San Jose Sharks acquire 11th pick from Buffalo Sabers

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier listens to a question during a news conference announcing Ryan Warsofsky as the new head coach of the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Monday, June 17, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area Press Group)

LAS VEGAS — The San Jose Sharks made what could become a big move a day before the first round of the NHL draft, acquiring the 11th overall pick from the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday in exchange for the 14th and 42nd overall picks .

The trade perhaps indicates the Sharks are targeting a player they believe would not fall to 14th overall, the selection they had in last August’s Erik Karlsson trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins .

Regardless, the move opens up more options for the Sharks in terms of who they want to select with their second pick in the first round, which begins Friday at 4 p.m. PT. San Jose, barring any unforeseen circumstances, will be taking center Macklin Celebrini with the first overall selection he earned with his NHL Draft Lottery win on May 7.

Some players the Sharks might be interested in at No. 11, Sportsnet draft analyst Sam Cosentino told this news organization Thursday, include defenseman Carter Yakemchuk and forwards Berkly Catton and Cole Eiserman.

“And in that order,” Cosentino said.

Yakemchuk, listed at 6-foot-3 and 201 pounds according to NHL Central Scouting, and Catton, listed at 5-10 and 170 pounds, both come from the Western Hockey League.

The 6-foot, 195-pound Eiserman is coming off two years with the U.S. National Development Team, where he set a program record with 127 goals. The previous record was held by Montreal Canadiens forward Cole Caufield, who had 126 in his two years.

The Sharks’ No. 42 pick was acquired from New Jersey in the trade that sent forward Timo Meier to the Devils in February 2023.

The Sharks have nine picks remaining in this year’s draft, including five in the first three rounds.

“It’s certainly an important draft,” Sharks general manager Mike Grier said earlier this week. “If you start with that No. 1 pick, it kind of gives you a leg up. But it’s just a chance to continue to complement what we have.”

The Sharks’ trade with the Sabres was the first of two that Grier completed Thursday. He also traded defenseman Kyle Burroughs to the Los Angeles Kings for forward Carl Grundstrom.

The only other time the Sharks had two picks in the top 11 of the draft was in 1992, when they selected defenseman Mike Rathje third overall and Andrei Nazarov 10th overall.

Reuniting Celebrini with his good friend and former Shattuck-St. Mary’s teammate Eiserman could be a tantalizing proposition for the Sharks.

Eiserman arguably has the best luck of any player in the draft, luck he used to score 58 goals in 57 games last season for the U.S. under-18 national team.