Who is the Sharks Best Draft Pick at Six?
Let's Look at the Sharks Selection at Number Six
The 2024 NHL Entry Draft is six days away and we can assume that the San Jose Sharks will select Macklin Celebrini with the first pick.
We at the Forgotten Sports wanted to start a countdown leading to June 28 at the Sphere in Las Vegas looking back at the best picks, if applicable, in Sharks history at the number of days remaining before the draft.
Today we look at two picks the Sharks had at number six, Viktor Kozlov in 1993 and Milan Michálek. We will begin with the former, Viktor Kozlov. Kozlov was taken sixth overall, two picks after the Ducks took Paul Kariya and five picks after Alexandre Daigle went number one overall to the Ottawa Senators.
Kozlov spent four years in teal, totaling 69 points (29 goals and 40 assists) in 174 games. He was traded to the Florida Panthers on November 13, 1997, along with a fifth-round selection for Dave Lowry and a first-round pick, which was later traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning and they took Vincent Lecavalier.
Lowry played three seasons in San Jose and is now an assistant coach under Dan Bylsma in Seattle. Lowry led Florida with ten goals and seven assists during the playoffs, earning the name “Mr. Playoff” during the Panthers’ Stanley Cup run in 1996. (H/T to the Kraken Hockey Operations page for that note).
Milan Michálek was taken sixth overall in the 2003 NHL Draft. Notable players elected ahead of Michálek included: Marc-Andre Fleury, Eric Staal and Thomas Vanek. Michálek played five seasons in San Jose, totaling 214 points (91 goals and 123 assists) in 317 games. Michálek’s best season in the NHL was during the 2006-2007 season when he had 66 points (26 goals and 40 assists).
Michálek was traded on September 12, 2009, with a second-round pick in 2010, and Jonathan Cheechoo to the Ottawa Senators for a fifth-round pick in 2010 and Dany Heatley.
Heatley spent two seasons in San Jose, scoring 65 goals and collecting 81 assists in 162 games. Heatley was traded on July 3, 2011, for Martin Havlát, who played three seasons with the Sharks.
Shoutout to the great Brodie Brazil for the video below highlighting the trade for Dany Heatley.
While we are on the topic of the 2003 draft, when it comes to the best player taken while looking at the totality of their career and what they achieved, the best pick by far was at 205 overall. The pick was a 19-year-old Center from the USHL, Joe Pavelski.
2003 also saw the Minnesota Wild take future Shark Brent Burns at pick 20. Burns was later traded to the Sharks in 2011 in a trade involving Devin Setoguchi.
After reviewing all the data presented, it is easy to suggest that Milan Michálek was the better selection by the Sharks at pick six for what he could bring to the team while on the ice and when he was moved in the future.
Stay tuned as we will look at number four in just a few days as the team has never had the fifth overall selection.