Last year, when we checked in with Zack Ostapchuk, the kid had some potential, but it was hard to say what he was going to bring to the San Jose Sharks. There was size and grit, but not a whole lot going on in terms of ability to drive play or contribute to an impactful, checking fourth line. He was still young and finding his place in the NHL.
Fast forward to this past season, when Ostapchuk found a way to earn his place in the Sharks lineup. Through a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, he solidified himself as one of the fourth-liners for the Sharks and finished the season with 59 games played. While his impact on the scoresheet, 7 points (4 G, 3 A) isn’t something to write home about, he contributed to the game in other ways.
Despite averaging just 10:06 minutes per game last season, his goals above replacement percentile, according to Evolving-Hockey is 41.0%. It’s not great considering one of the least impactful forwards on the Sharks last season who played 100 minutes or more. He only beat out Ryan Reaves, Ty Dellandrea and Barclay Goodrow.
However, when you look around the league at players in the same range as Ostapchuk, there’s an interesting name that jumps out. One that’s nine places BELOW him on the list.
Now we’re not arguing that Ostapchuk is BETTER THAN Bedard, but it is a fun little chart to show that in this instance, in this season and in this small snapshot, the fourth-liner is beating one of the kids that could soon be one of the best players in the league.
Position: Center (can also play LW)
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 212 lbs
Age: 23
Date of Birth: May 29, 2003
Draft Year: 2021 (39th overall by the Ottawa Senators)
Shoots: Left
2026–27 Team: Competing for a fourth-line spot with the Sharks
What we like
All joking aside, Ostapchuk isn’t going to fill the same role as Bedard, but he understands that’s not his role. So far, succeeding in the areas that the Sharks need him to succeed. He’s keeping the puck out of the net. His even-strength defense this past season, according to Evolving-Hockey, was 1.9 and his expected even-strength defense was 2.8.
He also played a very physical game, delivering 140 hits last season, second most on the team. And while he got into fights and took penalties, leading to 45 PIMs last season, he also drew penalties. He took 14 penalties last season (10 minors, 3 majors and 1 misconduct), but he also drew 16 penalties for a net positive.
Finally, there’s his work in the faceoff circle, where he won 51.64% of his faceoffs (236-221). It was second-best on the team among the players who took 400 or more draws.
Areas of improvement
Ostapchuk fills a fourth-line role well on a team that wants to contend. However, if he wants to play for a team looking to win it all, then there are some things that he will need to improve. Teams that go deep into the playoffs have four lines that can score. Right now, Ostapchuk is lacking in the offense department. While his even-strength offense has improved year over year since he’s been in the league, it’s still a negative on his stat line. This season, he’ll need to see if he can find the back of the net a bit more.
Some of that might change as his linemates change. Last season, more than 198 minutes of his 518 minutes at even strength were on a line with Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves. While both players bring certain attributes to the Sharks, the then-32 Goodrow and then-38 Reaves aren’t exactly considered offensive dynamos.
He also spent a considerable amount of time on the ice on a line with Goodrow and Adam Gaudette. The trio combined for 168 minutes of ice time at even strength and had a 50% goals for percentage, which means they scored just about as much as they were scored on. Other linemates included Pavol Regenda and Ty Dellandrea.
Even by removing Reaves from the equation this season, we could get a better idea of Ostapchuk’s ability to score consistently in the NHL.
What’s next for Ostapchuk?
Last season, Ostapchuk earned his spot on the fourth line. Even when Dellandrea returned from injury, Ostapchuk remained in the lineup. We suspect it’s his spot to lose this season and barring an injury, he’ll make the opening night roster.
The 23-year-old signed a new contract with the Sharks over the summer. It’s a four-year deal with a cap hit of $2.35 million. The deal makes it pretty clear that General Manager Mike Grier and company believe Ostapchuk is the solution for the fourth line after Goodrow and Gaudette’s contracts expire at the end of this season.
Highlights
Ostapchuk won’t back down from a fight, even if it’s facing a much larger human like Logan Stanley.
LOGAN STANLEY DROPS THE GLOVES WITH ZACK OSTAPCHUK IN HIS SABRES DEBUT 🥊 pic.twitter.com/bN2TgCenHQ
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 10, 2026
And here’s Ostapchuk, standing up for teammate Tyler Toffoli.
Jeff Viel vs Zack Ostapchuk pic.twitter.com/g3Y5G5PRZG
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) April 2, 2026
And he didn’t have a ton of goals last season, but he did have this one against the Washington Capitals.
Zack Ostapchuk gets the Sharks on the board!
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) January 16, 2026
1-1#TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/cO9GeY4vq3
2026 Top 25 Under 25 countdown … so far
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.
