It was a fight between the Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks for this top spot, but the Sharks’ late-August acquisition of Yaraslov Askarov from the Nashville Predators put them over the top. When you add a world-class goalie prospect to a prospect pool that already makes other teams weep, there’s nowhere to go but first.
It’s an embarrassment of riches for the Sharks, with Askarov, Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Sam Dickinson, and Quentin Musty waiting to take their place on the NHL roster. And that’s just the top five. If we were to talk about all of the Sharks’ quality prospects, including Igor Chernyshov, Luca Cagnoni and Filip Bystedt, and break down their strengths, we’d be here all day. It’s one of the best prospect pools, if not the best, in recent memory. Will that translate to NHL success? Too many factors are at play to know for sure. What we do know is that having arguably the best goalie prospect and best skater prospect sets them up to make a good run at a strong future.