Going to try and keep it short.

My personal favourties:

Bordeleau (I mean he must be nearly all of ours) - This guy could be something really special for us. I'm excited for his much deserved world juniors.

Leonard - I honestly think next year we could see huge improvements. The kid keeps working hard and keeps growing.

Gushchin - Boom or bust = lets hope we see the boom

Knyzhov - I love watching him. He may not be perfect but for a guy coming out of no where; I already only recall bright moments not frustration in his showings.

Ferraro - Love watching, but on the flip side; I have both moments of frustration and fondness. Mainly due to not him being "bad" but I find hes either very noticeable or kinda just there. Still a huge piece for the future.

My personal "worries":

Merkley - Obviously a boom or bust pick from the start and right now he's "struggling" in the AHL in terms of the expectations were higher. No where near a bust yet but still a lot to like there (as a lot to dislike)

Ozzy - He'll either be a very good pro; or just a middling bottom 6 pro. I worry it may be the later.

Melnichuk - Goalies are like flipping a coin.

Chmelevski - Did we have too high expectations? Maybe..?

Dark Horses:

Hatakka, Kniazev, Coe, Robins all could become very good/ useful.

As for the 2021 Draft. Id really just wait and see where we draft to have opinions on who we should grab.
I personally (in no order like the rest of this comment) have: Beniers, Johnson, Lysell as my favourites with Clarke, Powers and Guenther nearby. Followed by Lambos and Hughes. However I personally have Raty as a "do not draft". I just really don't think hes going to be worth drafting in the first. I hope I'm wrong.

(Only talking about true prospects)

potential under the radar steals for me are: Raska, Hatakka, & Chekhovich.
- Absolutely loved how Raska played at the WJC, he is a hard nose player with a surprising amount of skill and has emerged as arguably the top player for Rimouski, he'll never be anything more than a 3rd liner at best, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a sharks jersey within 4 years.
- Also someone who impressed me at the WJC was Hatakka, who always has been a sturdy Defensive-D, but at the WJC he looked like he was 26 instead of 19, if Knyzhov can make the sharks with zero offense, Hatakka absolutely can too, wouldn't be surprised to see him fill out a young barracuda defense next year.
- Chekhovich is a riddle, he had 105 points in the Q during his D+2 year along with 2 short stints with the barracuda where he was the best player on the ice every night, and even was dominant in NHL pre-season games. Then when he finally came over to the Barracuda full time, he sputtered out into a frequently scratched player, which is bizarre considering he was lighting up the AHL when he was 19, but now at 21 nothing was there. He ended up going to the KHL to gain some confidence. After a full season on Torpedo, which could very well earn him the rookie of the year award, he has come back the San Jose again, but only has 1 point in 7 games. At this point Chekhovich will either be a star or never make it into the league.

players who have moved up: Kniazev & Bordeleau
- Kniazev was a polarizing player at the WJC but put up very respectable numbers for a D, still not the smartest at defending, but the compete and raw tools are there already. He has torn up the QMJHL being the 2nd highest P/GP among D in the Q, could surprise some people next year when he comes over to SJ.
- Bordeleau won NCAA rookie of the year as the 38th pick, that's all that needs to be said.

off the face of the earth: Spiridonov, Emond, Hamaliuk, & DeSimone
- Spiridonov was a popular prospect for a few people on this site, but he's 20 and doing virtually nothing, was the worst player on the ice for Russia at the WJC.
- After Emond had that amazing 18-19 campaign, it looked like he could be a super steal, instead he has followed that up with a mediocre performance in 19-20, and is having a disaster of a season in his overage year. His goalie coach and former goalie teammate got brought in by the Sharks after seeing them with Emond in Rouyn-Noranda, but now Emond is left in the dust with nothing to show.
- I'm going to call what is happening to Hamaliuk being Jeremy Roy'ed, because its the same thing. Hamaliuk dealt with an injury in his draft year and missed half of it, leading to him falling to to end of the 2nd, and then following that up with a case of mono in 19-20 that either hurt his performances or kept him out of the lineup completely, and now he has only gotten 2 games thing year because the team's games are constantly being postponed due to COVID, hard to be confident in a prospect who never plays any games.
- I remember when DeBoer said that DeSimone was 100% going to be an NHL player, and the first two years he looked like he would be on the Sharks in no time, now after a poor performance in 19-20, and a mediocre at best 20-21 so far, his chances of ever getting an NHL game are getting slim, I'd expect him to be gone after this season.

Need to turn it around: Merkley, and really Merkley.
- To be fair, Merkley has been very strong offensively, especially in more recent games, he is controlling the puck well at the point, and isn't struggling to beat pro players, his defensive game on the other hand, is not nearly as fixed as was touted in London. To say the least, Merkley has been solely responsible for 3 OT losses so far. He doesn't know where to be, he doesn't pressure forward enough, he doesn't skate, nothing is right. A defenseman who doesn't work hard enough can be fixed, a defenseman who doesn't have the technical skills can be fixed, but if that defenseman can't do either, or really anything, you are in a world of trouble, especially when that defenseman is suppose to be your top prospect

(I apologize for errors)

Extra stuff:

2021 draft: If SJ magically gets 1st or 2nd overall, I would really like to see Owen Power, I've watched him a lot this year since Michigan has been a big go to for me. He has all the tools to be a top pair D, and is relatively a safe bet to be at least a 4D, not to mention sharks could use some upgrades in the defensive prospect pool.



Watching him with the Barracuda, there is nothing really wrong with his play, he just isn't getting points, I found him producing lots of rushes, just bad puck luck and probably not a lot of confidence right now, but I'm not worried.

If I were to do a Ranking (For just the prospects), it would be:
1. Thomas Bordeleau
I don't think anyone expected this from him. Playing on a powerhouse like Michigan, with guys like Beniers, Johnson, Brisson, etc. and leading them in points is damn impressive. And even more than the points, he LOOKED like the best forward on the team. Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, but I truly believe his ceiling is Brayden Point-like, where everyone's gonna wonder how in the world this guy fell to the 2nd round.
2. Tristen Robins
He was one of the most polarizing prospects in last years draft. He was general ranked as a 2nd round guy, but I know a lot of people had him in the top 20 based on his upside, and right now he's looking more like the top 20 guy. He's been one of the best players in the WHL so far. I would have it: 1. Bedard, 2. Krebs, 3. Guenther and then Robins at 4, and that's quite the list to be part of.
3. Ryan Merkley
Not gonna lie, I've been really disappointed with him, as have most Sharks fans, I'm sure. He still has all the talent, but he really needs to make the leap to the NHL level. Right now a bunch of his peers in the 2018 draft (Ty Smith, K'andre Miller, Rasmus Sandin) are seemingly way ahead of him in terms of development, and he needs to close that gap.
4. Ozzy Wiesblatt
I think this guy has the highest floor of any of the Sharks prospects, other than Bordeleau. He's such a smooth player, and is fantastic in transition. That means even if he doesn't reach the first-line heights we all want him to, he wouldn't look out of place in a top 6 role if he's got skilled linemates around him. He's had a really good start in the WHL as well, and I suspect being the only threat on an otherwise terrible Raiders team is limiting what he can do.
5. Artemi Knyazev
I've always been higher on him than I think most Sharks fans are, but it's for good reason. His offensive upside is insane, he's a good skater, and his defensive game is making strides as well. It wouldn't be shocking at all for me if he overtakes Merkley as the defensive prospect everyone is talking about from the Sharks organization come next year.
6. Daniil Gushchin
Another potential steal from the 2020 draft. Gushchin is having an incredible year in the USHL, with his ppg being at the same level as potential 1st round picks like Sillinger, Lucis, Pastujov and Coronato (granted he is a year ahead of them based on experience). His two-way game was his selling point but he's got a lot of offensive ability. I think it's safe to project him as a scoring third-liner whose a solid defender, but he's very much capable of blowing past that projection.
7. Ivan Chekhovich
This is probably the most frustrating player for me. He tore it up in the QMJHL a couple of years ago, then had a truly awful season in the AHL. Then this year he has an incredible rookie year in the KHL, comparable to some of the best Russian players that have successfully transitioned to the NHL, and now that he's back in the AHL he's a ghost. I say stick him on the 1st line on the Barracuda for the rest of the year, just to figure out once and for all if he has it or not
8. Jonathan Dahlen
Not exactly sure where I should've put him, but I decided to have him lower on the list just because I can't really even call him a prospect anymore. He's ripped the Allsvenskan apart for 2 straight years now, and it's painfully obvious he's on a different level than anyone in that league. He just needs to show he can do the same thing over here, and IMO the time for him is running out. TBH if he doesn't make the Sharks out of camp next year I'm probably out on him.
9. Alexei Melnichuk
I was super excited to get this guy, as a lot of people believed he would be a 1st round pick had he gone the draft route. He was solid in the KHL earlier on in the season, but his run with the Barracuda has been underwhelming, to say the least. He still has a bunch of time to pick up his play, but until then I'm gonna keep him relatively low on this list.
10. Brandon Coe
I really wish we could've been able to see another season of him in the OHL. Being in the bottom 6 on the Barracuda at this point in his career is doing him no favors. I still like his potential though, he's a big guy who knows how to use his body for defensive positioning, and I could definitely see him as a defensive specialist in the bottom 6.

As for the draft, I have different crushes based on where we would pick. If we somehow get into the top 5 I would be banging the table for Dylan Guenther or William Eklund. If we're between 6-10 I would probably want Kent Johnson the most. If we just miss the playoffs and end up 11-15 I'd be ecstatic to land Cole Sillinger, and if we do end up making the playoffs and pick in the late teens/twenties I'd probably look for a guy like Mason McTavish or Zachary L'Heureux.