{"id":732640,"date":"2026-06-29T10:02:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:02:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732640\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T10:02:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T10:02:11","slug":"how-sharks-can-keep-improving-after-successful-2026-nhl-draft-nbc-sports-bay-area-california","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/732640\/","title":{"rendered":"How Sharks can keep improving after successful 2026 NHL Draft \u2013 NBC Sports Bay Area & California"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor’s note:\u00a0Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California\u2019s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on\u00a0San Jose Hockey Now<\/a>, listen to him on the\u00a0San Jose Hockey Now Podcast<\/a>, and follow him on Twitter at\u00a0@Sheng_Peng<\/a>.<\/p>\n

BUFFALO \u2014 And on the second day of the 2026 NHL Draft, Mike Grier rested.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just a joke \u2014 after a whirlwind first round of the draft<\/a>, the Nos. 2, 9, and 21 picks set up by three trades in 10 days, including a draft day deal on Friday \u2014 no doubt that the SHarks general manager was hard at work the next day. It just felt like a break with just three picks in six rounds (and a signing) on Saturday.<\/p>\n

But Grier\u2019s hardest work is at hand, the challenge of turning the Sharks, out the Stanley Cup playoffs for seven seasons and counting, into a contender this summer.<\/p>\n

What can Grier do to get back \u2014 responsibly \u2014 to the postseason?<\/p>\n

San Jose is on two timelines: In the present, Macklin Celebrini is a superstar and needs lots of help. And in the future, the Sharks\u2019 enviable farm system lords over the league.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t ask Celebrini to wait three years.<\/p>\n

Grier did serve the future well with three picks in the first round and three to close the draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s more hard skill, more F.U. skill than [Lucas] Raymond,\u201d an NHL scout, not with the Sharks, said about No. 2 pick<\/a>, winger Ivar Stenberg. Raymond is a point-per-game winger for the Detroit Red Wings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had Verhoeff as the best [defenseman] in the draft,\u201d the scout said about No. 9 pick Keaton Verhoeff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just one of the best players in the draft, period,\u201d the scout said about No. 21 pick, smaller defenseman Ryan Lin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goalie group with Ryan Miller really believes in Brady, and really likes the upside and potential,\u201d Sharks director of amateur scouting Chris Morehouse said about No. 127 pick, 6-foot-5 goaltender Brady Knowling. \u201cThe skating, the quick feet, the athleticism, those are all things that profile really well at the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe’s a big kid, we like his development path,\u201d Morehouse said about No. 174 pick, 6-foot-4 center Jake Gustafson, also the son of SAP Center vice president Jon Gustafson. \u201cHe’s going to fill out his frame, he’s a good athlete, and on top of that, he’s a fantastic kid\u2026we liked the upside.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s athleticism there, untapped,\u201d Morehouse said about No. 201 pick, 7-foot-1 defenseman Alexander Karmanov, the tallest player ever drafted<\/a>, \u201cRaw project…we just like the potential that could be here…it’s going to be a long-term project, but kid’s a great kid, he wants to work.”<\/p>\n

Besides expected-to-be NHL-ready winger Stenberg, however, all this doesn\u2019t help the Sharks today. And Stenberg\u2019s addition, theoretically, is canceled out, at least in the short-term, by the subtraction of winger William Eklund<\/a> for the No. 9 pick.<\/p>\n

So how will Grier address his team\u2019s needs today, up front and on defense? The goaltending appears set, between young Yaroslav Askarov and veteran Alex Nedeljkovic.<\/p>\n

Here are some ideas, a few days before the beginning of NHL free agency on July 1.<\/p>\n

Forwards<\/p>\n

Grier did lock up fourth-line center Zack Ostapchuk on the second day of the draft, to a four-year, $9.4 million contract ($2.35 million AAV).<\/p>\n

Celebrini, Michael Misa, Alex Wennberg and Ostapchuk should hold the fort down the middle for the Sharks.<\/p>\n

Stenberg, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov, Collin Graf, Tyler Toffoli, Kiefer Sherwood, Adam Gaudette and Barclay Goodrow project to be on the wing.<\/p>\n

Ty Dellandrea can swing between center and wing.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 13 forwards already.<\/p>\n

It doesn\u2019t mean that the Sharks can\u2019t get better up front. Last summer, they were interested in adding an impact winger like Mitch Marner, Nikolai Ehlers or Brock Boeser. Last summer, however, the Sharks weren\u2019t an attractive free-agency destination.<\/p>\n

This summer, San Jose is far more attractive, but the UFA wingers, headed by inconsistent Anthony Mantha, aren\u2019t as tempting.<\/p>\n

The Sharks could use more size and finish up front.<\/p>\n

Six-foot-5 Mason Marchment has potted 63 goals over the last three seasons and could be a more realistic and reliable UFA signing.<\/p>\n

The Athletic\u2019s most recent offseason trade board<\/a> has a host of upgrades on the wing, but most seem far-fetched, like Jason Robertson or Kirill Marchenko or Owen Tippett. If San Jose brings in an established star via trade, it should be a defenseman.<\/p>\n

So perhaps more realistic, 6-foot-1 Rickard Rakell isn\u2019t the biggest winger, but he\u2019s a 200-pound player who can absolutely finish, to the tune of 20-plus goals seven times. The 33-year-old is signed to a reasonable $5 million AAV for two more years, and while acquiring him might deplete assets needed for a blueliner, he\u2019s also not going to be close to Robertson cost-wise.<\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

Grier probably wouldn\u2019t admit this, but I would bet money that his dream first round would\u2019ve been coming out with Stenberg and 25-year-old defenseman Bo Byram, the two-way left-hander potentially coming to San Jose for the Nos. 9 and 27 picks that eventually became Verhoeff and Lin.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Chicago Blackhawks overpaid for Byram, surrendering the No. 4 pick. I certainly wouldn\u2019t have beat that by offering the No. 2 pick for Byram.<\/p>\n

That said, the Sharks have just left-handers Dmitry Orlov and Sam Dickinson signed. Lefty Shakir Mukhamadullin and right-hander Michael Kesselring are RFAs, both expected to be signed.<\/p>\n

Best guess, they bring back pending UFA and right-handed PK stalwart Vinny Desharnais.<\/p>\n

The Sharks still need a high-impact blueliner in the worst way, especially on the top power play unit.<\/p>\n

Problem is, the UFA market appears bone-dry for top defensemen.<\/p>\n

Twenty-two-goal scorer Darren Raddysh would\u2019ve been the obvious play, but he\u2019s already gone to the Toronto Maple Leafs. John Carlsson would\u2019ve been ideal, but the veteran wants to return east.<\/p>\n

Rasmus Andersson had an up-and-down post-NHL trade deadline stint with the Vegas Golden Knights, but he\u2019s just 29 and can run a power play. But is the upside there with Andersson, as it was with Raddysh, to offer the right-hander a maximum-length contract?<\/p>\n

The physical Jacob Trouba, 32, and late bloomer Ryan Shea, 29, can help, but again, how much term do you want to give them?<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the trade market is highlighted by reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski, and the 28-year-old superstar would solve a lot of the Sharks\u2019 blue line woes. But acquiring the left-hander would gut San Jose\u2019s organization depth, and there\u2019s no guarantee that the soon-to-be UFA is staying beyond 2028.<\/p>\n

Left-hander Alexander Nikishin, just 24, is promising, but it\u2019s concerning that the Carolina Hurricanes seem to want to move so quickly away from a rookie once trumpeted as the \u201cbest defenseman outside of the NHL.”<\/p>\n

So, the Sharks might not be able to find high-impact defensive help this off-season? They already gave it a pretty good shot by trading Eklund away for a No. 9 believed to be earmarked for Byram.<\/p>\n

Thirty-two-year-old Morgan Rielly, signed for $7.5 million AAV through 2030, could help the Sharks, as long as you think that his already declining skills won\u2019t fall of a cliff. The same could be said for Darnell Nurse, but he doesn\u2019t appear to want to go to San Jose, while Rielly is thought to be open to it.<\/p>\n

Mason Lohrei, 25, is a gamble, and like Nikishin, why are the Boston Bruins in such a hurry to dump a young, productive defenseman?<\/p>\n

But again, maybe the Sharks will have to wait in-season to really upgrade their defense? You never know what might become available then.<\/p>\n

Download and follow the San Jose Hockey Now podcast<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t