Reviewing Seasons Of The San Jose Sharks 2021 Draft Class

Reviewing Seasons Of The San Jose Sharks 2021 Draft Class

we continue our look at the Sharks Prospect pool by digging into the 2021 class ean’s playing well but uh what about everyone else your locked on sharks your daily podcast on the San Jose Sharks part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day hello welcome to locked on sharks the premiere hockey podcast cing your favorite team in the Bay Area my name is JD young caretaker at The Reef also the co-host of Western Conference Tuesdays on the lockdown NHL channel want to thank you for making lockdown sharks your first listen probably part of the lockdown Network we cover your team every day if you want to be an everyday or all you have to do is just follow wherever you get Podcast of course you can watch on YouTube as well we continue our four-part series of digging into the Sharks prospects by looking at their last four draft classes we already did the 2020 draft last year today we’re going to be focusing on the 2021 draft uh which of course is highlighted by William M and then at the course at the end we’re gonna be also talking about the Barracuda goalies uh because I feel like this is a good time to kind of talk about these guys here as well so uh before we get into this do want to let you guys know that today’s episode is brought to you by Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase terms apply so the big thing with with this class right now is how many guys aren’t here anymore um so the Sharks had nine Selections in this class um and three of them the rights have already expired and the Sharks did not sign so uh Benjamin Gad the third round pick the goalie uh that the Sharks uh there they let his rights expire last off season uh then you have Max McHugh and Liam gilm Martin both those guys also uh OHL guys who the Sharks let their rights expire last summer um the interesting thing is there’s two more players who could be potentially we never really see anything out of Theo Jacobson who the sharks have until June 1st 2025 to sign we’ll talk about him a little bit more and then AI kashiko the Russian defenseman um who they own his rights indefinitely but it seems like he might never come over um and we’ll get to him here in a little bit so um that leaves just kind of four players from this draft who might actually make an impact here um so we’ll start of course with with the the cream of the crop the bow of the ball uh that is one William eckan so of course eckan uh the seventh overall pick in this draft um we talked about eckan you know a little bit a couple weeks ago but I’m never not going to talk about William ekin uh two years left on his deal so he did kind of go actually go through his first con first season of his ELC 80 games this season had 16 goals 29 assists 128 shots on goal averaged 1840 average time all night Cory 4 455 goals for 36% uh for eeken this year and I think can kind of harping back to what we talked about with echin before is you know he’s really established himself as an everyday NHL player right um but now can he take the next step and I think this season he’s going to be in a much better position to take that next step right he was had 45 points on this team that was uh one of the worst teams we’ve seen in recent years I’m going to continue to harp on their minus 150 gold differential uh until next season probably and even then it’ll probably be halfway through next season where I’ll stop mentioning it but that that’s why again gos four percentage it’s going to be bad for everybody it’s the same thing plus minus whatever you want to like if you give up uh if you’re minus 150 goal differential is bad doesn’t matter matter who like everybody was a was a part of it and when you play a ton of minutes like ekin did last season um you’re going to have those type of poor numbers but enter Will Smith enter mlin celebrini again we’ll talk we’ll talk more about Mike career I think next week and why I think he needs to be very aggressive now I we’ll continue to dive into free agency and what the sharks should or should not do in free agency but there’s more talent coming on on this team really quickly and I think ekin is gonna be one of the biggest benefactors of that as he’s going to be able to play with guys who are just as skilled as him think the game the same way as him and I think we I wouldn’t be surprised if next season we’re talking about a potential 60 plus Point season for William eckan especially if he can continue his scoring the way we saw him scoring especially at the uh down the stretch and if we look back to that you know kind of month span after the All-Star break where eckan had to play center which I know he played center in the shl but since he’s come over to North America he has not played center at all and yes he came out of the gate strong but ever after that he really fizzled out and didn’t really look like himself but as soon as you moved him back to Wing e was great again you hope that M Cabrini you’re going to put him at Center do not move him if Logan Couture comes back healthy or we’re going to talk tomorrow about Logan Couture insurances uh plan so we’ll talk tomorrow we’re GNA talk much more about Couture but if coutur is healthy Mel granin continues to play the same way if well Smith can slide into Center there’s more options for the Sharks where you’re not going to have to kind of to to put William ekin in a position like that again this year um unless they talked to him this Summer and say we want you to play uh you know kind of and his exit meeting saying we want you to play center this summer like next season Pro train to play center and that’s a whole different conversation but I think William ecklund’s best place is on the wing and we saw that beginning of the Season we saw that at the very end of this season especially going back and he was an impact player especially once the l l line was put together and I think having other talented players to play for ekin to play with uh we’ll see the the play continue to be great but I think we’re going to see that production from him and I I wouldn’t I would expect ekan to have a monster season next year and really show again we saw the flashes this year of a player who look at times look like he could take over a game um but I think next year we we have a monster second season from him as he’s now played a full season in the NHL increased Talent uh on on the roster hopefully H with celebrini and Smith and maybe a new system can accentuate his skill set so I I’m expect I’m the sky’s a limit for William ecin I am I cannot as much as we’re excited about Smith and celebrini we have every right to be excited about Smith and celebrini coming to the Sharks we can’t of forget about William eckan um who really was that first franchise pillar piece I think we we we’re going to be talking about and yes celebrating Smith are exciting they’re awesome players but ekin is going to be just as important um as he continues his development and hand it to Quinn right I know Quinn there’s plenty of issues with with David Quinn and you know he is no longer here but look at ean’s development right playing short-handed he was very good on the on the PK and you can see especially the way he thinks the game way he reads the game um I I think ekin is going to be a great penalty killer um putting him on the power play noticing like okay eklund’s not going let me put him down for a couple games on the third line give him a little bit bit easier competition let him kind of reset a little bit and then once he kind of once he earns that trust back okay let’s put him back together and put him on a top line with as lend uh with the that lond line so um if you want more on ekin I did a whole podcast on on William ekin again William ean’s awesome I love William ekin um I just I let’s not let’s not forget I know we have shiny new toys but William mckin is freaking awesome and he’s going to continue to be awesome especially when you add high-end pieces around William eckan uh we can hopefully maybe retire the Bugatti uh in the trailer park u meme as ekin has placed with other players on on on the line on his line so uh but yes I’m very excited about ekan in his future and I I think the season was rough it was ugly at times but I think ekan showing that development showing that patience that we saw with him playing in the AHL for a full season um yeah he’s going to be awesome so we’ll continue we’ll look at a lot of the defensive pieces that the Sharks added of course we’ll talk about Ethan Cardwell and then we’ll get to the Barracuda goalies here in just one minute if you want to go catch the NBA finals or maybe you just want to go see a Giants game or an A’s game or go catch a concert this summer you need to check out game time game time makes getting NBA Finals tickets even even faster and easier price on the game time app actually go down the closer it gets the tip off uh the thing I 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today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed all right so William ecklin great we know that uh he’s Welling as way to being a star who’s next Who’s Who was the next Guy and um that would be one genon Lorac so Lorac played uh this season he split his time between the uh Barracuda and then the Thunder of the ECHL Lorac still working his way back from his injuries so the gamees played isn’t as as high as you would like to see but I think with the sharks they were trying to be cautious with him not put too much on him too quickly so uh with the Thunder you played nine games zero goals two assists 15 shots on goal uh with the S Jose Barracuda also played nine games one goal one assist with 13 shots on goal and I think for Lorac this was kind of that I don’t want to say red shirt year but a little bit of that red shirt year where they especially coming back from hip injuries uh wanting to be very cautious with their young Prospect and you know so I think with with Lorac you need him to stay healthy that’s the big thing right you You’ basically lost you in two Seasons now you’ve played 22 games if if my math is correct there not a big math guy but I think I got that one so for him is being healthy and trying to stay healthy right and he was playing starting to play Healthy stay healthy and then at the end of the season uh concussion knocks him out till some of the the last couple games of the year so um it was interesting decision though with Lorac where they could have sent him back to Victoria to play in the WHL as an over Ager um but they decided to bring him here and I think it was maybe to kind of keep an eye on him and um maybe have a little bit more firm hand on his rehab going forward so um I think for Lorac though next year is a big year for him uh to just stay healthy right can we get 60 65 games out of the out of you in the Barracuda and be in every night type of of player because I still think the skills there um I think he’s going to be a really solid two-way defenseman but your best ability is your availability and we just haven’t gotten that out of out of gen and lck so far so um next guy though who I think other than eckan you could argue might be the best player coming in the out of this draft that’s Ethan Cardwell uh 2021 fourth round pick over AER so he could have been part of the 2020 draft of course we talked to him about this but he thinks um his development might have been best served with with being patient right um could have played in the on the Barracuda last season but went back had a great season with Barry and you’re you saw it this year uh 71 games played out of 72 23 goals 20 assists 165 shots on goal and Ethan Cardwell looks like he’s shapen into be a very fine kind of middle six third line type of player for the Sharks uh was playing especially by the end of the season was playing in all situations for the Barracuda H killing penalties on the power play uh was playing in Topline minutes with Philip Beast dead and I would not be surprised if next year plenty of of options for the Barracuda but I would just keep that Cardwell bead pairing going because they were awesome as soon as Beast said arrived those guys were great you spend the whole summer getting some chemistry uh together I I think and hopefully eventually you just plop that on the third line for the Sharks and you were good to go right there but uh Cardwell showing being patient especially with these prospects um kind of like eklan patient with him as he spent the entire season in the AHL being patient with a guy like Ethan Cardwell um and you’re going to get a lot out of him and I I I think Cardwell is going to continue to surprise and I I think he’s going to play NHL games next year maybe it’s after the trade deadline type of of player but you look at some of the you know even comparing to the 2020 draft class guys like Azie Weis blat and Brandon Co even Tristan Robbins I think Cardwell is coming close to passing a lot of those guys who are his peers right as an overage player you know I still have gin and bordo ahead but cardwell’s probably number three out of out of those guys uh at least when it comes to his upside and his potential and I think he’s just gonna be a really solid dude for for the Sharks going forward um so really excited about Cardwell and his his continued development um next would be artam GV so GV just like Lorac could have gone back to play um in the OHL sharks brought him here uh played games over with the Thunder also had two assists four shots on goal um and then with the Barracuda had played 31 games two goals two assists with 31 uh shots on goal guv looks physical dude uh he’s 20 but he looks like he has a house three kids mortgage dog pick a fence the whole deal dude looks older than me uh plays violent game and we saw that especially in the OHL but his last year he got traded to Flint and you really saw his offensive game kind of take a big a big leap um I still think there’s some issues defensively that he needs to continue to iron out um but I think he is he’s going to be kind of a AHL and then if you need him to play some NHL type of games but I think his game is really suited to have a nice long career in the AHL that there’s nothing wrong with that right like not everybody can be a superstar in the NHL but I think he’s G to be guys is going to kind of stick around with the organization for a long time um if you need him to come out and play some NHL games I’m sure he he’ll be able to do that in a pinch uh but if you want him to you know kind of protect some of your stars in the the AHL he’s going to be that type of of guy for for the barracudas so um but I think he especially kind of what I saw from him in his Juniors to his AGL you see the development still some kind of mental mistakes happen here and there uh but you’re seeing his development and his growth so continue with uh Theo Jacobson six round pick um over playing over in Sweden played 32 games in the hockey Al sensin uh we had eight goals 16 assists with 58 shots on goal um and then with the Moto in the shl played 11 games with two goals two assists and 15 shots on goal there um not going to lie haven’t watched much Theo Jacobson so can’t really give too too much there on that but just be interesting to see what the Sharks do with him especially with um his rights expiring next off seon I assume he’s just going to stay over in the shl if he has a good season in the shl then you potentially bring him over after that and you know he’s probably po you know a bottom six type of a forward for the Sharks but uh at least he’s very cost control is he’ll when he signs hisc but again there one of those guys where you’re just maybe something he turns into something maybe not and then the final guy from that draft class uh aghni casnoff 2021 7th round pick big dude 6 foot6 been playing over in the KHL uh 65 games this year two goals four assists 76 shots on goal just signed a new contract uh with a new team in the KHL this year I never expect him to come over to be honest but uh just wanted to make sure we put a nice bow on the 2021 draft class so we’ll talk uh about the Barracuda goalies kind of do a review of the three goalies this season what’s kind of next for these guys here uh in just one minute all right um Barracuda goalie so uh this year we have three three three goalies um all of them played in multiple leagues they all played sometime in the ECHL they all played on the Barracuda and two of them got games in the NHL as well uh making their NHL debuts uh so we are actually going to start uh with Magnus Crona the 2018 fifth round pick from the Tampa Bay Lightning who the Sharks acquired uh several uh trade deadlines ago with the ECHL Thunder uh played two games 94 save percentage 294 goals against uh 100 saves uh moving on to the Barracuda he played 31 games 894 save percentage 349 goals against average and 858 saves and then with the Sharks play nine games 859 save percentage uh 471 goals against 37 goals alow expect goals alow was 29.3 eight so he had a minus 7.6 goal save the RO expected and a six 57 High danger saves so uh Corona developmental year right first year as a professional we saw a lot of UPS we saw a lot of downs uh for him I still think he is going to be at best probably a a a backup for for the sharks um going forward right I still like him I still think he can be you know either like he’s not going to be a 50 60 start type of guy but I think he can be a 35 start type of player for for the stres going forward um want to see again next year where I think there’ll be a little bit more clarity in net hopefully um with Romanov and Crona and we’ll see what the Sharks do if they try to add a a third goalie into the mix there uh but I think both those guys and we’ll talk about Romanov here a little bit both those guys could just use just starts right and having a alternating starting pattern between those guys and kind of splitting splitting the net uh is probably going to be best for them and you hope that the Barracuda team gets a little bit better so but I think though you saw to be you you saw some flashes for him um he had some even in the NHL he had some games where he looked pretty solid did also have some some stinkers for him he did also have a couple games where the team in front of him just didn’t show up and that was a uh a running theme of the 2023 2024 sharks but um watching his bear Cuda games though um little bit of a stretch kind of in the middle of the Season where he kind of lost it for a little bit maybe was having some confidence issues but he really I think kind of found his game um after that that’s why he got promoted to the NHL I’m glad though that the Sharks got Devin Coy to send Crona back um that way they they weren’t kind of having him Shell Shocked every night um playing in the NHL and he can kind of regain that confidence at the end of the season so um next guy on the list E2 makinami the 2017th fourth round pick from Carolina the shark Scott as part of the Brent Burns trade three games 907 save percentage 339 goals against 97 saves with the ECHL Thunder um and then with the did I lose this thing oh sorry then with the Barracuda had 18 games 900 save percentage 314 goals against with a 492 save percentage uh funny enough he had three shutouts with the barar so when he was on he was absolutely on for the Barracuda but um I think we will probably not see him back next season um as he is in a UFA uh because he didn’t hit his kind of he’s a what do they call it a um pulling it up right now UFA a group six did not acrw the required games by the age of 25 so he becomes a UFA um and I don’t see him back next season I think um it would make sense for these sharks if they want to get a veteran type of goalie go get a cool or you know if you want to get like an old older guy an Aaron Del type not saying Aaron Del but an Aaron Dell type who can kind of just hang around um but you need letting Crona and Romanov who are both going into the final years of their deals letting those guys really get the bulk of the um starts and really try to kind of have that battle and see what happens with those but uh Mami is gonna be one of those guys where we we might be talking about what if with his injuries that just kind of continually derailed his Seasons uh ever since he got here so unfortunately just never uh could stay healthy and I think that’s going to be the kind of the story of E2 maami so like I said three shout outs this year uh but again just not enough Healthy Starts from uh from him so um final guy Georgie Romanov who of course H none of us knew this time last year but Romanov I think there’s something there so seven games with the Thunder 87 save percentage four goals against uh 216 saves nothing super impressive there but the Barracuda 29 games played 904 save percentage 314 goals against with 761 saves and then with the Sharks two games both in relief uh 967 save percentage 101 goals against one goal allowed expected goals against three goals saved above average two high danger save percentage one he didn’t let in again both those in relief where uh the Sharks were down multiple goals other team kind of uh the Sharks wave the White Flag but Romanov though I feel especially watching him at the beginning of the Season compared to at the end um hyper hyper athletic player and we’ve seen the Sharks profile right you look at McKenzie Blackwood Devin KY Romanov fits that profile as a guy who he’s to continue to play I think he just needs more reps right just continue to play more games but there’s something there and he’s just he’s super athletic um bit of a grinder where he’s just going to keep fighting and keep fighting um it’s kind of the same thing that we saw out of um out of uh Magnus krona where he had a little bit of a confidence issue kind of middle of the season I think that’s kind of where the Barracuda were at their lowest point where they’re just kind of getting uh they’re just Los in a bunch of games but bounceback strong at the end of the season was like this close to multiple shutouts with the Barracuda I think one game where he had like 12 seconds left and they the the other team scored uh but Crona they’re they’re not Crona sorry Romanov there’s something there with him that I really like and again that mixture of that kind of grinding attitude with that hyper athleticism um played a full season this year get got used to I wouldn’t be surprised if um this time next year we’re talking about wow Romanov had a monster season for the Barracuda you know maybe he gets the earns the majority of the starts for them and uh we’re talking about you know a couple maybe gets a couple games with with the sharks at the end of the season couple starts with the sharks at the end of season if he can uh continue to play well and could be looking at a potential diamond in the rough for again a guy none of us knew about a year it go so um that’s going to be it for me today like I said we will be back tomorrow to talk about uh kind of Logan Couture talk about some potential Logan Couture Insurance pieces that I think the Sharks really need to do uh look at especially with Will Smith and uh mlin celebrini uh going to be expected to be on the roster Will Smith’s here guys ma CBR is going to be here too so um so that’s going to be it for me today uh make sure you guys are following wherever you get podcasts and of course you can watch on YouTube as well follow the show on Twitter Facebook and Instagram at lockon sharks follow me on Twitter aty fry hole and till tomorrow bye friends [Music]

The San Jose Sharks 2021 Draft class has some mixed reviews. William Eklund has graduated to the National Hockey League, but what about the rest of the draft class? Start by looking at the players who were drafted, but the Sharks decided not to retain their rights, then why William Eklund is living up to his draft billing and could be ready to take off next season with additional talent on the roster. Then, look at what Gannon Laroque needs to improve, Ethan Cardwell’s awesome rookie season, and Artem Guryev’s place in the Sharks organization. Finally, review the seasons of Magnus Chrona, Eetu Makiniemi, and Georgi Romanov, who will return with the San Jose Barracuda this upcoming season.

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