6. San Jose Sharks – 85.9 overall

Top 15 Prospects

Individual Breakdown:

The San Jose Sharks clock in as the 6th best prospect pools. While they currently lack that elite talent, that may change in 2024 or 2025 as they are just entering the rebuild after trading away Tomas Hertl, previously Erik Karlsson and news that Logan Couture may never play again.

Even with their lack of that elite talent, Will Smith stands tall at the top of their pool with a pretty consistent score amongst all raters. Smith just finished the NCAA season with the fourth best point-per-game pace (1.77) of any teenager in the last 20 years. Only Kyle Connor, Adam Fantilli, and Jack Eichel had a better pace than Smith. While Smith may not be Connor Bedard or Macklin Celebrini, he has a pretty great upside.

William Eklund has taken great strides this season, including scoring his first hat trick as he willed the Sharks to one of their few victories. A 46 point pace on a dreadfully bad team is a win. Aside from Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau is coming along nicely as well and looks like a competent middle six center.

Quentin Musty led the entire OHL in points per game at 1.92 with 102 points in 53 games for the Sudbury Wolves. The panel was pretty consistent with their ranks as most had him at either a seven or eight, with only Hayden rating him a six. I expect big things from Musty, but because of his July fifth birthdate, he is not eligible for the AHL and is still not quite ready for the NHL so it’s likely another season of dominating the OHL.

The defensive prospects are not the strength for the Sharks, but Shakir Mukhamadullin and Henry Thrun seem to be coming along well and played some NHL games this season. Luca Cagnoni might have the biggest upside, but was also the player with one of the biggest variances in our ranks. Hayden rated him a three with some others rating him a five, while Peter and I had him at a seven. He’s definitely one to watch either way after a breakout WHL season of 90 points in 65 games.

Another obvious weakness here is the lack of a stellar goaltending prospect. The Sharks have many goaltenders in the system, but none that is the clear heir apparent. While it is good to have options, it is also good to have at least one option that is more of a sure thing. Devin Cooley showed well at the end of the season, as did Magnus Chrona, but these players are still far from a sure thing.

Team Breakdown:

The Sharks have finished in the lottery the last two seasons, but this season, they have the best odds at selecting first-overall. If they get Macklin Celebrini, the presumptive first-overall pick, that will certainly alter the trajectory of this team. The Sharks have lacked that true number one center and as good as Hertl and Couture have been, they aren’t quite that.

It is likely still another year or two until the team can realistically compete for a playoff spot, but the rebuild could be hitting its nadir. If they get Celebrini, they could consider it over and start to retool. If they don’t, it might be another year of tanking. Either way, Sharks fans will likely have to continue to cheer for individual performances more than the team as they continue to be bad.