Goalie Prospect Leaves San Jose Sharks To Re-Enter NHL Draft

With several other promising goaltending prospects expected to vie for time on the ice next season, the San Jose Sharks were still deciding earlier this week whether they wanted to sign Benjamin Gaudreau, who was their third-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft. The deadline to sign was June 1st. 

Now, the 20-year-old netminding prospect has made the decision for them, choosing not to sign with the Sharks in order to re-enter the draft. 

His agent, Eddie Mio, gave somewhat confusing signals as to why his client made the decision, first going with, “Because of what is developing with their goaltending prospects, we have decided to go back in the draft."

But then when asked if he was referring to the logjam of the other young goalies in the Sharks system (e.g. Magnus Chrona, Georgi Romanov, Eetu Makiniemi), Mio denied it: “I’m confident in Ben, that he would have prevailed. We’re not afraid of competition. Just didn’t feel like a good fit.” 

Gaudreau, selected with the 81st overall pick in the 2021 Draft, has been playing with the OHL's Sarnia Sting, where he had a nice run in the playoffs this season, recording three shutouts with a .905 save percentage. In the regular season, he posted a 3.07 GAA and a .889 SV% in 44 games with the Sting. But after coming back from the World Championships where he played for Canada, he went on a 17-4-3 run for Sarnia in his next 24 games with a .910 SV%.

Photo: David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports