Loading ...The San Jose Sharks used six picks in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft to select four forwards and three defenseman. With a prospect pool that is lacking in talent and depth, the Sharks did well to utilize all the picks and at the very least stockpile more players in the system.
Though the team didn't make any major trades as they did last season, it was a successful draft day for the Sharks. The statements made by GM Doug Wilson and Director of Scouting Tim Burke indicate that the Sharks drafted many of the players they wanted to, where they wanted to.
The Sharks selected Czech Republic native Tomas Hertl with their first pick which was 17th overall. Hertl is a left-handed center who played well in the World Juniors for the Czech Republic team. Hertl scored 12 goals and 25 points in 38 games in the top Czech league overseas. No one wore a bigger smile after being drafted than Hertl.
With their second pick, the Sharks went a little unconventional. Forward Chris Tierney was ranked much lower on virtually all scouting reports but the Sharks saw enough in him to take him at 55th overall. Tierney spent the 2012 season in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the London Knights, where he posted 11 goals and 34 points in 65 games.
The Sharks then saw an opportunity to select someone they had been keeping tabs on for a few years. Not owning a third or a fourth round pick the Sharks made a deal to get the Chicago Blackhawks' fourth round selection in exchange for one of the Sharks' two seventh round picks and a fourth round pick in the 2013 draft.
Christophe Lalancette played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and in his follow-up interview, after being selected 109th overall, said that the Sharks had been in contact with him for a few years. Lalancette scored 16 goals and 47 points in 63 games.
Daniel O'Regan is the son of a former hockey player and was the Sharks' fifth round selection with the 138th pick. O'Regan spent his senior year at St. Sebastian High School and scored 21 goals and 56 points in 27 games.
In the sixth round, the Sharks selected defenseman Clifford Watson from the Sioux City Musketeers in the United States Hockey League (USHL). Watson, the 168th overall pick is regarded as a stay-at-home defenseman and scored eight points in 58 games last season.
The final draft pick for the Sharks was with the 198th overall pick, where they again went for a defenseman. This time they went with a potential offensive defenseman in Joakim Ryan, who just finished a collegiate season with Cornell. Ryan scored seven goals and had 17 points in 34 games this past season.
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