{"id":34012,"date":"2018-08-09T08:00:41","date_gmt":"2018-08-09T12:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=34012"},"modified":"2018-08-08T21:11:34","modified_gmt":"2018-08-09T01:11:34","slug":"san-jose-sharks-prospects","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2018\/08\/09\/san-jose-sharks-prospects\/","title":{"rendered":"TSP: Top San Jose Sharks Prospects"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2018 Top Shelf Prospects series.\u00a0 As we go through the Summer of 2018 LWOH will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. We will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and\u00a0you can find all the articles here<\/a>.\u00a0 Since we had an\u00a0extensive NHL Draft preview<\/a>, we will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2018 draft, as there have been no games since then, and our reports on them will not have changed.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"What we will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year\u2019s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2018-19 roster of the NHL team in question. We will also bring you one sleeper pick \u2013 a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who we pick as our dark horse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn\u2019t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoff games) or is 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and we may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks Prospects<\/h1>\n

For the first time in what seemed like forever, the\u00a0San Jose Sharks<\/a>\u00a0entered a season without Patrick Marleau<\/a><\/strong>. The long-time team leader left as a free agent in the 2017 off-season. The year was a challenge with Brent Burns<\/a><\/strong> struggling early in the year to find his scoring touch and\u00a0Joe Thornton<\/a><\/strong> facing a long-term injury but the Sharks continued to be competitive. Logan Couture<\/a><\/strong> had a breakthrough year with 34 goals. Late-season addition<\/a>, Evander Kane<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>seemed to spark the team and the Sharks made the playoffs. They swept the Anaheim Ducks<\/a> in the first round, before falling to the Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> in round two.<\/p>\n

This off-season has seen the Sharks ink Kane, Couture and Tomas Hertl<\/a><\/strong> to new long-term contracts. They also re-upped Thornton for another year. The moves have been about keeping the team together rather than adding additional impact pieces. The Sharks will have to look to their prospects and hope someone emerges from the group.<\/p>\n

2018 NHL Draft\u00a0Picks:\u00a0Ryan Merkley<\/strong><\/a>,\u00a0Linus Karlsson<\/strong>,\u00a0Jasper Weatherby<\/strong>,\u00a0Zachary Emond<\/strong>,\u00a0John Leonard
\n<\/strong>Graduations: Timo Meier<\/a><\/strong>, Joakim Ryan<\/a><\/strong>, Marcus Sorensen<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Top Prospect: Ryan Merkley<\/h1>\n

The Sharks drafted Merkley with the 21st overall pick in this year\u2019s NHL draft. Prior to the draft, we did an in-depth scouting report on Merkley. As no games have been played since that report; we will not repeat it. You can\u00a0check out the report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

#2 Prospect: Rudolfs\u00a0Balcers<\/h2>\n

Left Wing — shoots Left
\nBorn April\u00a08th, 1997 —\u00a0Liepaja, Latvia
\nHeight 5’11” — Weight 173 lbs\u00a0[180 cm\/78 kg]
\nDrafted by\u00a0the San Jose Sharks in the 5th round, #142\u00a0overall, at the\u00a02015 NHL Draft<\/p>\n