SHARKS 2023 NHL DRAFT RECAP: DAY 2
Jul 1, 2023The San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) concluded the 2023 NHL Draft making nine selections overall, including seven today, following the selections of Will Smith and Quentin Musty in Round One with the fourth overall and 26th overall selections, respectively, on June 28.
With their first selection on Day Two, the Sharks selected forward Kasper Halttunen from HIFK (Liiga) in the second round (36th overall). Halttunen appeared in 18 games for HIFK's U20 team in 2022-23, scoring at a goal-per-game pace en route to recording 24 points (18 goals, six assists). He also skated in 27 games for HIFK's Liiga team, tallying one assist, and played for Kiekoo-Vanttaa of Mestis - Finland's second-highest professional league - logging three points (one goal, two assists) in three games.
Internationally, Halttunen captained Finland at the 2023 Under-18 Men's World Championship this past April. In five games, he led Finland in scoring with 10 points (six goals, four assists). Halttunen played for Finland as an underager at the 2022 Under-18 Men's World Championship, logging five points (three goals, two assists) in six games. He was named a Top Three Player on Finland in both tournaments. The forward also helped Finland earn Bronze at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup with three points (one goal, two assists) in five games.
In 2021-22, the six-foot-three, 207-pound native of Helsinki, Finland recorded 38 points (24 goals, 14 assists) in 41 games for Jokerit's U20 team and was named the U20 SM-sarja Rookie of the Year.
San Jose then acquired the 71st overall selection from Carolina in exchange for the 94th and 100th selections.
With their newly acquired third-round pick, the Sharks selected forward Brandon Svoboda from the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL). Svoboda registered 26 points (16 goals, 10 assists) in 59 regular-season games and one assist in nine playoff games with the 2023 Clark Cup-winning Phantoms in 2022-23. He ranked fifth on Youngstown in regular-season goal scoring and was 10th among first-time draft-eligible USHL players.
In 2021-22, Svoboda recorded 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists) in 50 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite 16U team, along with one goal in three games for Youngstown. The six-foot-three, 205-pound native of Level Green, Pennsylvania is committed to play college hockey at Boston University (Hockey East).
With the 123rd selection, San Jose selected defenseman Luca Cagnoni from the Portland Winterhawks (WHL). Cagnoni recorded 64 points (17 goals, 47 assists) in 67 regular-season games and seven points (one goal, six assists) in nine playoff games. Cagnoni was the fourth-highest scoring skater on Portland, highest scoring defenseman, and led Portland with 27 assists on the power play. Among league defensemen, he ranked tied-sixth in goal scoring and had the 10th-most points. At the end of the season, Cagnoni was named to the WHL U.S. Division Second All-Star Team and competed in the 2023 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
In 2021-22, Cagnoni logged 36 points (nine goals, 27 assists) in 63 games and he was named the Winterhawks Rookie of the Year. The five-foot-nine, 180-pound native of Burnaby, British Columbia was ranked 35th on NHL Central Scouting's end-of-season North American Skaters ranking.
With its first selection of the fifth round, San Jose selected defenseman Axel Landen from HV71's U20 team (J20 Nationell) at 130th overall. Landen appeared in 44 games for HV71 in the J20 Nationell, posting 16 points (10 goals, six assists) along with 47 penalty minutes and a plus-16 rating. He led club defensemen in goal scoring and was the third-highest point-getting defenseman on the team. The defenseman chipped in three assists in four playoff games. In six J18 Region regular-season games with HV71's U18 team, Landen tallied five points (two goals, three assists) with the Swede adding two points (one goal, one assists) in four J18 Nationell playoff games.
Internationally, Landen served as an alternate captain for Sweden at the 2023 Under-18 Men's World Championship this past April. He appeared in seven games and earned a plus-two rating to help Sweden earn a Silver Medal. He also served as an alternate captain for Sweden at the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and notched one assist in five games.
With their second fifth-round selection, the Sharks picked their third defenseman in a row by selecting Eric Pohlkamp from the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) at 132nd overall. Pohlkamp was named USHL Defenseman of the Year for 2022-23 after totaling 51 points (16 goals, 35 assists) in 59 games to co-lead all league defensemen. Pohlkamp's 16 goals ranked second among league defensemen and his 35 assists were third-most. He led all defensemen in power-play goals (nine), assists (27) and points (35). Pohlkamp was named USHL Defenseman of the Week twice this year and played at the 2023 BioSteel All-American Game.
Pohlkamp played in 61 contests in 2021-22 as a rookie for Cedar Rapids, compiling 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists). The five-foot-10, 201-pound native of Brainerd, Minnesota is currently committed to play college hockey at Bemidji State University (CCHA).
With its first pick in the seventh round, San Jose selected center David Klee from the Muskegon Lumberjacks (USHL) at 196th overall. Klee appeared in 57 games for the Waterloo Black Hawks in 2022-23, posting 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) along with 92 penalty minutes. He skated in three USHL playoff games, finishing with a plus-one rating. Klee scored his first USHL goal on Nov. 18, 2022 and recorded his first point streak from Dec. 9-10 (two games, two assists).
The six-foot-three, 188-pound native of Castle Rock, Colorado appeared in six USHL games with Waterloo during the 2021-22 season after spending most of the season with the Colorado Thunderbirds 16U team, where he registered 119 points (44 goals, 75 assists) in 61 games. Klee is committed to play college hockey at the University of North Dakota (NCHC).
With their final pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, San Jose selected forward Yegor Rimashevskiyfrom MHK Dynamo Moskva (MHL) at 203rd overall. Rimashevskiy tallied 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists), eight penalty minutes and a plus-five rating in 29 games for Moskva in 2022-23, ranking 10th in the league in points-per-game (.90) by a first-time draft-eligible player (min. 20 games played).
Rimashevskiy split the 2021-22 season between MHK Dynamo Moskva and the Dynamo Moskva U17 and U18 teams. With MHK Dynamo Moskva, he recorded 13 points (eight goals, five assists) in 24 games in his first taste of MHL action. The six-foot-two, 197-pound native of Zhlobin, Belarus was ranked 36th on NHL Central Scouting's end-of-season European Skaters ranking.
San Jose traded their final selection in the draft (206th) to the Washington Capitals in exchange for their 2025 seventh-round selection.
Here is a comprehensive look at the Sharks selections in the 2023 NHL Draft
| 1 | 4 | C | Will Smith | US NTDP (NTDP) | 60 | 51 | 76 | 127 | 71 | 6-0 | 180 | Right | March 17, 2005 |
| 1 | 26 | F | Quentin Musty | Sudbury (OHL) | 53 | 26 | 52 | 78 | 71 | 6-2 | 200 | Left | July 6, 2005 |
| 2 | 36 | F | Kasper Halttunen | HIFK U20 (U20 Sm-sarja) | 18 | 18 | 6 | 24 | 14 | 6-3 | 215 | Right | June 7, 2005 |
| 3 | 71 | C | Brandon Svoboda | Youngstown (USHL) | 59 | 16 | 10 | 26 | 32 | 6-3 | 209 | Right | Feb. 4, 2005 |
| 4 | 123 | D | Luca Cagnoni | Portland (WHL) | 67 | 17 | 47 | 64 | 46 | 5-9 | 182 | Left | March 17, 2005 |
| 5 | 130 | D | Axel Landen | HV71 J20 (J20 Nationell) | 44 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 47 | 6-1 | 185 | Right | March 29, 2005 |
| 5 | 132 | D | Eric Pohlkamp | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | 59 | 16 | 35 | 51 | 26 | 5-10 | 201 | Right | March 23, 2004 |
| 7 | 196 | C | David Klee | Waterloo (USHL) | 57 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 92 | 6-3 | 188 | Left | May 10, 2005 |
| 7 | 203 | F | Yegor Rimashevskiy | MHK Dynamo Moskva (MHL) | 29 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 8 | 6-2 | 197 | Left | Feb. 1, 2005 |