SAN JOSE, Ca – The San Jose Sharks have had a history of success with their prospects coming up through the ranks. Their ability to draft and develop young talent can be proven through their current success on the ice this season. The Sharks opened their 2006-07 season with the highest percentage of players that had been developed within their own system (70%).
This is part one of four in a series designed to highlight the future of the Sharks. Today we look at the top 5 goaltending prospects in the Sharks system.
1) The Sharks top goaltending prospect list is 22 year old Thomas Greiss, a 6’ 1″; 210 pound, native of Kohn, Germany has had two call-ups to San Jose from the Worchester Sharks (AHL), but didn’t see any ice time. Greiss was drafted by San Jose in the third round (94th overall) of the 2004 NHL Draft. To date, Greiss has played in 23 games with Worchester, chalking up a 13-9-1 record with a 2.50 goals against average (GAA) and a .900 save percentage. With the acquisition of Brian Boucher for this season, Greiss will get more time to develop his overall skill set. 2) Another of the Worchester Sharks goalies is Taylor Dakers. Drafted in the fifth round (140th overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft by San Jose Sharks, Dakers is in his second year with the AHL Worchester Sharks. The 6’ 1″, 175 pound native of Langley, British Columbia has played in 13 games to date, with a 7-5 record. He has a 2.86 GAA with a .890 save percentage. 3) A member of the Vancouver Giants WHL, Tyson Sexsmith is a 19 year old, native of Priddis, Alberta. The 6 foot, 204 pound goalie is his third season in the Western Hockey League. He was recently drafted by the San Jose Sharks in the 2007 NHL Entry draft, in the third round (91st overall). Sexsmith has racked up an impressive season to date. In 28 games he has a 2.07 GAA and a .903 save percentage, ranking third in his league. Sexsmith’s record is 23-3-2 with two shutouts for the season. He broke the record WHL and CHL record with 22 shutouts in a career and was recently named ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week ending November 9th by the Canadian Hockey League. Sexsmith still has one more year of junior eligibility, which will give him more time to continue to develop his skills. 4) Timo Pielmeier a 6 foot, 175 pound native of Deggendorf, Germany was drafted by the Sharks in the third round (83rd overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. In November, Pielmeier was named the TELUS defensive player of the week as a result of his play with Shawinigan (QMJHL). He has played in 27 games and is second in the league with a 2.51 GAA and is third in the league with .925 save percentage. His record is currently 19-7-0. 5) Alex Stalock, a junior at the University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA), is having a great season as well. The 21 year old, 5’ 11″, 170 pound native of St. Paul, Minnesota has started in 56 straight games, the 2nd longest active streak in college hockey. He has a 2.39 GAA (third in the WCHA) and a .916 save percentage (fourth overall). In 16 games, Stalock has a record of 7-4-5. Stalock was drafted by San Jose in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in the fourth round (112th overall). He was named the defensive player of the week for October and finished second in the WCHA coach’s poll as the “Preseason Player of the Year”. Contact the author at Shellie.Lima@prohockeynews.com
You must be logged in to post a comment.