DALLAS — Has this become another rebuild season for the San Jose Sharks?

The Sharks, who lost their seventh out of their last eight on Saturday, a 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars, are staring at that disappointing reality.

We’re not yet a quarter into the season, however, so there’s still time for San Jose to turn it around. One upcoming sign post?

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As of Nov. 7, the Sharks are six points out of the last wild card spot in the Western Conference. About 75 percent of the time, if you’re not in a playoff spot by Thanksgiving, you’re not making it.

But if the San Jose Sharks are indeed still doing development seasons, after committing over $140 million to veterans Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba, Michael Kesselring, Mason Marchment, and Kiefer Sherwood during this calendar year?

GM Mike Grier and head coach Ryan Warsofsky will have plenty of questions to answer, and soon.

Speaking of development though, it’s the small wins that will lead to actual wins one day.

2026 No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg, per Stathletes, showed some real 5-on-5 flashes last night. Stenberg has struggled at 5-on-5 this season, not at all surprising for a 19-year-old in his rookie season.

But he did some things well yesterday that he hasn’t done well this season, a sign of growth, that he hasn’t lost his confidence in an up-and-down rookie campaign.

“I thought Stenny was really good tonight,” Warsofsky said.

Stenberg led San Jose Sharks forwards with seven 5-on-5 shot attempts. His previous high was just four on Oct. 27 versus the Buffalo Sabres.

Before tonight, Stenberg had attempted just 1.56 5-on-5 Shots Per Game, 12th out of 15 Sharks forwards.

Stenberg, as we can see on his goal, has plenty of finishing ability. So hopefully, we’ll see more and more of his shot as the season goes on. It’s hard to be a world-class NHL forward if you’re not a legitimate shot-pass threat. 

Stenberg has also struggled to win puck battles, force turnovers, and protect the puck at 5-on-5. Again, this is all perfectly normal for a 19-year-old rookie.

But in one third period play, he basically did all three things.

Stenberg (41) came together with Justin Hryckowian (49), taking the puck. He then kicked the puck forward, forcing Hryckowian to take him down, drawing a late power play and giving his team a chance to tie the game.

Stenberg was credited with three puck battles yesterday, and only one win, but that’s progress. The winger’s last recorded puck battle attempt was five games ago, Oct. 29 versus the Vancouver Canucks. 

Of course, you don’t expect the 19-year-old to engage in 50-50’s like the always go-for-broke Sherwood. Just for comparison, Sherwood engages in 3.53 5-on-5 Puck Battles Per Game, fifth among all NHL forwards, and wins about 57 percent of them.

Stenberg knows his body, and getting into a puck battle that you know you’re going to lose has its dangers too, such as putting you way behind the play or losing the puck in the wrong place. But there’s also the balance of not shying away from contact too.

Stenberg wasn’t drafted as simply a finesse forward, so you expect him to be credible to elite in all these areas, puck protection, puck battles, and forcing turnovers in the future.

Of course, Stenberg wasn’t perfect last night.

This was a young mistake, pure and simple. Stenberg had one job, a play he must make 100 times out of 100, to get it in deep so his teammates could change after a long defensive shift. The Stars defense was backing down.

But credit to veteran Esa Lindell (23) for batting Stenberg’s soft dump-in forward. The changing Sharks in disarray, Darnell Nurse (25), either a natural reaction or aware that there were Stars behind him, touches the advancing puck, triggering a too many men on the ice penalty. On the ensuing power play, Thomas Harley drained the game-winner.

This isn’t to absolve Sharks PK, which was awful last night, surrendering three goals. But Stenberg handed the Stars a freebie.

That said, it was a vote of confidence for Stenberg that Warsofsky played him 19:02, his highest since 20:22 on Oct. 27.

If this ends up as another development campaign for the San Jose Sharks, at least Stenberg is getting better. That’s a silver lining.

“It’s part of developing these young men to play in this league for a long time, and they’re going to make mistakes. This is a game of mistakes,” Warsofsky said. “They’re trying to do the right things. The intention is right. The execution wasn’t great, so we have to learn from it, just like everyone else in our team. We got to continue to learn and get better individually and collectively.”