As we reported earlier this week, the future looks bright for the San Jose Sharks prospect pool. The Sharks have some quality prospects in the pipeline and while all of them may not make it to the NHL, they are making waves in their respective divisions. Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda are celebrating team championships in their respective leagues, while Luca Cagnoni was came close to a championship of his own.
Halttunen, London Knights win OHL Championship
Sharks’ prospect Kasper Halttunen and the London Knights are OHL champions. The team defeated the Oshawa Generals 7-1 to sweep the final series of the tournament. The Knights outscored Oshawa 31-9 in the best-of-seven series.
Halttunen, for his part, added several of those goals for the Knights. He had hat tricks in back-to-back games and ended the tournament with 16 playoff goals.
He and the Knights will now compete in the Memorial Cup, a tournament involving four teams in a round robin format. The QMJHL winners, the Durmmondville Voltigeurs, the WHL winners, the Moose Jaw Warriors and the host city, the Saginaw Spirit, will all participate. London beat Saginaw 4 games to 2 in the OHL conference finals to advance to the championship.
Following the championship, the London Knights handed out team postseason awards. Halttunen was named the team’s rookie of the year.
Rookie of the Year: Kasper Halttunen pic.twitter.com/lwDeZCu5BX
— London Knights (@LondonKnights) May 19, 2024
Cagnoni, Winterhawks lose WHL championship
It came close to becoming a showdown between Sharks prospects. Luca Cagnoni and the Portland Winterhawks were one series win away from making it to the Memorial Cup. Unfortunately, the Winterhawks lost to Moose Jaw in the WHL championship series.
Cagnoni did not perform as well in the playoffs as he did in his dynamic 90-point regular season. He had 13 points in 13 games but missed a few games against the Prince George Cougars in the conference finals because of an injury.
Cagnoni returned to the lineup for the finals, but only managed three points in four games. He did not have any goals.
Svoboda, Fargo Force win USHL’s Clark Cup
San Jose’s Brandon Svoboda is also a champion. He and the Fargo Force just won the USHL’s Clark Cup, defeating the Dubuque Fighting Saints in a best-of-five series. Svoboda scored the final goal of the season, an empty-net insurance goal that secured the Force’s 3-1 victory.
It was a historic season for the Force, which became the first team in USHL history to win both the Anderson Cup for the best regular-season record and the Clark Cup, the end-of-season tournament.
Svoboda had five points in nine games during the playoffs. He had 20 points in 40 games during the regular season, which was split between the Force and the Youngstown Phantoms.
This was the forward’s last season in the USHL. He is expected to attend Boston University in the fall.
