The NHL Draft Lottery Is Monday Night, the San Jose Sharks Have the Best Odds to Land the Top Pick
The NHL draft lottery is tonight and the San Jose Sharks have the best odds of any team. JD Young of Locked on Sharks is here to talk about the lottery, what it means for the Sharks, and where they are in their rebuilding program. Coming up next on today’s Locked On NHL podcast. You’re Locked on NHL, your daily podcast on the National Hockey League, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. Gil Martin here and welcome everybody to the Monday edition of the Locked On NHL podcast. We’re part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who makes Locked on NHL your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode. 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. It is my pleasure to welcome back to the show a familiar face and voice to Locked On NHL fans, JD Young of Locked On Sharks. And uh JD, what is the buzz around San Jose and the Sharks organization for tonight’s draft lottery? I think as tonight is a much more different field than when the Sharks were in the exact same position last year, right? Last year, of course, uh with Melbourne, uh you went through one of the worst regular seasons in franchise history among NHL history as well, just how poor of a season it was. And while this year, you know, you definitely saw much, you know, signs of improvement, maybe not too much in the win loss record, but you did see signs of improvement with Celebrity and Smith, this year just feels different for the Sharks and Sharks fans because like you’ve already done the hard part of getting M Celebrity, who you feel is going to be a superstar in the NHL. And this year, while there isn’t really the same buzz with with Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa, it just kind of feels like, oh, cool. we’re collecting another piece like the very like Thanos. Let’s just keep collecting all these like top end picks here uh until we can eventually start to to enter our competitive phase. So, I think for Sharks fans and myself included in this is it’s you’re you’re not as stressed as you were going into last year’s draft lottery where like if it wasn’t Mlin Cabrini like why did we lose all these games? Like this year it feels like with you know one a top three pick here like you’re going to get a good player no matter what. While some players might fit what the Sharks are looking for a little bit more, Matthew Schaefer, either way, you’re going to be walking away with a good player. What is it about Schaefer that in your opinion makes him the best fit for the Sharks? Well, the Sharks are missing that like super high-end puck moving offensive defenseman in their pipeline. And while we would prefer a right-handed defenseman because the Sharks don’t really have a ton of high-end right-handed defenseman in their prospect pool, Schaefer, who was left-handed, uh he’s still really good at hockey. And the big knock with Schaefer is just the injury, right? Uh he started the season with Mono, missed a couple games there, came back, was excellent, then he got hurt at World Juniors where he broke his collar bone, and then we have didn’t get to see him the rest of the season. So, there is that with Schaefer of this like can he stay healthy? And I’m not too worried about a collar bone. it break. I would rather take that over blowing out your knee or like a soft tissue like the bones will heal. But with Schaefer, his ability to play a full 200 foot game. Um create offensively in the you know the zone and be that offensive driver that the Sharks do need from the blue line as well as shut things down defensively. And the kid is so young. He’s two weeks away from being in the 2026 draft. So you think about the runway with him of just how much he still has to grow and that’s I think is what’s so appetizing about Schaefer just because of what he would do on the blue especially when you consider Sam Dickinson who the Sharks drafted 11th overall in last year’s draft right it would really give you a nice pairing or combo where you can have one of those guys on the ice for 45 minutes throughout the game and that’s what most good teams do especially when you get to playoff hockey right is you have to have these guys who can play both side, you know, play well in their own zone, but also drive offense as well. And a Schaefer Dickinson combo would be a a big step for the Sharks. How about, you know, you guys are guaranteed one of the top three picks. Where do the other top two players potentially fit in with San Jose? If Schaefer isn’t the guy, I I think Misa is going to be uh it’s either going to be Schaefer or Misa depending. If the Blackhawks win the draft, I wouldn’t be surprised if they lean Misa to try to give uh Connor Baddard that friend, right? You see with the Sharks, you have M Celebrity and Will Smith. It’s like you can kind of see where they’re going with that, right? You know that you think back to the old Blackhawks uh with Patrick Kane and like and Jonath and the Blackhawks have drafted a lot of defenseman highly over the past couple seasons. But Michael Misa um may not as you know high-end as a Bard or Celery but kind of in that tier right below and well worthy of being the number one overall pick in this year’s draft. Uh just dominated in the OHL this season and it sounds like he he is expected to go to college next year which I think would be a really good step for him to kind of play against some older tougher competition. but his ability to play again kind of play that full 200 foot game, drive offense as well, which is what you’re doing. And I think he’s going to be a center in the NHL. Uh all those things would make Schaefer a very very worthy uh number one player. The draft starts at number three though because uh there’s just it kind of feels like Schaefer uh Misa’s one two like however you want to put them but then I think it really opens up and you have guys like Porter Martone who kind of piss fists up power forward uh James Hagens who was kind of the consensus number one heading into the draft didn’t have the year at Boston College that you’d maybe hope for or expect um you have Anton Frenell, Victor Ecklan like there’s it really opens up after these top two picks. Um, but if you’re if you are the Sharks and you do get that third pick, I would probably lean Porter Martone because I think he gives you a little bit something different in the Sharks uh pipeline. But I like you could talk me into any of those guys I just named at number four and depending on the day I could, you know, or number three, sorry, excuse me, depending on the day I could probably be swayed into it. So all those guys like all have a legitimate argument, I think, to be the third pick in the draft. And and where do you think like there’s a big drop off? How many players are there in that that second tier that you mentioned? I think it’s it’s those and I think there’s maybe a little bit of a jump down there. But then when you start to kind of get to that mid teens 20, it really falls this year and that’s where I think you saw teams much more willing to trade first or first round picks this year because the draft isn’t as deep. Um, now I do think there’s another sweet spot from everyone I’ve talked to kind of that second third round where there’s going to be a plethora of players in their range, but there isn’t the like, oh, could this guy be the next like Wyatt Johnson or could this guy be the next like Logan St. I think there’s just going to be a lot of like really solid players who fit needs. kind of more of a meat and potatoes type of of of draft from the from you know what I’ve studied and what I’ve read and what I the people I’ve talked to is very much a meat and potatoes fill some needs type of draft and you kind of keep chugging along. Where do you think the Sharks stand in their rebuild now? I mean they’ve been accumulating picks as you mentioned. What are the expectations for this year and what are they trying to accomplish? I think this year is this last season was kind of you’re hoping the end of the like basement phase where you’re just like the bottom picking first in the draft or like one of those those teams, right? And I like to call it unlocked Sharks. You enter the fun and frisky phase where you’re a little bit more competitive, right? You’re you’re not like maybe you’re in the mix for a playoff spot until, you know, January, February where like you kind of still see yourself like in the hunt type of graphics, right? Uh but like we still know this team has has a long way to go and this team was much more competitive. They you know I think they lost like they were 30 games that they were either a onegoal or an empty netter away from kind time and I think you’re going to start to see a lot of those losses turned into wins. So I think for the Sharks if you look at what your Southern rivals did the Anaheim Ducks right where they were picking third and then now they’re picking like eighth or ninth and I think that’s kind of the path for the Sharks this year. They have uh right a top three pick. They have $40 million of cap space. They have to spend at least $20 million just to hit that cap floor. So I do think it’s going to be Mike Greer trying to plug some holes here and just to get this team to be just uh more competent and uh you you hope with Ascrov who’s been playing very well in the AHL playoffs. next year he kind of comes in and just gives you that a much more solidified goalending performance especially compared to what we saw after the short trade to Blackwood uh where you had Alexander Gorggv and VTC Vanichek and a whole plethora of guys just kind of rotating in just some stability on the back end. I think that’ll go a long way as well as seeing Min Cbrini and Will Smith and both jumping into year two and whoever else the Sharks kind of add in free agency. So, I’m not expecting like a maybe a Canadians type of run where you know you go from picking a top five to making the playoffs, but again, just that fun and frisky phase where you’re you’re kind of you’re in it for a little bit longer. Maybe you’re not selling everything that isn’t nailed down at the trade deadline and kind of starting to look look continue to look ahead. All right. Well, looking forward to the fun and frisky phase. Uh JD, why don’t you tell our viewers and our listeners where they could find the podcast and where they could find you on social media? Of course, you can find Locked on Sharks wherever you listen to podcasts, including this one, uh, as well as on YouTube. Uh, I’ll be back tomorrow on this same channel to talk with Seth. Uh, 100% a Cam Fowler joke will be made. That is a guaranteed. Uh, or of course you can find me uh on Twitter and Blue Sky at my fry hole. All right, JD. Thanks so much. Thanks, Gil. Today’s episode is brought to you by Upwork. Scaling your business requires the right expertise at the right time. With Upwork, you can find specialized freelancers in marketing, development, design, and more. Experts ready to help take your business to the next level. Upwork gives businesses flexibility by connecting them with top freelance talent across multiple industries, including IT, AI, web development, and marketing. Whether you need an extra hand for a project or a long-term partner, Upwork makes hiring simple and affordable. If you need help with a marketing campaign, Upwork can connect you with a freelance expert who delivered incredible results. Posting a job is free and simple. Within a day, you’ll get multiple qualified candidates to choose from. So, visit upwork.com right now and post your job for free. 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The NHL Draft lottery is tonight and the San Jose Sharks have the best chance of earning the first overall pick again this season.
J.D. Young of Locked On Sharks joins us to discuss the lottery, the top prospects in this year’s draft and where the Sharks are in their rebuild right now. What will it take for the Sharks to take another step forward next season?
All this and more on today’s Locked On NHL Podcast with Gil Martin.
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