It feels like we’ve been talking about San Jose Sharks prospect Filip Bystedt forever as a potential center to break through on the Sharks roster. So it’s hard to believe that the kid is just 22 years old, and he was only drafted four years ago by the Sharks. Bystedt was the first-ever pick by then-new General Manager Mike Grier. And while the young Swedish center hasn’t played in the NHL yet, the way that other first-round draft picks on Grier’s resume have, that could change soon.
Position: Forward
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 187 pounds
Age: 22
Date of Birth: February 4, 2004
Draft Year: 2022 (27th overall by the San Jose Sharks)
Shoots: Left
2026-27 Team: San Jose Barracuda/San Jose Sharks
Bystedt has improved year over year since coming to North America from Sweden in the spring of 2024. He’s now played two full seasons in the AHL and nearly doubled his point total from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Last season, Bystedt scored 60 points (22 G, 38 A) in 65 games. Not only was he nearly a point-per-game player in the AHL, but he was also all set to represent the Barracuda at the AHL All-Star Classic before a lower-body injury forced him to miss the weekend-long event.
What we like
It’s good to see Bystedt starting to put things together at the AHL level because he has promise as the Sharks’ depth center of the future. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman believes that Bystedt projects as a third-line center who can do a bit of everything.
“He’s a big center who can skate quite well and has good offensive qualities,” wrote Pronman in his August 2026 prospect rankings. “He has the hands, vision and finishing touch to create consistent chances versus men and has shown for years he can score at the pro level. Bystedt isn’t overly physical, but he’s reliable without the puck and can play on the PK.
Think of Bystedt as a younger, less polished version of his Swedish countryman, Alex Wennberg. It’s possible, if all goes well, the young forward could find himself filling Wennberg’s shoes in a few years, which is likely what GMMG was hoping for when he drafted Bystedt all those years ago.
Areas of improvement
Bystedt is not the most fleet of foot and it takes him a bit to get going. His big body does well going north-south, and when he has space, he can get things done, but it’s a little tougher for him in tighter areas, especially when there’s pressure. Size has helped him alleviate some of those issues, but he’s still improving in that department.
Health is another major factor for the young forward. He’s already started training camp with an injury, and he missed day one on Thursday.
Looks like Cam Lund and Filip Bystedt will be skating today, or did skate today. Bystedt is day to day but Lund is expected miss a month or so with an upper body injury
— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) September 18, 2026
While it luckily doesn’t look like it will have a long-term impact on his camp, his ability to stay healthy is starting to become a question. As we mentioned previously, Bystedt was injured in February, just long enough for him to miss the AHL All-Star Classic. He also missed a stretch of games in March 2025 and another stretch of games in April 2025, leading to just 50 games played in 2024-25.
We’d like to see the forward play a full, healthy season this season just to alleviate any fears that he’s “injury-prone.”
What’s next for Bystedt?
The young forward is in the final season of his entry-level contract. He’ll be a restricted free agent after that. While Bystedt hasn’t broken onto the Sharks’ roster just yet, his time is coming, and it could be soon if injuries clear the way for him this season. If not, look for him to make a potential move if the Sharks make the playoffs and rosters expand.
No matter what, he’ll be a key piece for the Barracuda, and he will continue to develop his game this season. He still has a tiny bit more that he could work on.
There’s also an outside chance Bystedt could be a trade piece if a very, very good, young defenseman came along who could help the Sharks win now. While Bystedt would not come cheap, a lot of teams would be interested in him as a centerpiece in a major trade.
Highlights
Here’s a nice highlights clip of Bystedt’s work with the Barracuda this season. You can tell by the length that there are A LOT of highlights to watch.
2026 Top 25 Under 25 countdown … so far
16. Zack Ostapchuk
17. Leo Sahlin Wallenius
18. Cam Lund
19. Ethan Cardwell
20. Nolan Allan
21. Haoxi Wang
22. Cole McKinney
23. Carson Wetsch
24. Mattias Havelid
25. Christian Kirsch
Honorable Mentions: Joey Muldowney, Teddy Mutryn, Andre Gasseau, Brady Knowling and Alexander Karmanov
Editor’s Note: More than 100 people voted in our fan poll this year, though admittedly, not everyone filled out the entire form, i.e., all 25 spots and the honorable mentions. In some cases, some people filled out their top ten and left the rest blank. While it makes the math a bit harder, we found the fairest (and easiest) thing to do was average the scores based on the total responses received. While blank scores counted as zero, it didn’t seem to skew the results too badly. Ultimately, this isn’t an exact science, but I think you’ll find it’s a pretty good list.
