Gaudreau was drafted 81st overall by the Sharks at the 2021 NHL Draft on Saturday.

EDGE Analysis

The Sharks are rolling the dice on a goaltender who played just five games this past season, all with Team Canada at the World U-18s. To Gaudreau's credit, he was excellent in that brief showcase, leading all netminders in both GAA (2.00) and save percentage (.919) while going undefeated (5-0-0) and being named the tournament's top goaltender. That's all well and good, but the last time we saw Gaudreau at the OHL level back in 2019-20, he posted a 10-13-2 record along with a 4.34 GAA and .890 save percentage. Yes, Gaudreau was just 16 years old and playing for one of the league's worst teams (Sarnia), but there's no way to sugarcoat numbers that poor. This is a high-risk/high-reward pick for an organization in need of goaltending depth.