The two-day 2012 NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh concluded over the weekend and the San Jose Sharks emerged with six players, including first-round pick Tomas Herdl of the Czech Republic.
San Jose completed only one move involving an exchange of picks during the Entry Draft. The Sharks traded a 2013 fourth-rounder and a 2012 seventh-round selection to Chicago to obtain the Blackhawks’ fourth-round pick. San Jose, then, used that to acquire Christophe Lalancette, a right-wing from Acadia-Bathhurst of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League.
“We knew the kid would be gone,” explained Tim Burke, San Jose’s Director of Scouting. “He’s a solid, two-way guy. Thought for sure we’d miss him (without moving up).”
Added Sharks’ Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson, “Burkie did a great job of forecasting where people would fall. The draft early was predictable. The player we wanted (at 17) was there. Eight or nine teams called me trying to get into that area.”
Herdl, born in Prague on Nov. 12, 1993, is a center who finished with 12 goals and 13 assists playing this past winter for Slavia Praha in the Czech League. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder tied for the team lead in points when he played for the Czech squad in the 2012 World Junior Championships. Burke was not able to confirm whether Herdl will play another season in the Czech League rather than play in North America.
San Jose chose center Chris Tierney of the London Knights in the second round. The Knights won the Onterio Hockey League title and gained a berth in the Memorial Cup. Tierney finished with 34 points (11 goals, 23 assists) in 65 games.
“Tierney was a good younger player on a real good team,” Burke said.
Of the 211 players selected in the 2012 Entry Draft, 99 were born in Canada, 56 in the United States, 22 in Sweden and 11 in Russia. The one player born in Germany was the fifth-round pick by San Jose, Daniel O’Regan.
O’Regan’s father, Tom, played 61 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1983 to 1986. He spent several years playing in the Budesliga, including stints with two teams in Berlin, Daniel’s birthplace.
O’Regan, a 5-foot-9, 165-pounder, scored 21 goals last winter at St. Sebastian (Mass.) High School. He plans to go to Boston University this fall.
“He plays above his size,” said Burke of O’Regan.
Cliff Watson, 6-foot-2, 192 pounds, was tabbed in the sixth round by San Jose. Watson, born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, played defense this past winter with Sioux City of the United States Hockey League and plans one more year there before going to Ohio State.
Joakim Ryan of Cornell University was the seventh-round pick of the Sharks. A 5-foot-10, 182-pound defenseman from Rumson, New Jersey, Ryan finished with 17 points in 34 games for Cornell.
