{"id":5418,"date":"2026-06-27T21:37:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-27T21:37:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5418"},"modified":"2026-06-27T21:37:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-27T21:37:42","slug":"san-jose-sharks-future-appears-brighter-after-3-player-1st-round-haul-at-nhl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5418","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks’ future appears brighter after 3-player 1st-round haul at NHL draft"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Ivar Stenberg, center, stands with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, left, and United States Olympic and PWHL San Jose hockey player Laila Edwards, right, after being drafted by the San Jose Sharks during the NHL hockey draft Friday, June 26, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo\/Adrian Kraus)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier had one big wish entering the NHL draft.<\/p>

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\u201cI hope not to be picking at the top of the draft next year,\u201d Grier said at the prospect combine earlier this month. \u201cThe group made some strides and improvements. But there\u2019s still a lot of work to do and a lot of long ways to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

The benefit of winning the draft lottery<\/a> and jumping seven spots in the order to No. 2, add in a first-round haul of three of the top 21 picks<\/a> , and there\u2019s a growing belief the Sharks will be picking in the back end of the draft sometime soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a good day for us,\u201d Grier said following the first round late Friday night. \u201cI think it\u2019s a real good, a real important day for the organization to add three players that we did, that we really think can be part of this for a long, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

With a youth-laden Macklin Celebrini-led core<\/a> already in place, the Sharks added more promising talent beginning with the No. 2 pick of Sweden left winger Ivar Stenberg. San Jose then selected North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at No. 9, and traded up six spots in the order to draft WHL Vancouver play-making defenseman Ryan Lin at No. 21.<\/p>\n

Stenberg was in the No. 1 pick discussion before Gavin McKenna went first<\/a> to Toronto. Stenberg is coming off a season in which the 18-year-old led all teenagers in Sweden\u2019s top league with 11 goals and 33 points in 43 games \u2014 the fifth-most ever by a player 18 or younger.<\/p>\n

At 17, the 6-foot-4, 208-pound Verhoeff, was the youngest NCAA Division I blue-liner last season, and led all draft-eligible defenseman with 20 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 20 games.<\/p>\n

As for Lin, he had 14 goals and 57 points in 53 games, while serving as team captain.<\/p>\n

They join a Sharks team that had Celebrini \u2014 the No. 1 pick in 2024 \u2014 enjoy a breakout season with 45 goals and 115 points, and was a star in representing Canada at the Milan Cortina Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, Macklin is one of the best in the world,\u201d Stenberg said.<\/p>\n

Verhoeff said he experienced goosebumps when Celebrini called to welcome him to San Jose.<\/p>

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\u201cAnytime you hear from a player like that, and all he\u2019s accomplished and achieved, it was incredible. I was a little starstruck,\u201d Verhoeff said. \u201cThere\u2019s a special group there with a lot of talent. And the next 10-15 years are going to be pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n

San Jose\u2019s lineup also includes 2025 No. 2 pick Michael Misa, 2023 No. 4 pick Will Smith and defenseman Sam Dickinson, (No. 11 in 2024).<\/p>\n

The Sharks\u2019 trajectory is already pointing up. Though missing the playoffs for a seventh straight season, San Jose went 39-35-8 in finishing fifth in the Pacific Division with 86 points, and only four back of the Los Angeles Kings.<\/p>\n

The Sharks\u2019 wins and points were the team\u2019s most since last making the playoffs in 2018-19, when they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues in the Western Conference finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe foundation has started to be laid,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd these guys are definitely pieces that we are really excited to add.\u201d<\/p>\n

Grier fielded what he called legitimate trade offers for the No. 2 pick, but elected to select Stenberg. And he landed the No. 9 pick in a deal that sent William Eklund to Ottawa<\/a> \u2014 with Stenberg potentially in position to fill that left wing slot.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants the puck. He wants to be the guy to make a difference and make the play,\u201d Grier said of Stenberg. \u201cHe\u2019s got some rare traits.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday, San Jose re-signed 22-year-old forward Zack Ostapchuk to a four-year, $9.4 million contract.<\/p>\n

The Sharks rounded out their draft selections by taking U.S. development team goalie Brady Knowling in the fourth round, WHL Portland center Jake Gustafson in the sixth and OHL North Bay defenseman Alexander Karmanov in the seventh round. At 7-foot-1, the Russian-born and OHL North Bay player is the tallest player ever selected in the NHL draft. He\u2019s committed to going to Penn State in 2027.<\/p>

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___<\/p>\n

AP NHL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NHL<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier entered the NHL draft envisioning a future in which he\u2019s no longer making selections in the top half of the draft<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5416,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nSan Jose Sharks' future appears brighter after 3-player 1st-round haul at NHL draft - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=5418\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"San Jose Sharks' future appears brighter after 3-player 1st-round haul at NHL draft - 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