SAN JOSE—Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson announced on Thursday, June 1 that the team has extended valid offers to two players they selected during the 2016 NHL Draft: Noah Gregor, 18, and Mark Shoemaker, 19. As a result, the team will maintain negotiating rights.

Noah Gregor
“I’m an offensive minded guy. I have pretty good speed and like to make plays in the offensive zone. But I’m a reliable guy and like to work hard every shift,” Gregor noted in 2016.

Standing at six feet tall and weighing 180 pounds, Gregor, who hails from Beaumont, Alberta, Canada, spent the past three seasons with the Moose Jaw Warriors of the Western Hockey League (WHL). Last season, the center totaled 61 points (comprised of 27 goals and 30 assists) in 52 games in addition to a career-peaking plus-5 rating. Gregor also fell one goal short of his career mark which he set in the 2015-2016 season even though he played in 20 fewer games than the preceding season. Overall, he ranked 3rd on the team in goals and T-2nd in game-winning goals with five.

Gregor missed a majority of the 2014-2015 season with Moose Jaw due to a broken collarbone, though he finished the following season with 73 points (28 goals and 45 assists) in the regular season and nine points (three goals and six assists) in the playoffs. His father, Colin Gregor, also played in WHL from 1987 to 1991.

Gregor was selected by the Sharks in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2016 NHL Draft. At 17 years old, he was one of the youngest players to enter the draft.

"I wasn't expecting to be drafted." - Shoemaker in 2016
“I wasn’t expecting to be drafted.” – Shoemaker in 2016

Shoemaker is a native of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. This past season, he played for the North Bay Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). The 6 foot and 2 inch tall, 210 pound defenseman attained 16 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 68 games. He ranked fourth on the team amongst defensemen in points, assists, and shots on goal with 100.

He was chosen by San Jose in the sixth-round (180th overall) of the 2016 Draft. NHL reports indicated in June 2016 that Shoemaker was appointed Central Division Academic Player of the Month for October.