Tuesday, July 25, 2017

31 Teams in 31 Days - San Jose Sharks

Small group of OHL'ers for the Sharks who have used a few late rounders of late on players from the league.

1. Sasha Chmelevski - Ottawa 67's
Chmelevski was one of the year's most disappointing prospects for me. Loved what he brought to the table offensively as a rookie (in limited action) in 2015/16 and had very high hopes for him coming into the year (as a potential top 2 round pick). But it was not a strong year for his development and as such he fell pretty heavily in the draft. He's definitely a talented offensive player. Has a great shot and release. Great agility and the potential to be a very good skater if he can get stronger. Very skilled with the puck and can make defenders miss. But consistency was a major issue, especially when it comes to his play away from the puck. Needs to be fully engaged and willing to battle in traffic to make plays. The coaching staff in Ottawa was also visibly frustrated with him, as his ice time fluctuated in addition to a few media call outs. Ultimately, mind set is going to be a big factor when it comes to Chmelevski improving. Ottawa has a new coaching staff in place for next year (Andre Tourigny) and we'll see how they're able to motivate him. The 67's have a very young, but talented team. They're probably another year away from a breakout, so if Chmelevski can get himself to the point per game mark next year and then breakout massively in 2018/19, that would be ideal.

2. Mark Shoemaker - North Bay Battalion
Truthfully, didn't see what the Sharks saw in Shoemaker to draft him in 2016 and this past year provided more evidence to that. Look, Shoemaker has good size and he has some decent mobility, but the rest of his game would classify as average. If he's going to make it at the next level, he's going to need to develop into a dominant stay at home defender at the OHL level and that just hasn't happened yet. Still needs to play more aggressively in his own end. His reads and understanding of defensive positioning still requires work. Gets beat too much one on one right now. Makes a decent first pass, but again, this area of his game is limited. Shoemaker will return to the OHL, this time with a new team as he's been dealt to the Guelph Storm. In Guelph, they'll be looking for him to be that dominant stay at home defender in their top 4. Offensive statistics won't mean much, but if he's able to play consistently in Guelph's top 4 and help them make the playoffs, he'll put himself in a better position to earn a contract. That said, he's probably a long shot at this point. 

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