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2024 NHL Draft: Getting to know Nate Misskey

Continuing with the defensemen theme, the San Jose Sharks picked up Nate Misskey with the 143rd overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Like Colton Roberts, the other defenseman in the fifth round by the Sharks, Misskey is a WHL defenseman.

Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 210 lbs.
Age/DOB: 19, January 12, 2005
Shoots: Right
Victoria Royals (WHL): 44 games, 34 points (7 G, 27 A)
Victoria Royals (WHL) Playoffs: 4 games, 3 points (1 G, 2 A)

For the last couple of seasons, the Sharks have used later-round draft picks to select overage players. These are players who didn’t get drafted in their first year of eligibility and decided to re-enter the draft for a second season with the hopes of getting picked up by a team.

Last year, the Sharks used one of the team’s picks to select Eric Pohlkamp, who was in the second year of his draft eligibility. Since then, Pohlkamp’s development has advanced considerably. He earned a spot on Team USA’s U20 World Junior Championship team and is transferring to the University of Denver to play with the defending National Champions this fall.

The Sharks likely believe that Misskey has a similar upside.

What do scouts say about Misskey’s game?

Leading into the draft, The Daily Faceoff looked at overage draft prospects who could hear their name called in 2024 and Misskey was one of them.

“Misskey has missed a month due to injury, but there’s a lot to like here. He’s a mobile 6-foot-3 defenseman with great reach, a solid shot and a bit of a mean streak,” wrote The Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis. “He loves to shoot the puck, and his offensive awareness has taken some nice steps forward with more responsibility in his second year of major junior. Misskey isn’t flashy, often displaying a level of calmness that allows him to make smart, heads-up plays. That gets him into trouble, though, because he sometimes can get caught being too reserved with the puck, but that’s fixable.”

Meanwhile, last November, Derek Neumeier of McKeen’s Hockey outlined both the good and the bad in Misskey’s game.

“The big, right-shooting defenseman is leaving a positive impact in all three zones thanks to his strength, reach, poise, smarts, and all-around elements of smoothness and fluidity,” wrote Neumeier. “He is proving to be quite responsible both with and without the puck, and he is eating up more and more minutes in all situations, including both sides of special teams because he’s so trustworthy and effective.”

That said, like Ellis, Neumeier called Misskey’s game “far from flashy” and also echoed the sentiment that calm is almost a bad thing in Misskey’s case.

“He’s almost a little too calm and poised at times as well, creating concerns about his ability to eventually scale up his pacing to an NHL level, whether those are caused by his athletic quickness, his mentality, or a combination of both,” wrote Neumeier.

What’s next for Misskey?

Misskey is expected to return to the Victoria Royals in the WHL this season. He is an overage player, so he would be eligible to join the San Jose Barracuda in the 2025-26 season if he takes another step forward in his development.

However, given the current flow of prospects into the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, whether through drafting, trades or offseason signings, it would not be a surprise to see Misskey spend the 2025-26 season in the WHL.

The Sharks currently have ten non-roster defensemen. While a player like Sam Dickinson will return to his CHL team, others like Jake Furlong and Gannon Laroque could be ready to make the jump to the AHL this season. With Luca Cagnoni already committed to moving from the CHL to the Barracuda, there’s a lot of young talent on the blueline. That could leave Misskey waiting his turn in the WHL.

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