Its virtually impossible to determine how strong or weak an NHL teams draft class is for at least three or four years. It's not like the NBA or NFL drafts, in that those first and second round picks are often times expected to have an impact right away.
That doesnt mean some wont try, of course.
A couple prominent national websites have given their team-by-team grades of the draft, and they are generally favorable towards the Sharks. San Jose chose six players in the annual event in Pittsburgh last Friday and Saturday, including Czech forward Tomas Hertljust the second time in the last five years the Sharks have used their first round pick (the other, Charlie Coyle, was traded to Minnesota a year ago in the Brent Burns deal).
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The Sporting News Jesse Spector gives the Sharks an A-minus for their 2012 class, and specifically likes Hertl, saying:
Tomas Hertl, selected at No. 17, had 25 points in 38 games playing against men in the Czech league with Slavia Prague this season after dominating against players his own age the previous two years. With a system that is not particularly deep, San Jose could have benefitted from a trade to add more picks, but theres little fault to be found with the six players the Sharks did select.
Sharks general manager Doug Wilson made that same point to me after the first round; saying that Hertl played in a league that features several veteran players in their late twenties and thirties.
Hertl: 'Sharks are my favorite team'
San Jose Sharks
ESPN wasnt quite as approving, giving the Sharks a C-plus. Analyst and former NHL scout and coach Grant Sonier does like Hertl, though.
Hertl has the potential to be a scoring forward if he can improve his skating. The combination of size, skill and offensive prowess in time could surprise a lot of people. He went to the right team since San Jose has a history of dramatically improving skating deficiencies.
The Sharks' second round pick may have resulted in the somewhat middling grade by ESPN. San Jose surprised a bit with its pick, Chris Tierney, who spent most of his first season with the Ontario Hockey Leagues London Knights. The Knights are one of the more respected programs when it comes to developing NHL talent, but Tierney had mainly a fourth line role and was ranked 118th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting when the Sharks chose him at 55th overall.
KURZ: Sharks take center Tierney with second pick
The general perception is that Tierney would probably have been available later, but the Sharks had no third or fourth round picks at the time they chose him (they later traded up to choose Christophe Lalancette in the fourth round).
KURZ: Sharks take four players in late rounds
It's important to keep in mind that in the last decade the Sharks have managed to uncover some future NHL contributors in the later rounds such as Ryane Clowe, Joe Pavelski, Jason Demers, Tommy Wingels and Justin Braun, and will hope that trend continues. The club chose forwards Lalancette and Danny ORegan as well as defensemen Clifford Watson and Joakim Ryan on the drafts second day.