With their first selection:

1st: Celebrini, C, NCAA - Canadian
2nd: Levshunov, RD, NCAA - Bulgarian
3rd: Demidov, RW, MHL/VHL/KHL - Russian
4th: Lindstrom, C, CHL - Canadian

With their 2nd pick:

1st: Parekh, RD, CHL - Canadian
2nd: Buium, LD, NCAA - American
3rd: Tij Iginla, F, CHL - Canadian
4th: Liam Greentree, LW, CHL - Canadian

Late round targets ranked:

1st: Brandsegg-Nygard, RW, SWE - Norwegian
2nd: Dean Letourneau, C, CHL - Canadian
3rd: EJ Emery, RD, USNTDP - American
4th: Jesse Pulkkinen, LD, FIN - Finnish
5th: Cole Hutson, LD, USNTDP - American
6th: Aron Kiviharju, LD, FIN - Finnish

Top Targets in the 2nd:

EJ Emery
Cole Hutson
Alfons Freij
Leo S Wallenius
Adam Jecho

Top of our pyramid:

Will Smith
William Eklund

!Being a franchise player does not require you to score 120 points or 50 goals!
- Will Smith

Smith has the potential to be nearly as impactful for San Jose as Bedard is for Chicago. (Read the nuance of the sentence before flipping out).

Bedard is generational and there is no comparison here, but Smith sees the game so well offensively he can create chances to allow him to be an incredibly important piece for San Jose. He has to improve some of his off the puck decision making/ awareness/ compete but his raw offensive upside is incredible. His play making ability make him a perfect fit for a team starving for creating offence.

Smith has the potential to be a player you want to retire in teal.

- Eklund
Flat out some people will think this is offside or crazy. I disagree. If Smith has the potential to be a 80-90 point player, Eklund has the potential to put up 60-80. Eklund flat out is already a player I can see retiring in teal.

Eklunds compete, drive, and IQ are things that aren’t taught by NHL coaches. These assets alone make me believe he’ll be a star. His comparisons pre-draft to Henrik Zetterberg are evident. No one’s saying he’s the HOF Legend. But if Eklund adds a little size, and improves his defence they may just be close mirror images. Eklunds defence is already fine, if he can improve and hone his stick work and hustle in his own end he’ll be a monster if he adds some muscle. But what he does well is so reminiscent of Henrik. He’s just incredibly smart and works hard to pull his team/ line around. His awareness + IQ and his playmaking abilities are so much fun to watch, and he’s a player who wants to get tons of touches on the puck and move it around. He also battles despite his size or mismatches and doesn’t shy away from tough situations. If there’s one player I think Eklund “CAN” become, it’s Henrik (coincidentally one of my favourite players). Eklunds production also should see a huge uptick with better help. I know Eklunds had at least 10 fumbles by linemates on goals he set up, and I could personal consider nearly 15 points he’s missed out on as a basically created a near perfect goal scoring chance.

If I see a future of Eklund - Smith carrying San Jose for years as quite likely.