Fansided

2018 NHL Draft: Report card grades for every team

By Jeremy Lambert

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: The San Jose Sharks draft Ryan Merkley in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: The San Jose Sharks draft Ryan Merkley in the first round of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

San Jose Sharks – C

First Round Pick: Ryan Merkley (D) (21)

If we were going simply by what we see on the ice, Ryan Merkley would have been a lottery pick and potentially a top 10 player. But character issues caused him to slide to 21st and right to the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are a team with a winning culture who aren’t afraid to take character risks. You don’t acquire and re-sign Evander Kane unless you trust him and the guys you surround him with to keep him on the straight and narrow. They’re banking on their atmosphere to reign in Merkley off the ice so he can reach his full potential on the ice. If he matures like you would expect most teenagers to, this could be a fantastic pick for San Jose. But if he doesn’t show up to work, this becomes a gigantic miss. There doesn’t seem to be much middle ground here.

Other Notable Picks: Linus Karlsson (C) (87)

Headline: The Sharks get Karlsson. Misleading? Yes. True? More true than the “Max Pacioretty to the Sharks” headline that was floating around Saturday afternoon. The Sharks were without a second round pick thanks to the, close your eyes San Jose fans, trade for Roman Polak and Nick Spaling. Karlsson is a good get for the Sharks in the third round. He has big time offensive capabilities.

This is a weird draft for San Jose. I have to dock points for the Polak/Spaling trade because it cost them a second-round pick. And the Merkley selection could backfire in a big way. They also had a deal for Pacioretty…until they didn’t.

An incomplete feels more appropriate.

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