Sharks Biggest Draft Booms and Busts Since 2000

[Doctor Soraluce]

It looks like this is a series for each team, and they needed some limitation for other teams, so they are not having to talk about picks from the 60's no one knows. So it is irrelevant for the Sharks, but makes sense for other teams.

I know why they did it but considering the ages of the youngest franchises they could have looked at a longer time. Frankly it was lazy because there would have been some really interesting picks from earlier in the older franchises. The fact they didn't even get the Sharks worst draft bust right from the era they chose only proves they were lazy. Petrecki is hands down now that I look at it more. Wishart at least played a bunch of minor hockey. Petrecki quickly rode the pine in the AHL, then ECHL then pretty much done.

 

[sharski]

Honestly Fat Balloon wasn't even in the top 5 as far as busts. Dude at least scored goals and played for a number of years in the league. His first 3 seasons with the Sharks were solid if not spectacular. played 12 years in the league. Plenty of Sharks 1st rounders never even made the show or only played a handful of games.

Teemu Riihijarvi was the worst all time and it ain't even close. Highest pick that never even played in the NHL. So bad Hockey-Reference doesn't even have a page for him.

The best ever has to be Nabby. Drafted in the 9th round. Rookie of the year, solidified the goaltending position for the most part for a decade.

Lulz I think I remember even the draft coverage analysts being like "Eh... Who?" at the Riihijarvi pick and me think "oh no..." Lol

I love the name though would've def bought a jersey if he ever actually made the team and played some games

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

Lulz I think I remember even the draft coverage analysts being like "Eh... Who?" at the Riihijarvi pick and me think "oh no..." Lol

I love the name though would've def bought a jersey if he ever actually made the team and played some games

That was the all Finnish draft. Pretty sure they got Kipper out of it so I guess not all bad. But yeah that first pick was a doozy...

 

[The Nemesis]

That was the all Finnish draft. Pretty sure they got Kipper out of it so I guess not all bad. But yeah that first pick was a doozy...

Toskala too.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

Toskala too.

Oh yeah I forgot! I think there was a skater who made the NHL too for a little while but I may be wrong. Not too terrible that they got Toskala and eventually Vlasic due to that draft.

EDIT: Nope, just Kipper and Toskala. Toskala was the higher pick which I didn't remember. Considering it was a 9 round draft and the sharks had multiple picks in a couple rounds that is pretty awful. Looks like all but two were Finnish.

 

[Hockeyville USA]

Since 2000, gotta include 2002 mega draft busts Mike Morris and Dan Spang. Because of the old NCAA route player rules still in effect at the time, they were 1983 birthyears so they played their 18 year old season in USHS-MA, so essentially they played against a ton of future cops and office workers while being old for the draft and age bracket. Yikes.

Not the greatest draft, but Jiri Hudler profiled incredibly well that year, scoring PPG in the Czech league as a 17 year old. Sharks drafting Hudler and putting him in a position to succeed might mean the Sharks have a Cup.

 

[TealManV]

I’m excited about this thread. It’s always important to spotlight the career of Tim Burke, imo. The fact that he is still employed by the franchise is a disappointment.

 

[TealManV]

DWJr had a healthy amount of misses, too. Which makes sense with Burke being the best man at his wedding.

Here are the standouts:

2020- Ozzy at #31 when John-Jason Peterka went #34
2018- Merkley at #21 when K’Andre Miller went #22
2016 - Gambrell at #60 when Adam Fox went #66 (this is picking nits but still worth mentioning)
2015 - Jeremy Roy at #31 when Sebastian Aho went #35 (I think this was DWJrs first draft in charge but I’m not 100%. Sharks traded up to make this selection)

 

[Cas]

DWJr had a healthy amount of misses, too. Which makes sense with Burke being the best man at his wedding.

Here are the standouts:

2020- Ozzy at #31 when John-Jason Peterka went #34
2018- Merkley at #21 when K’Andre Miller went #22
2016 - Gambrell at #60 when Adam Fox went #66 (this is picking nits but still worth mentioning)
2015 - Jeremy Roy at #31 when Sebastian Aho went #35 (I think this was DWJrs first draft in charge but I’m not 100%. Sharks traded up to make this selection)

Wilson Jr. didnt take over until 16-17.

 

[TealManV]

Wilson Jr. didnt take over until 16-17.

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

So just add Roy over Aho in 2015 to Tim Burke’s ledger.

 

[Alaskanice]

Someone stated that DW was drafting the most ready players. That was his thing. It seems he was willing to wait a year but didn’t want to wait and see. It worked in some ways, not in others. That’s the draft.

 

[Gecklund]

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

So just add Roy over Aho in 2015 to Tim Burke’s ledger.

Roy was an excellent pick at the time that was decimated by injuries. That’s the issue with this “bust” lists. They’re missing context and are massive revisionist history.

 

[TheBeard]

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

So just add Roy over Aho in 2015 to Tim Burke’s ledger.

Once you're into the second round, it's a real crapshoot. We all missed Kuch and Point in the later rounds as well.

 

[TealManV]

Roy was an excellent pick at the time that was decimated by injuries. That’s the issue with this “bust” lists. They’re missing context and are massive revisionist history.

Weren’t there already concerns with Roy heading into the draft, hence his falling to the 2nd round?

 

[Alaskanice]

Weren’t there already concerns with Roy heading into the draft, hence his falling to the 2nd round?

He was the first pick in the second round. We moved up to draft him.

Roy was an excellent pick at the time that was decimated by injuries. That’s the issue with this “bust” lists. They’re missing context and are massive revisionist history.

Morris was decimated by injuries as well.

 

[Gecklund]

Weren’t there already concerns with Roy heading into the draft, hence his falling to the 2nd round?

Not really apart from normal concerns (at least from what I remember it’s been 8-9 years)

I believe he had a separate knee injury a year or two prior to the draft but came back and was good or something like that. Most people had him ranked late teens, early 20s and ya know draft preference causes tons of discrepancy around that area.

He was the first pick in the second round. We moved up to draft him.


Morris was decimated by injuries as well.

Yeah exactly. Like injuries are a part of sports and you can’t use them to discredit players entirely. There’s are lots of better examples of guys that were busts because of skill level and not injuries.

 

[Cas]

Yes, generally speaking, it's not really useful to criticize teams/scouts for missing on picks after the first round, maybe the top 40 picks. Everyone picked down there is a lottery ticket.

There are exceptions, and you can identify process issues that are worthy of criticism. But not picking Fox or Kucherov isn't really that.

Getting a lot of value out of those lower picks (compared to the average) is a very good sign, though, so the converse isn't true.

 

[TheBeard]

He was the first pick in the second round. We moved up to draft him.


Morris was decimated by injuries as well.

That second round doesn't get enough accolades because of how good the first round was. Look at the names; Aho, Cernak, Hintz, Blackwood, Carlo, Sprong, Christian Fischer, AJ Greer, Jordan Greenway, Jeremy Lauzon, Rasmus Andersson, Vince Dunn, Yakov Trenin, Siegenthaler, Kylington.

When's the last time a non-first round had a near 50% hit rate?

 

[OrrNumber4]

There have been moments where Tim Burke frustrated me, but I do think much of that is the expectations he set. Between 1998 and 2013ish, his great ability to find NHL talent late in the draft (and help bolster the team with cheap talent) was taken for granted. When he faltered post-2013, the daggers came out for him...

Now, of course, he deserves some of the blame. But let's not forget that the Sharks were a contending team. Burke often had no first or even second-rounder. There are also clear cases of DW meddling in the selection, like the Mueller pick. On top of that, people ignore the base failure rate; as much as we complain about the Gambrell pick, he's an above-average outcome given where he was drafted.