First Draft in Franchise History Two California-born Players Selected
San Jose Sharks/ sjsharks.com
CHICAGO – The San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) concluded the 2017 NHL Draft today with Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson and Director of Scouting Tim Burke making an additional five selections for a total of six selections overall in the 2017 NHL Draft.
After selecting center Josh Norris with the 19th overall selection on Day One, San Jose opened Day Two by selecting 18-year-old defenseman Mario (MAIR-eeoo) Ferraro 49th overall from Des Moines of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Ferraro recorded 41 points (eight goals, 33 assists) and a plus-7 rating in 60 games and amongst league defensemen finished the 2016-17 season ranked T-1st in goals, 2nd in points and 2nd in power-play points (16). He ranked 3rd amongst all rookie skaters in points and 1st in assists, and was named to the USHL All-Rookie and First All-Star teams.
Prior to his time with Des Moines, the King City, Ontario native spent two seasons with Toronto of the Ontario Junior A Hockey League (OJHL), helping the Patriots win the 2014-15 championship.
The five-foot-eleven, 180-pound blueliner will attend the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) in the fall.
He was ranked 78th by NHL Central Scouting (North American skaters), and according to Futureconsiderations.ca, “Ferraro is a solid, smooth-skating, all-situations blueliner…This cool, calm and collective defenseman has promising upside and would be a solid addition to any team looking for a skilled, mobile two-hundred foot defenseman.”
With the 102nd selection (fourth round), San Jose selected 18-year-old center Scott Reedy from the United States U-18 National Development Program (USNTDP). Reedy recorded 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists) in 60 games as a teammate of fellow Sharks draft pick Josh Norris (1st round) with the USNTDP. The alternate captain ranked 4th on the team in goals, and along with Norris helped Team USA win the 2017 World U-18 Jr. Championship gold medal, posting one goal and one assist in the tournament.
The six-foot-one, 205-pound native of Prior Lake, Minnesota will attend the University of Minnesota in the fall.
He was ranked 40th by NHL Central Scouting (North American skaters).
With the 159th selection (sixth round), the Sharks selected 18-year-old right wing Jacob McGrew from Spokane of the Western Hockey League (WHL). McGrew missed the 2016-17 season with a lower body injury after spending the previous two seasons with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings. He led the T1EHL U-17 in goals (29) while posting 47 points in 32 games in 2015-16.
The five-foot-eleven, 190-pound native of Orange, California also participated in the USA Hockey U-17 selection camp in 2016 and led all skaters in points (four goals, five assists).
With the 185th selection (sixth round), San Jose selected 18-year-old center Alexander “Sasha” Chmelevski (Che-mehl-EHV-skee) from Ottawa of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Chmelevski collected 43 points (21 goals, 22 assists) in 58 games with the Ottawa 67’s, ranking 4th on the team in both goals and points. He led the team with 12 power-play goals, added another two goals and two assists in six playoff games and was a recipient of the Bobby Smith Trophy, awarded to the OHL Scholastic Player of the Year.
The five-foot-eleven, 180-pound native of Huntington Beach, California represented Team USA at the 2015 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, recording four points in five games. He also led all players at the 2016 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament with four goals and five assists in four games to help the United States take home a silver medal.
He was ranked 43rd overall by NHL Central Scouting (North American skaters).
With their final selection of the 2017 NHL Draft at pick number 212 (seventh round), the Sharks selected 18-year-old left wing Ivan (EYE-vin) Chekhovich (check-OH-vich) from Baie-Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Chekhovich recorded 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 60 games during 2016-17, and led his team in goals, assists and points. He ranked 3rd amongst all QMJHL rookies in points and 4th in goals. Chekhovich represented Russia at the U-18 World Jr. Championship, earning a bronze medal after leading his team in goals (5) and points (9, tied), and was named to the tournament’s all-star team.
The five-foot-ten, 180-pound native of Yekaterinburg, Russia has represented Russia at several international tournaments, including the U-18 World Jr. Championships (2017/2016) and the World U-17 Hockey Challenge (2016).
He was ranked 71st overall by NHL Central Scouting (North American skaters).
*This marks the first time in Sharks franchise history that the team has selected two California-born players in the same draft (McGrew and Chmelevski).
