Gaudreau, McCue, Gilmartin Re-Entering Draft

Ben Gaudreau, Max McCue, and Liam Gilmartin are re-entering the Draft.

The San Jose Sharks had until 2 PM PT today to sign these 2021 Draft picks to entry-level contracts.

San Jose Hockey Now first reported that Gaudreau would be re-entering the Draft three weeks ago:

Goaltender Gaudreau, the San Jose Sharks’ 2021 third-round pick, won the gold medal as Team Canada’s back-up at the 2023 World Junior Championships and led the Sarnia Sting to the OHL Conference Finals.

Overall, however, Gaudreau’s junior career featured some inconsistency with a middling-for-the-OHL career .890 Save %.

Fifth-rounder McCue appeared to plateau offensively for the London Knights, notching 39 points this past season after 35 in the previous year.

The centerman did pace the Knights with a 56.4 Faceoff Win % and was tied for the team lead with four short-handed goals.

McCue also enjoyed a regular role for London on their way to the OHL Finals.

Sixth-rounder Gilmartin also appeared to plateau offensively. The winger has 34 points for the Erie Otters this past season after 34 for the Knights in the previous year.

The Otters finished last in the OHL’s Western Conference.

As for the rest of San Jose’s 2021 Draft, first-round winger William Eklund, fourth-round defenseman Gannon Laroque, fourth-round winger Ethan Cardwell, and fifth-round defenseman Artem Guryev are all signed to ELCs.

The Sharks retain the rights on unsigned sixth-round forward Theo Jacobsson and seventh-round defenseman Evgeni Kashnikov, both playing overseas.

The San Jose Sharks also announced that they would be issuing bona fide offers to 2022 Draft picks Eli Barnett, Mason Beaupit, Michael Fisher, Jake Furlong, Reese Laubach, and Joey Muldowney.

This means that they’ll retain exclusive negotiating rights with these prospects for the upcoming season.