Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.
Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith aren’t the only youngsters that the Sharks are building around.
Last year, a number of Sharks, 25-and-under, took on larger roles on the rebuilding squad.
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William Eklund and Fabian Zetterlund starred, while Henry Thrun won media-voted Sharks’ Rookie of the Year.
Shakir Mukhamadullin, Thomas Bordeleau, Danil Gushchin and Klim Kostin also showed promise.
An NHL scout, not with the Sharks, shared his thoughts to San Jose Hockey Now on these players’ performances last season, and what he’s looking for from them during the 2024-25 season.
William Eklund
San Jose Sharks
It was an up-and-down first full season for the 2021 No. 7 pick, but it ended on a high note.
The 5-foot-11 winger put up six goals and nine assists in his last 14 games, in a sign of things to come for him.
“I felt like he really came into his own,” the scout said of Eklund’s season. “You could really see the player he was going to become, and the skill-set and everything.”
What’s Eklund’s next step?
“Getting stronger and just trying to be harder on the puck, which I thought he certainly showed to me [last] year and was noticeable [in] his confidence in his playmaking over the course of the year,” the scout said. “But I also thought that he'd still get bumped off of pucks. He was working harder to hang onto them. I thought he was stronger on them, [so] just to continue to build on that.”
Eklund has a smaller frame, but this scout expects a lot out of him, holding a shorter forward as a shining example for the young Swede.
“Just because you're not big doesn't mean you can't be strong on the puck. There are a lot of guys, you look at Brad Marchand in his prime, he's always been really, really, really hard to knock off the puck,” the scout said of the 5-foot-9 future Hall of Famer.
This scout also likes Eklund’s defensive conscience.
“His B-game has been kind of coming around too, in terms of he's not just strictly an offensively-gifted player that doesn't compete or work, that could care less about defense,” the scout said. “He's got those areas to improve as well, but he's shown buy-in in that regard.”
So what does this scout see as Eklund’s ceiling?
“I see him as a second-line winger,” he said. “You really like him as a great, really good second-line player.
“He's on a really good path right now, and confidence should be high. Considering where he was a couple years ago from when he was drafted, he's taken some major steps here.”
Fabian Zetterlund
Zetterlund broke out last year, leading the Sharks with 24 goals.
“I loved his ability to shoot the puck, like his motor, and how hard he works,” the scout said. “I think confidence is key for him.”
This scout is wondering how Zetterlund will adjust to being on an improving team. Celebrini and Smith will get more of the spotlight, while veteran free agent sniper Tyler Toffoli will become the Sharks’ go-to guy.
“It'll be really interesting to see how he does moving forward," the scout said. "Can you continue to build or is he going to get passed up by younger players that need those situations, those roles? Is he going to be first-unit power play or second-unit power play? Is he going to be playing a top-six role, or is he going to be in a third-line role?”
This is an age-old story. Players produce when they have more opportunity. There’s more opportunity on a bad team.
“Was it a bit of an outlier because he was on a bad team?” the scout asked. “You see it all the time, even if you're a really good player, like if you get taken off the first power play and now you're not there anymore, your production is gonna fall off. How does that affect you, mentally?”
So does Zetterlund have staying power?
“It's hard to find guys that can score goals and shoot the puck like he can,” the scout said. “I have him right now as a second-line right winger.”
For now.
Klim Kostin
The 2017 St. Louis Blues’ first-round pick has had a few stops and starts in his career, but he found some footing with the Sharks after he came over last trade deadline for Radim Simek, scoring five goals and five assists in 19 games.
The 6-foot-4 winger also exhibited a power game, which also impressed this scout.
“I thought it was a great, great move for them," the scout said. "You're looking at a big, powerful young winger that when he's engaged and playing the way he's capable of, it’s hard to find guys with size, some toughness, scoring ability. He has tools that translate well. I love the swing.”
That’s the big question for Kostin. Will he be locked in every night?
“It's just for him,” the scout said, “it's always been consistency and buy-in.”
If Kostin hits?
“I think third line is exactly where he belongs I think with the Sharks, it's going to be similar to what Edmonton got out of him, you give this guy the opportunity, he could score you 20 goals and be hard to play against,” the scout said.
Thomas Bordeleau/Danil Gushchin
This scout put both smallish 2020 draft forwards in the same bucket.
Bordeleau has had four NHL stints over three years, the best being the last one. The 5-foot-10 forward closed the season with five goals and four assists in 21 games, also displaying much-improved puck management.
The scout agreed: “I thought he [improved last year] too.”
That said?
“I've never really been a huge fan of the player,” the scout said. “He's got talent, no question about it, I just have a hard time, I look at their lineup right now, where does he fit? Where does he play?”
Can the waiver-exempt Bordeleau seize a top-nine role?
“Bordeleau needs to be in an offensive situation.”
The scout actually likes 5-foot-8 Gushchin more.
“I see him a little bit differently [than Bordeleau], I think he's more competitive on the puck, working to win pucks back, compete level,” the scout said.
But same question.
“But also, where does this guy fit in your line-up?” the scout asked. “That wave of prospects that have been playing with the Barracuda, aside from Eklund, Mukhamadullin, seems like most are probably gonna find opportunities elsewhere. I just don't see where they fit with the high-end players.”
Henry Thrun
Thrun was second among Sharks defensemen, after Mario Ferraro, playing 20 minutes a night.
But this scout thinks that might have had more to do with San Jose’s lack of defensive depth.
“I don't know if he has a real standout quality about him, like he's a great skater or he's very skilled or he's a shutdown presence or tough and very physical,” the scout remarked. “What is his identity going to be? What's his calling card?”
This scout thought that Thrun was playing over his head a bit last year.
“I have him as a bottom-pairing ceiling,” the scout said. “I thought he showed a little bit of growth in terms of comfortability and confidence, but I have him as more of a No. 6 or 7 right now. Just how much room for growth is there?”
The scout added: “It was just his first year. [But] he is already 23 years old. So we're not talking about like a 19 or 20-year-old that. I know D do take, typically, longer to develop.”
“Next year, just cleaning up the edges a little bit in terms of his puck play and some of the decision-making,” the scout said, of what Thrun can do to prove him wrong. “It'll be interesting to see if he can take a little bit more responsibility. We'll see how he performs.”
Shakir Mukhamadullin
Mukhamadullin made his NHL debut last year, appearing in three games.
This scout was really impressed by the 6-foot-4 blueliner’s AHL All-Star campaign.
“I thought his decision-making was a lot cleaner, a lot better with the puck [last year]," the scout said. "I thought the way he closed plays off defensively really improved. The offensive confidence, I thought, really took off as well, at least at the AHL level. [He did it] without overexerting himself, doing it at the right times. If he can put on some weight, some muscle to handle those bigger bodies down low, I think it'll be huge for him, because he's got everything else.”
This scout expects Mukhamadullin to be a top-four NHL defenseman.
“I think he's going to be a big, mobile minute-crunching guy that can play 23, 24 minutes night, consistently, solidly, all situations, and be a real, real asset,” the scout said. “He's more probably a second power play guy on a good team.”