The San Jose Sharks’ 2025 NHL Draft haul has fans buzzing with excitement. Did the team strike gold with their selections?
JD Young breaks down the Sharks’ draft grades from top hockey analysts, exploring why experts are raving about San Jose’s picks. From Michael Misa’s explosive potential at #2 overall to Joshua Ravensbergen’s promise as a future starting goalie, the Sharks’ draft class is drawing high praise. Young examines how these prospects fit into San Jose’s rebuilding plans and their potential impact on the team’s future.
The episode dives into the Sharks’ draft strategy, weighing the decision to prioritize goaltending depth over defensive prospects. Young also highlights intriguing selections like 6’6″ mobile defenseman Simon Wang and two-way center Cole McKinney. With a focus on long-term potential, the discussion explores how San Jose’s draft choices could reshape the team’s roster in the coming years.
Tune in to hear why analysts believe the Sharks may have landed three of the NHL’s top under-21 forwards and how this draft class could accelerate San Jose’s return to contention.
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19 Comments
Crystal ball- projected lines in 3 years minus McKenna or anyone else in the next draft year.
It’s pronounced “WONG”
Sharks are drafting players they think want to do anything to improve, get ready for rhe NHL.
JD is going to get hammered for saying "Wang" wrong. It's pronouced like "bong", not "bang".
Who would you rank higher during their draft year, Misa or Will Smith?
I was surprised they took Wang over Fiddler too, but they went for the player they like better. Both players are late birthdays who wouldn’t be NHL regulars until 2030, so the right vs left need
the team has now doesn’t matter so much.
The McKinney pick as a bottom-6 checking center is welcome and a great pick at #53. The Sharks will be a serious playoff team by the time he’s NHL ready and they need guys like that.
As much as I was hoping for Schaefer (not nearly as many top prospect D-men as Forwards… in the Shark's system), his sample size is small, so there is risk.
Misa is a fairly safe commodity. He was exceptional status and we have a large sample size. He has a good shot (wrist and snap in a lot of clips) but his hockey sense and extremely good passing really impresses. We could easily have the best player from the draft. Almost certainly the best forward.
Misa and McKinney were "A" picks. Wang and Ravensbergen are developmental projects that could 4-5 years to reach the NHL. They could hit big or bust. Overall grade B.
I feel about as mad this draft for Grier not taking Spence or Fiddler at 33, as I did 2 yrs ago when they took Haltunnen over Andrew Cristall (which feels like a mistake now, looking at their stats.. and felt like a mistake at the time too)
But.. what do I know.. I just value skill over size..
..so, I know I’m dumb..
we should definitely keep taking size over skill.. Mike Rathje proved that to be a good draft strategy right?
(Not mad at 3 outta the first 4 picks.. just the 33rd pick really. So, it’s all good.
—> I still trust in GMMG… buut, he’s starting to make me stress out just a little) lol
I mean.. it’s a good strategy to ice 9 left-handed D per night, right..
…. Right?
Oh wait.. it’s not?!
Oh shit, we’re screwed! hahaha
Sharks had the 2nd pick not the first…… they took the best player available….. The bitching is over Simon Wang…. GMMG is allowed to swing for upside…..Sometimes you have to take calculated risk to improve your team….Ravensberger was a home run…. Top goalie in the draft at 30 is great 👍….. I bet the Oilers wish they had a Ravensberger in the finals ( After he’s developed)….. Goalies are undervalued until you need one….. They can be the X factor in the playoffs.
It was a draft which went against type. I'd been under the impression that GMMG had more urgency to get good. Wang and Ravensbergen are 5-6 years away. Fiddler is perhaps 3-4. Spence similar. Both fill positions of expected greater need.
But I'm not averse to waiting a bit longer if there's upside. Given the hard to predict nature of goalies, having another high end goalie prospect is reasonable. I'll say this on Steven Ellis, he had several d-men available ahead of Wang, who he'd ranked 50. Psenicka (34), Limatov (42), Rombach (46), Fiddler (26).
McKinney was a 40's pick they got in the 50's. Misa was the obvious choice, but its still a great pick.
Surprised how highly rated these sites were on the Sharks draft, though the Misa pick is going to make any draft pretty good.
People whining about drafting defensemen and what hand they are just don't get it. You can't sit around and wait 4 or 5 years to see if they pan out and hope they don't hinder the rebuild. Forwards take less time to develop and can be more surefire picks. Besides, there's plenty of examples of d-men drafted in later rounds panning out as well as undrafted guys. I've always thought that defense is where they should spend their cap space surplus. Get established guys for the job to bring along a few chosen young deserving guys.
Edit: Doug did plenty of overdrafting of d-men in the first round and it always backfired. Especially chasing a right-handed d-man. His best moves were trading for and or signing free agents to fill those spots. Right side defensemen are the hardest to find because those dudes are left handed in real life, which is only 10% of the population.
JD, One of the reasons so many of your fans are disappointed in the draft is that you hyped Fiddler and Brzustewicz. Seems strange that you're not disappointed too. You weren't pounding the table for Wang and Ravensbergen.
I wonder if the fact that the Sharks already have a lot of prospects close to graduating factored into their decisions to take Ravensberger and Wang. Since they are more long-term prospects that could help keep the farm strong as some of these guys start becoming regular NHLers.
At a minimum they got Misa. If the draft didn’t really have a lot of good prospects, getting a top goalie and taking a chance on a d man with high risk and reward sounds good to me. And a bottom 6 c man. Sounds great
Thanks jd
Will all his teammates give him the nickname “Wanger” ??
Brzustewicz 🙁 great draft otherwise!
I think the Sharks not screwing up the second overall pick set this draft grade to an A. I was shocked when they passed up Fiddler for a goalie but tanking BPA will do that. I wanted them to draft Wang at 53 but if they thought he would not last that long I am good with them taking him at 33. I am sad we did not get Fiddler but I liked what they did in the first four picks. I really did not like the Mutryn, Sharp or Heise picks but they are late round picks in a weak draft year. Overall I would give the Sharks an A- grade.