Sharks’ 2018 first-round draft pick requests trade
Less than five years after the Sharks made him a first-round draft pick, defenseman Ryan Merkley has requested a trade from the organization, feeling a fresh start elsewhere will help him rejuvenate his professional career.
Merkley, who has spent the entire season with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, recently made the trade request and the Sharks are trying to accommodate him, according to Frank Seravalli of DailyFaceoff.com.
“We feel a change will be better for him opportunity-wise after five years,” Merkley’s agent, J.P. Barry, wrote in an email to the Bay Area News Group.
Merkley, chosen 21st overall in 2018 by former Sharks general manager Doug Wilson and former scouting director Doug Wilson Jr., is in his third full season of pro hockey and was once considered the team’s most promising prospect.
But, for various reasons, Merkley, 22, has been unable to claim a full-time NHL job and did not make the Sharks’ roster out of training camp in any of the last three years. Merkley played in 39 games with the Sharks last season after the team was hit with multiple positive COVID-19 cases and other injury issues.
Opportunities for Merkley to play in the NHL this season dwindled as the Sharks re-signed Jaycob Megna and signed Matt Benning and Scott Harrington as free agents.
There were other clear indications, too, that Merkley had fallen down the organizational depth chart in the eyes of the Sharks’ new regime.
In October, new general manager Mike Grier and coach David Quinn took undrafted defenseman Nick Cicek to Europe ahead of Merkley as the team began the regular season with two games against the Nashville Predators. Merkley, in the last year of his entry-level contract, was re-assigned to the Barracuda.
Merkley’s hands, vision, and playmaking ability — attributes that made him a first-round pick — are unquestioned. But it took time for him to get used to the speed of the NHL, and sometimes his decision-making suffered as a result. His defensive acumen and competitive drive have also been repeatedly called into question.