Joe Will thinks that he’s built a Calder Cup-worthy San Jose Barracuda squad.
“The prospects, I think, are high level. The depth players that we have are high-level,” Will said on Friday. “We have a lot of character. I think we have a lot of balance. We have size.”
Will spoke to local media on Friday about what sounds like a mostly-finished Barracuda team. He also touched on next steps for San Jose Sharks prospects Quentin Musty, Filip Bystedt, Cam Lund, Nolan Allan, and more.
So far this off-season, the Sharks have signed wingers Alex Barre-Boulet, Tye Felhaber, and Brett Leason. They also added defensemen Libor Hajek and Roland McKeown (AHL contract), along with re-making the Cuda goaltending room with Eric Comrie and Kyle Keyser.
Center Andre Gasseau, winger Carson Wetsch, and defensemen Eric Pohlkamp, Leo Sahlin Wallenius, and Phillip Sinn are significant incoming prospects.
Here are highlights from Will’s availability.
Filip Bystedt
Filip Bystedt projects to be the Barracuda’s No. 1 center, unless the San Jose Sharks’ 2022 first-round pick can make a strong case for the big club in training camp.
“Fil has got a lot of great things,” Will said. “He’s a 6-foot-4 centerman with skill. Young, he can skate.”
What’s the Swedish center, who’s still waiver-exempt, have to do to earn an NHL job?
“We’ve talked with him, and what he really needs to work on is consistency. He’s had some very high points for us. 60 points last year. He was really on a roll,” Will said. “He was named our All-Star, then he got hurt. Our plan at that point of time was play at the All-Star game and most likely come up to the Sharks. Had a little monkey wrench with the injury there, and that hurt the momentum at that time.”
Bystedt sounds like he’s on the doorstep of his NHL debut. But he’ll have to compete with pivots Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa, Alex Wennberg, and Zack Ostapchuk for playing time in camp.
“If he comes in just a little bit stronger and has a good camp, who knows?” Will said. “Fil, I think, is on the verge.”
Joe Will says the AHL should be allowing 19-year-olds, under specific circumstances, to play in the league starting the 2026-27 season
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) July 10, 2026
Cam Lund
Like Bystedt, Cam Lund almost got recalled by the San Jose Sharks last year.
Sharks GM Mike Grier called Lund “probably” the Barracuda’s best player, before a season-ending injury in February. In fact, the 2022 second-rounder was supposed to replace Bystedt at the AHL All-Star Classic, before he went down with his own injury.
“His momentum going into that All-Star game, we were just basically waiting for the time to be able to take a look at him up top,” Will said.
The 6-foot-2 winger, still waiver-exempt, projects to have the all-around game to play up and down the line-up, which should help him carve out an NHL career.
“Cam, he’s a Swiss Army knife. He can play in all kinds of situations, and you could count on him,” Will said. “You can use him on PK a little bit like [Collin] Graf in that way, he brings a different element.”
Quentin Musty
Quentin Musty was disappointed to not get the call-up from the San Jose Sharks last year.
“Not getting the call earlier in season wore on me a little bit mentally before I got injured,” the 2023 first-round pick, still waiver-exempt, admitted in February.
Through Mar. 1, the 21-year-old, in his first full AHL campaign, had nine goals and 26 points in 40 games.
“He’s still very young. He’s learning on the fly. It’s a tale of highs and lows,” Will said. “You have a set percentage of quality games when you’re in the minors, whether it’s 60 percent or whatever, and we want to get you maybe to 80 for the NHL.”
The 6-foot-2 winger did take off from Mar. 4 on, scoring 12 goals and 19 points in the last 21 games to close the regular season.
So Musty is set up for a huge AHL campaign, long as he can keep his eyes on the prize, and not worry about the additions of free agent winger Mason Marchment and recent No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg on the depth chart.
“Players see other players that they played with in juniors or college or something, and they got recalled, and there’s a little bit of envy of that,” Will said, not necessarily about Musty, but about prospects in general. “A lot of these guys could come up for a game or two. But again, we’re trying to get them in a position to whenever they come up, it’s not for a cup of coffee, we want them to stay up there.”
Musty is going to get his chance, if he stays on track.
“The key is just patience,” Will emphasized. “Build their game thoroughly, so that when they come to the NHL, they can stay.”
Andre Gasseau
Gasseau’s NCAA production may have stalled somewhat — from his freshman to senior campaign at Boston College, his point per game averages were 0.81, 0.73, 0.83, and 1.0 — but the center appears to bring a pro-ready game to the AHL.
“He’s very strong, got size,” Will said of the 6-foot-4 pivot, who’s still waiver-exempt. “He’s going to bring a lot because he plays such a full, complete game. He’s just a good hockey player that played defensive situations, a lot of minutes for you, but he does have a little bit of a touch as well.”
There’s a reason why the San Jose Sharks went out of their way to trade for Gasseau, sending out the No. 104 and 157 picks of the 2026 Draft to the Boston Bruins for Gasseau and the No. 120 pick.
“Gasseau is a player that we’re very excited to have,” Will said.
He should compete with veteran Patrick Giles for a bottom-six center job.
Nolan Allan
It’s going to be tough for Bystedt and company to crack the San Jose Sharks’ line-up, because of the organization’s forward depth.
It probably won’t be as hard for a defenseman.
At the moment, the Sharks have five bona fide NHL blueliners, Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, Dmitry Orlov, Michael Kesselring, and Sam Dickinson.
It’s just mid-July, but there could be roster spots open for prospects like Pohlkamp, Luca Cagnoni, and Nolan Allan to make the Sharks out of camp.
Unlike Pohlkamp and Cagnoni, the 23-year-old Allan is not waiver-exempt.
“Chances are strong because he’s played a number of NHL games, [when] we got him, we said he’s very close,” Will said of the 6-foot-2 stay-at-home defenseman, who logged 43 games for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2024-25. “I expect him to really push for the Sharks.”
Veteran Additions
Barre-Boulet is a star AHL winger, third-most points in the league since 2018-19. The Cuda should be able to count on the 29-year-old for a point per game.
Leason, 27, actually has more NHL games to his credit than AHL. The 6-foot-5 winger should be a top-six force.
Felhaber, 27, is a capable middle-six winger.
Will doesn’t expect White or Wahlstrom back with Barracuda
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) July 10, 2026
These trio of new wingers, along with the incumbents, should provide plenty of firepower for centers Bystedt, Jimmy Huntington, Giles, and Gasseau.
Speaking of Giles, Will said of bringing back the 26-year-old: “No. 1, he’s really good depth for the Sharks, and two, he’s an excellent leader. He’s just a great human being, really good hockey player, ultimate Swiss Army knife. He could play up and down in your line-up, but different positions, different lines. Just a solid guy that you just want to keep in the organization.”
Giles and Huntington are possibilities to be named captain.
McKeown, 30, and Hajek, 28, project as top-four AHL defensemen, able to play more of a defensive role, which should free up the kids.
“It’s just a good mix,” Will said. “I think [McKeown and Hajek] can play big minutes, and I think it also leaves big minutes for like Cagnoni and Pohlkamp to play the power play.”
Eric Comrie
Eric Comrie has been the Winnipeg Jets’ back-up for the last two years, so he might be overqualified to be a No. 3 goalie.
“He’s an NHL’er all day,” Will said.
That’s a good thing for the San Jose Sharks, who have been trying to upgrade that spot over the last year, from Jakub Skarek to Laurent Brossoit to Comrie now.
The flip side, could the Sharks lose Comrie in waivers during training camp?
“If you look at reality,” Will said, “there’s not a whole lot of players taken on waivers.”