Prospect Info: San Jose Sharks #9 Prospect

[Doctor Soraluce]

Hataaka reminds me of Jeff Norton.

Norton was known more as an offensive defenseman than defensive in his prime.

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

It’s kind of wild that Melnichuk hasn’t gone yet. He was voted like number 4 last year.

I'm betting this list will look drastically different by the end of the season and maybe even by the mid point. I think Melnichuk is still adapting to NA and NA ice. He's going to have the Cuda #1 job all to himself so he'll either make a lot of progress or completely bomb out.

 

[Jwec]

Hatakka is overrated here. I am not saying that he wouldn't have NHL upside but to me it does not seem likely. As a Finn I would love to see some Finnish players on Sharks but it does not seem that Hatakka is close to NHL right now. But he has a chance but he is not our third best d-prospect or if he is , we have larger problems to have. One thing to note that Finnish media is also not writing any articles about him.

 

[Hodge]

Hatakka is overrated here. I am not saying that he wouldn't have NHL upside but to me it does not seem likely. As a Finn I would love to see some Finnish players on Sharks but it does not seem that Hatakka is close to NHL right now. But he has a chance but he is not our third best d-prospect or if he is , we have larger problems to have. One thing to note that Finnish media is also not writing any articles about him.

Our defense prospect pool is atrocious. Not a single one has top pair or arguably even top four potential and it wouldn't surprise me if none of them make it to 100 NHL games. Hatakka ranking 3rd is more an indictment of our defensive prospects as a whole than an endorsement of his potential. He'll likely be a depth guy if he makes it but at this point in the rankings that's still on par with or better than everyone else remaining.

 

[Kcoyote3]

Our defense prospect pool is atrocious. Not a single one has top pair or arguably even top four potential and it wouldn't surprise me if none of them make it to 100 NHL games. Hatakka ranking 3rd is more an indictment of our defensive prospects as a whole than an endorsement of his potential. He'll likely be a depth guy if he makes it but at this point in the rankings that's still on par with or better than everyone else remaining.

Kniazev has top 4 potential

 

[Hodge]

Kniazev has top 4 potential

Maybe. Sheng had an interview with a NHL scout on his website the other day who sees Kniazev as more of a 5th/6th defenseman. We'll see how he does in the AHL since Merkley also looked like he had top 4 potential before turning pro (not writing him off either but this is pretty much a make or break season for Merks).

 

[hohosaregood]

Our defense prospect pool is atrocious. Not a single one has top pair or arguably even top four potential and it wouldn't surprise me if none of them make it to 100 NHL games. Hatakka ranking 3rd is more an indictment of our defensive prospects as a whole than an endorsement of his potential. He'll likely be a depth guy if he makes it but at this point in the rankings that's still on par with or better than everyone else remaining.

We generally convert on defensemen from nowhere on a pretty regular basis so I'm not too worried about it. Hatakka seems like he'll be the next Demelo/Braun/Demers for us. Also, we're locked in on like 5 of 7 NHL spots for the next 4 years so this is more of a future problem that we can kinda shovel down the road.

 

[Hodge]

We generally convert on defensemen from nowhere on a pretty regular basis so I'm not too worried about it. Hatakka seems like he'll be the next Demelo/Braun/Demers for us. Also, we're locked in on like 5 of 7 NHL spots for the next 4 years so this is more of a future problem that we can kinda shovel down the road.

True. I voted Hatakka here since he's 2 or 3 years younger but I could see someone like Pasichnuk taking a big step and solidifying a NHL role. We desperately need a Clarke or Drysdale type prospect in one of the new few drafts though.

 

[tealzamboni]

We generally convert on defensemen from nowhere on a pretty regular basis so I'm not too worried about it. Hatakka seems like he'll be the next Demelo/Braun/Demers for us. Also, we're locked in on like 5 of 7 NHL spots for the next 4 years so this is more of a future problem that we can kinda shovel down the road.

- THAT'S WHAT DOUG SAID