{"id":313681,"date":"2026-05-13T13:47:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:47:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/313681\/"},"modified":"2026-05-13T13:47:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T13:47:20","slug":"the-league-should-be-nervous-san-jose-sharks-best-options-for-the-2026-nhl-entry-draft-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/313681\/","title":{"rendered":"The League Should Be Nervous: San Jose Sharks\u2019 Best Options for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"

As they say, the rich get richer, and the San Jose Sharks<\/a> are in a position to add an elite player to an already impressive young core.<\/p>\n

The lottery balls fell their way, and they now hold the second selection in this year\u2019s NHL Entry Draft.<\/p>\n

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Many fans and scouts are wondering whether San Jose<\/a> should go the forward route with either Gavin McKenna or Ivar Stenberg (assuming one of them is selected by Toronto<\/a> at No. 1). Others believe they should draft for fit and target the top defenseman on their board; for many, that\u2019s Soo blueliner Chase Reid.<\/p>\n

Pick 2: Ivar Stenberg, LW\/RW, Fr\u00f6lunda HC (SHL)<\/p>\n

If McKenna goes to Toronto at No. 1, it allows San Jose to simply take the best player available, something Sharks GM Mike Grier has openly mentioned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIvar Stenberg is a dynamic offensive forward with a great B game. He is a very complete player and uses his high IQ and great scoring ability to dominate the SHL at 18 years old,\u201d said The Prospect Don, one of the more plugged-in voices in online scouting.<\/p>\n

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For Sharks fans, the most exciting part of that quote should be the mention of his B game. Stenberg doesn\u2019t rely solely on high-end skill or perimeter offense. He competes, plays with detail in all three zones, and projects as the kind of player who can impact every situation.<\/p>\n

Stenberg finished the season with the third-most points ever by a draft-eligible SHL player, trailing only Daniel Sedin<\/a> and Henrik Sedin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Long-term, if San Jose views last year\u2019s second-overall pick Michael Misa<\/a> as more of a winger, it wouldn\u2019t be surprising to see Stenberg eventually get a look down the middle.<\/p>\n

Pick 20: Nikita Shcherbakov, LHD, Salavat Yulaev Ufa (KHL)<\/p>\n

Sometimes in mock drafts, you have to add a little bit of spice, and Shcherbakov at No. 20 certainly fits that mold. Most public projections have him closer to the early second round, but San Jose is in a position where it can afford to swing on upside.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe has a ton of defensive upside and could impact the game with his size, defensive play, and physicality. Really good project for a team in need of a big shutdown defenseman,\u201d said The Prospect Don.<\/p>\n

He had limited offensive production this season, which is surprising given his skill set. In 15 MHL games, he recorded 10 assists, while also getting a seven-game look in the KHL, where he finished with no points in that stretch.<\/p>\n

And while some may point to San Jose\u2019s long-term need for a power-play quarterback on the back end, the more immediate organizational question may be whether they have enough defenders who can handle hard hockey in April and May.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s where Shcherbakov fits.<\/p>\n

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He projects as a player who could eventually take on tough defensive-zone starts, match up against top lines, and become a reliable penalty-killing presence. With San Jose continuing to build around offensive talent, adding a defender who brings size, physicality, and defensive reliability could be just as important as finding another puck-mover.<\/p>\n

The Sharks don\u2019t have many defensive prospects, they\u2019re headlined by Sam Dickinson<\/a> who doesn\u2019t bring the same defensive element that Shcherbakov does.<\/p>\n

If the Sharks walk away from this draft with a potential top-line forward in Stenberg and a shutdown defender in Shcherbakov, it\u2019s another step toward building one of the NHL\u2019s deepest young cores.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As they say, the rich get richer, and the San Jose Sharks are in a position to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312288,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[130843,4399,130844,75543,3259,404,130841,1037,88,90,89,98,130842,13431],"class_list":["post-313681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-daniel-sedin","tag-gavin-mckenna","tag-henrik-sedin","tag-ivar-stenberg","tag-michael-misa","tag-nhl","tag-nikita-shcherbakov","tag-sam-dickinson","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-shcherbakov","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}