326 fans responded with their predictions for the upcoming San Jose Sharks season, with William Eklund being named the team MVP.
326 fans responded with their predictions for the upcoming San Jose Sharks season, with William Eklund being named the team MVP.
1. Who will lead the Sharks in scoring?
Most responses, 98 to be exact, said that newly signed winger Tyler Toffoli would finish as the leading point-getter for the Sharks in 24-25. Last season's leader, Mikael Granlund, wasn't far behind with 86 responses. Finishing in third was No. 1 pick Macklin Celebrini.
2. Who will be the leading goalscorer?
Once again, Toffoli led the way with 63.5% of the votes. This was a more obvious answer, as Toffoli's main job on the Sharks will be to aid the lack of goals that plagued the offense last season.
Fabian Zetterlund, who led the team in goals a year ago, received the second-most votes, with 79 [24.2%].
3. Who is the team MVP?
With 137 votes, William Eklund is the fans' prediction for the team MVP. Eklund had a solid finish to last season while playing with Zetterlund and Granlund, and the former seventh-overall pick could be one of the league's best breakout candidates.
Granlund received 16.9% of the vote to finish second, and rookie Will Smith got 11.3% for third.
4. Who is the top prospect not named Will Smith or Macklin Celebrini?
This survey came shortly after GM Mike Grier made the move for Yaroslav Askarov. He received the overwhelming majority of the votes, 206. Quentin Musty finished second, and Sam Dickinson third.
Shakir Mukhamadullin got some write-in votes, as did Danil Gushchin.
5. Who will be this season's breakout player?
Once again, Eklund is the overwhelming winner of the question, receiving 218 votes [66.9%]. If Eklund is the team MVP, he will definitely be the breakout player of the year.
Thomas Bordeleau received 12.6% of the votes and Gushchin 8.9% for the second and third most votes.
6. How many goals will Macklin Celebrini score?
Celebrini's 200-foot game helped him get drafted first overall, but his ability to put the puck in the net with an elite one-timer truly excites fans. Survey takers were given three ranges of options for his goal total.
The leading vote-getter was Celebrini, scoring between 16 and 20 goals with 47.2% of the vote. Not far behind in second place, with 34%, was 21 to 25 goals. 7.7% of responses selected the option that had Celebrini scoring 25+ goals.
7. How many points will Will Smith score?
Not to be forgotten behind Celebrini, Smith projects a slightly higher offensive upside this season. With 40.5% of the votes going to 41-50 points, Smith could surpass Eklund's 44 points last season.
16% of voters think that Smith will score 51+ points.
8. Do the Sharks finish with more than 19 wins?
This question was for the fans to decide if the revamped roster would do better than last season. The overwhelming majority believe that the Sharks will finish with more wins than 23-24, but nine responses don't believe that.
9. Who is the Sharks 24-25 surprise player?
This question received the most variety of responses, but with 31.9% of the votes, Danil Gushchin was the fans' majority response. Collin Graf and Vitek Vanecek were the other two top vote-getters.
Other players like Henry Thrun and Jake Walman received some votes.
10. Do the Sharks shock the world and make the playoffs?
The Sharks don't project to make the playoffs, and most fans agree, as 70.9% of responses say no. 10.1% believe the Sharks pull off the unthinkable and get in, while the remaining 19% aren't sure what could happen.
I want to thank all of the fans who provided their responses personally. With such an exciting season ahead, I look forward to bringing everyone more coverage.
Make sure you bookmark THN's San Jose Sharks site for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
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