If you’ve listened to our podcast or read our post about the Boyle trade, you know that we are really high on Nick Petrecki, a Sharks first round pick in 2007 and currently playing for Boston College.  Sharkspage just had a post by Max Giese on Petrecki and other Sharks prospects in Boston, and the more I read about this guy, the more excited I get.

Quotes:

Clearly ahead of his peers from a physical standpoint, as he’s that rare combination of exceptional strength, size, and mobility on the back end .. what stands out most about Nick is his intensity and unrelenting mean streak.

This from an anonymous NHL scout:

He’s a man child. He should be playing in the pro’s right now and might go straight into the NHL next year. You have to see this kid live to appreciate the power he has on the ice. He is so much stronger than everyone else and gets too many penalties because of it.

My heart is almost aflutter.  Read the whole post, it’s worth it.  I can’t wait to see how Petrecki does in Worchester, and if he continues to improve his decision making, we might very well see him at the Tank in ’09-’10.  Barring some major setbacks, I’d put money on him being in the lineup in ’10-’11 for sure.

The bad news is beyond Petrecki, there’s not a whole lot to be excited about on the defensive front in the Sharks system.  But with Boyle, Vlasic, Ehrhoff and Murray all signed for three years or more, that may not be as big of a vulnerability as it could be.  We’ve seen this year that middle-tier defensemen are available (Malik, Montador, Klee, McLaren, the list goes on), and if that trend continues, the blueline will continue to be a major strength for the Sharks.  Puck movers are now at a premium, but with Boyle, Ehrhoff, and now the emerging Vlasic showing great ability in that department, the Sharks could be able to fill out the blueline with judicious free agency pickups.