SAN JOSE – It wasn’t long after the San Jose Sharks acquired the ninth overall pick from the Ottawa Senators that general manager Mike Grier started to receive calls from his counterparts regarding the availability of that selection ahead of this week’s NHL Draft.

The Sharks traded winger William Eklund and forward prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda to the Senators on Tuesday for the ninth overall pick, giving Grier three selections in Friday’s first round.

Now it’s a matter of what the Sharks might do with the No. 9 pick. If Grier takes either Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg, both wingers, at No. 2, that would seemingly increase the chances of the Sharks taking a defenseman, an organizational need, ninth overall.

But considering that the player at No. 9 will likely not be NHL-ready for another year or two, the Sharks, who have designs on making the playoffs next season, could also opt to trade the pick for a younger player who fits into their timeline and could help the team right away.

Regardless, Grier has no shortage of options and will have no shortage of discussions with opposing general managers before Friday afternoon, as he said there also remains robust interest in the No. 2 pick.

“There were lots more calls on nine, and probably two more on two, (including) one that’s real interesting,” Grier said Wednesday. “It’s picked up. Teams are curious what our plan was with nine, so we had a few teams reach out and express some interest in it, and what we’d be looking for (in a trade).”

Grier said before Tuesday’s trade that roughly five teams showed interest in the No. 2 pick the Sharks won in last month’s draft lottery, including a couple of offers that grabbed his attention. The Chicago Blackhawks were reportedly among the teams that reached out to Grier, looking for a winger like Stenberg or McKenna to play with Connor Bedard.

Ultimately, the Blackhawks used their No. 4 pick as part of a pricey package to acquire offensive defenseman Bo Byram from the Buffalo Sabres.

Grier said he’s open to listening on the No. 2 pick, but opposing teams would likely have to put together quite a package to pry it out of San Jose. The Sharks would likely need to receive a young top-line forward or first-pair defenseman to get the ball rolling.

“A couple of teams reached out on two again, so, all stuff for us to consider,” Grier said. “We still have a couple of days to get our board ready and then see what the day brings as we go along here this week.”

Grier said he didn’t come into this week looking to trade Eklund, who was the Sharks’ fourth-leading scorer this past season with 53 points in 78 games. While Svoboda is at least another year away from turning pro, Halttunen might be ready to make his NHL debut sometime during the 2026-27 season.

Grier said the deal with Senators GM Steve Staios “came together fairly quickly” after Ottawa moved Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers on Sunday for four draft picks, including the ninth overall selection. Tkachuk’s contract contains a full no-move clause, and he had indicated he wasn’t going to re-sign with the Senators after his contract expired in 2028.

“Stevie got put in a tough situation there in Ottawa, and I thought he did a great job of navigating it and doing the best he could in a difficult situation,” Grier said of the Senators trading Tkachuk, the team’s captain, who wanted to join his older brother Matthew in Florida.

“Once that happened, (Staios) was looking for a good player to fill a top-six role for his team, and we had some discussions, and it came together fairly quickly. I think it’s a good opportunity for (Eklund) and for us, it was a good opportunity to add potentially another top 10 pick.”

The Sharks also had interest in Byram, who was the Sabres’ second-highest scoring defenseman this past season with 42 points in 82 regular-season games and seven points in 13 playoff games. One offer the Sharks reportedly put forth for Byram, who can become an unrestricted free agent in 2027, was the ninth and 27th overall picks, plus a prospect.

In what was perceived to be an overpay by the Blackhawks, the Sabres received the fourth and 46th picks in this year’s draft and defenseman Louis Crevier, who had 25 points in his first full NHL season. Chicago also acquired forward Jordan Greenway in the deal.

“(Byram’s) a player we liked. We had some interest in him, and had some conversations with (Sabres GM Jarmo Kekäläinen) … we had interest in him going back to last year, really,” Grier said. “So, we had some conversations, but obviously, (Kekäläinen) got a really good deal there with Chicago, and made the best move for his organization.”

Assuming the Sharks keep the No. 9 pick and want to draft a defenseman, the most likely blueliners to be available are Daxon Rudolph, a right-shot who has committed to the University of Denver, and left-shots Alberts Šmits of Latvia and Malte Gustafsson of Sweden. All three are at least 6-foot-3.

Grier said having the No. 9 pick, “gives us some flexibility, which we’re excited about. Whenever you go into a draft weekend, if you have the ability to move around and get players you like, and maybe that’s even using some of that draft capital as a trade for an established player. So we feel like we’re in a good spot heading into Friday, and we’ll kind of see how it all plays out.”