understand the thinking. I went Chekhovich here.

Wait what? Your point is that AHL matters but you voted for the guy that was not good in the AHL?

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

Well I coupled it with past success as well as his play right now. I guess I'm voting based on the overall body of work as opposed to one down year.

 

[Hobocop]

I don’t think many people see him as anything more than a bottom pairing guy,if that. There are still plenty of options here who have top 6 capabilities.

Current Knyzhov isn't even a 7D.

I'm not asking to vote on current Knyzhov, though. He isn't a finished product.

 

[hohosaregood]

I mean I like Robins too but how are these prospects that haven't even played AHL hockey being voted higher than guys who have and done pretty well? Just trying understand the thinking. I went Chekhovich here.

We all want what's behind door #3.

 

[DG93]

Voted Robins again.

 

[seroes]

Dahlen again

 

[hohosaregood]

I think we're at a spot where 2-9 on our list is more like 6-13 on another team's list. What we're mainly missing are the blue chip prospects that can be potential core players that would fill in the 1-5 spots of another team's list. I don't think it's the worst spot to be in but it's really not that exciting. Next year, we might be able to grab a player like that in the draft and hopefully a Wiesblatt/Bordeleau/Robins makes a major step forward to justify that kind of reputation.

 

[themelkman]

I think we're at a spot where 2-9 on our list is more like 6-13 on another team's list. What we're mainly missing are the blue chip prospects that can be potential core players that would fill in the 1-5 spots of another team's list. I don't think it's the worst spot to be in but it's really not that exciting. Next year, we might be able to grab a player like that in the draft and hopefully a Wiesblatt/Bordeleau/Robins makes a major step forward to justify that kind of reputation.

I think while our guys lack the reputation, they arent actually much worse than others. They dont have draft pedigree, but more of them are likely to do something in the NHL than guys who are drafted higher. Will they be superstars? No but lots of them will play

 

[seroes]

I think we're at a spot where 2-9 on our list is more like 6-13 on another team's list. What we're mainly missing are the blue chip prospects that can be potential core players that would fill in the 1-5 spots of another team's list. I don't think it's the worst spot to be in but it's really not that exciting. Next year, we might be able to grab a player like that in the draft and hopefully a Wiesblatt/Bordeleau/Robins makes a major step forward to justify that kind of reputation.

Unfortunately I think this is spot on. Outside of Merkley I dont think we even have 1 prospect that has a better than 50% chance of being a huge part of out team moving forward. And even though I love Merkley, offensive defenceman is the one position we don't need extra help in.

 

[Patty Ice]

Some nice info from Peng's latest article on San Jose Hockey Now about our boy Dahlen that may relieve a few concerns:

The 5-foot-11 winger also admitted: “I was a little small before…Now I feel stronger and more all-round fit.”
This jibes with what San Jose Hockey Now was told last month about Dahlen’s conditioning: “A source tells me that Jonathan himself feels ready to challenge for a full-time NHL spot soon — which suggests to me that his training this past summer has gone well and he’s made a leap physically.”

In terms of skills, Dahlen is a top 5 talent in the Sharks pool.

 

[themelkman]

Some nice info from Peng's latest article on San Jose Hockey Now about our boy Dahlen that may relieve a few concerns:



In terms of skills, Dahlen is a top 5 talent in the Sharks pool.

Agreed, its Dahlen time on this list. He belongs in the top ten for sure

 

[hohosaregood]

Some nice info from Peng's latest article on San Jose Hockey Now about our boy Dahlen that may relieve a few concerns:



In terms of skills, Dahlen is a top 5 talent in the Sharks pool.

Man this summer would be so boring for Sharks news if it wasn't for Sheng. Kurz would never write articles like this.

 

[Sharksrule04]

I mean I like Robins too but how are these prospects that haven't even played AHL hockey being voted higher than guys who have and done pretty well? Just trying understand the thinking. I went Chekhovich here.

I’d say a strong majority of people (myself included) rate prospects based on upside. Personally I don’t care if a player has AHL experience, it’s all about upside and the likelihood of them reaching that upside.

 

[PacificOceanPotion]

I’d say a strong majority of people (myself included) rate prospects based on upside. Personally I don’t care if a player has AHL experience, it’s all about upside and the likelihood of them reaching that upside.

Yeah. After reading a couple posts and points of view I'm in agreement.