SAN JOSE – Forward Collin Graf reportedly received interest from over two dozen other NHL teams before he decided to sign an entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks.
Certainly, most of those teams, including the Colorado Avalanche — reportedly one of the six finalists for Graf’s services – are in a better position to compete for a Stanley Cup than the Sharks. Presumably, a few of those teams could also offer as much opportunity.
But after a painstaking selection process, Graf decided to come to San Jose, and general manager Mike Grier, coach David Quinn, and even players like Henry Thrun deserve credit for that.
They set out to land Graf, one of the top available undrafted college free agents, made their case, and got their guy. Maybe Graf, 21, will make his NHL debut on Saturday when the Sharks host the St. Louis Blues.
“I think Collin really liked the sincerity of the management and coach with the Sharks during the recruiting process,” Graf’s agent, Jerry Buckley, wrote in an email to this news organization. “He also is excited about the opportunity to develop and grow with the elite group of young players and prospects the Sharks have.”
It’s not the first time Grier and Quinn used their powers of persuasion to bring in a talented young player.
They convinced Filip Zadina to come to the Sharks last July after he parted ways with the Detroit Red Wings. A pending restricted free agent, Zadina now has a career-high 13 goals and could be someone the Sharks look to keep past this season.
Last March, the Sharks sent a 2024 third-round draft pick to the Anaheim Ducks for the signing rights to Thrun.
The Harvard-educated defenseman did not want to join the Ducks, who were already stacked with talented young defensemen at the time. But the Sharks still had to convince Thrun they were the right team for him before they executed the trade.
The deal was made and Thrun figures to be a staple on the Sharks’ blue line for years to come.
“Collin and I were in similar situations coming out of college,” Thrun said. “I think that having Mike and David here was really intriguing to both of us. I can’t speak for him, but for me, I had familiarity with both of them, believed in their vision, believed in them as people, and saw an opportunity here.
“For me, it was kind of the perfect mold of both people and the overall situation.”
Thrun chipped in with the Graf recruiting process as well, to at least some degree, sending his fellow New Englander text messages before he signed.
“Just trying to give him my thoughts and let him know that we wanted him and that this is a good spot to be,” Thrun said.
“If I can help in that way and try to persuade him, I’m absolutely all for it because I want this team to have some wins and have a lot of good players around. I’m glad that he ended up choosing here.”
Quinn was one of college hockey’s top recruiters during his time as Boston University’s coach. In five years there from 2013 to 2018, he brought in Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy, Clayton Keller, Jordan Greenway, Dante Fabbro, Jake Oettinger, Brady Tkachuk, and Trevor Zegras.
Quinn said he tried to be as honest as he could with Graf about what was going to happen if he came to the Sharks.
“In our conversations, we talked about the fact that nothing is guaranteed,” Quinn said of his talks with Graf. “The only thing I was promising was an opportunity and what you make of it is up to you, and I don’t think you can reiterate that enough.”
Quinn told recruits at BU, “If anyone’s telling you’re going to be on the first power play or the first line, run away. We’ll never tell you that because you’re going to have an opportunity to play in those situations. But that’s up to you what you do when you get here.
“The people that want to hear the other part of it, you don’t want them anyway.”
For Grier’s part, he’ll continue to take some shots on bringing in people who could be a part of the solution at minimal risk. Besides Zadina, that includes Klim Kostin, who scored his fifth goal and ninth point in 13 games in Thursday’s loss to Los Angeles since he came to the Sharks in a trade with the Red Wings on March 8.
Mackenzie Blackwood fits that description, as do Nico Sturm and Ty Emberson.
For now, Graf joins a group of prospects like forwards Will Smith, Quentin Musty, David Edstrom, and Filip Bystedt, and defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin, Thrun, and Luca Cagnoni, all brought in on Grier’s watch.
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The Sharks also appear to be on track to finish last in the NHL standings this season and have a 25.5 percent chance of drafting BU center Macklin Celebrini.
We’ll see if Edstrom or others like Smith and Mukhamadullin fulfill their promise. But getting Graf appears to be a minimal-risk win for the Sharks organization, which has shown that it can convince some players that this might be the right spot for them.
“Having a lot of young guys, it’s exciting to see and hopefully a lot of us will be future parts of winning teams here,” Thrun said. “It’s exciting. Mike’s doing a job of getting (players) in the 19-to-23-year-old range, figuring out different pieces and where we all fit.
“I think it’s really exciting. It’s a good step forward for us.”
