When there's a player that the San Jose Sharks' general manager wants: he generally gets him. Doug Wilson is set to run San Jose's draft on Friday, and armed with the 28th overall pick, we've managed to narrow down his potential targets to ... well actually, we've been unable to narrow anything down thus far. Last year, the Sharks held the very same 28th pick in the first round, and they used it to select Charlie Coyle, who remains a decent prospect, but obviously is a long way from contributing at the next level.
It's more likely that the Sharks will be active in free agency this offseason, as opposed to an aggressive approach in the draft, but you never know which player the team is after. Logan Couture was the guy they had their eyes on in 2007, and he's now a finalist for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Wilson made a couple trades to get to the ninth spot to draft Couture, eventually giving up Toronto's first- and second-round picks to the St. Louis Blues after a trade involving a couple players with the aforementioned Maple Leafs.
Couture had a great season, and looked especially good when paired up with Ryane Clowe, and made his presence known in the playoffs, scoring seven goals and fourteen points. They also moved up to draft Devin Setoguchi in 2005, jumping four spots to grab him eighth. The Sharks have plans to get Setoguchi re-signed again this offseason, but both sides are looking for a good deal.
These have been two great players thus far, and if the Sharks like somebody in the 2011 draft as much as they liked these two? They'd trade up in a heartbeat. It's much more likely, however, that the Sharks will be targeting some kind of defenseman in free agency.