The Sharks have been wheeling and dealing ahead of their draft on Friday and Saturday, with the latest — and biggest — move coming Thursday when general manager Mike Grier moved up from No. 14 to No. 11 in the first round.
The Sharks’ second first-round pick has been under-discussed this offseason — Macklin Celebrini discourse has obviously and justifiably dominated the days since the Sharks landed the No. 1 overall pick — but the fact remains that San Jose should add two cornerstone players on Friday.
Moving up to No. 11 only increases the likelihood that the Sharks can fulfill that mandate.
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There are two names to watch now that the Sharks are at No. 11:
The first is Cole Eiserman, a 17-year-old wing who played with Celebrini at prep powerhouse Shattuck-St. Mary’s and poured in nine goals in 18 goals in 14 games for the U.S. at the World Junior Championships.
Eiserman is a sniper of the highest order who can throw his 200 pounds around a bit, too. He’s set to go to Boston University next season, where there was a suggestion he could play with Celebrini.
Why not just skip ahead and have them play in San Jose?
Eiserman would be a dynamite pick in what is an impressive draft class.
But the prospect I am hoping falls to the Sharks at No. 11 is Calgary Hitmen defenseman Carter Yakemchuk.
This guy is a one-of-one from the blue line, playing a heavy-metal brand of hockey.
Yakemchuk is big at 6-foot-3, and he hits big, shoots big and looks to break ankles on every single shift. Seriously, you’ve never seen a defenseman with these kinds of dangles (and I know you watched Brent Burns and Erik Karlsson).
It’d be unfair to call Yakemchuk a two-way star, but it’s hard to imagine him not being a power-play ace for a decade to come, as well as an easy crowd favorite.
Seriously, this guy plays like he learned hockey from a video game. He’s nothing if not entertaining.
(Remember when the Sharks were entertaining?)
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When the Sharks’ second pick sat at No. 14, I was concerned they would not be able to select either of these players — my two draft crushes.
Now that they’re at No. 11, they’re almost assured to be able to take at least one. And even if they don’t, they should land someone good — this class is at least 12 impact players deep.
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of acquiring Barclay Goodrow, I saw what the Sharks were going for with that move. The other moves (too many to list here) make all the sense in the world for this team.
And I fully expect them to come out of Friday’s first round with two game-changers (one of which, in Celebrini, is a franchise-changer).
It’s a critical offseason for the Sharks. The tear-down is done, and the rebuild is beginning. They need to set the foundation for this team that can last decades.
And it looks to me as if Greir is doing just that. He’s turned in an A+ offseason before free agency even starts.