The San Jose Sharks have done a very good job of building the prospect pool through the draft. In fact, the first five players on our list were all selected by General Manager Mike Grier and his team in the past few drafts. That said, sometimes you have to use the assets that you acquire to fill positions of need. And that’s the case with the 20th player on our list, Nolan Allan, who was added to the Sharks through trade rather than through the draft.
The Sharks traded for Allan in January, when the team dealt defenseman Jake Furlong, Ryan Ellis’ contract and a 2028 fourth-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for goaltender Laurent Brossoit, Allan and a 2028 seventh-round pick.
Allan played most of the season in the AHL last season, splitting his time between the Rockford IceHogs and the San Jose Barracuda. He had 20 points (6 G, 16 A) in 64 games between the two teams and 67 penalty minutes.
Position: Defense
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 194 pounds
Age: 23
Date of Birth: April 28, 2003
Draft Year: 2021 (32nd overall by the Chicago Blackhawks)
Shoots: Left
2026–27 Team: San Jose Barracuda
What we like
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler highlights what we like about the player, calling him a “strong, sturdy, defense-first” type.
“He skates well, he has length, he defends through neutral ice effectively and he plays hard. Those are desirable qualities,” writes Wheeler. Who also calls Allan a “strong and physical defender who fits as a low-fuss No. 6-8 NHL D alongside a busier, more offensively inclined player.”
It takes all types to win in the playoffs, not just scoring defensemen, which is why a player like Allen who is young, tough and defensively sound could fit into the Sharks’ plans for the future. Look for Allan to play a specific role with the Sharks. He’s the guy who will slot in alongside a Ryan Lin or Keaton Verhoeff in the future. He’ll play back and cover while his defensive partner activates in the offensive zone. And, if the opposing forward makes a mistake, he’ll punish that forward with a bone-jarring hit.
Allan isn’t afraid to mix it up with his opponents if need be and he’ll stick up for his teammates. Those are qualities that will quickly endear him to Sharks fans.
Areas of improvement
While it’s not an area of improvement, it’s certainly something that Sharks fans need to be aware of, Allan isn’t ever going to be an offensive dynamo. He’s not going to find himself in the Norris Trophy voting. He’s just not that type of player. He’s your bread-and-butter, keep the puck out of the net and protect the house kind of defenseman. Teams need those kinds of players, but they’re not always exciting to watch.
As for what he needs to improve, Allan will need more polish and consistency in his game. He’s almost there. He’s likely the first left-side defenseman that will be called up if there’s an injury, but he’s not likely making the team out of training camp unless it’s as the seventh defenseman. If that’s his role this season, he’ll spend more time in the press box than on the ice.
That said, Allan is close to being NHL-ready.
What’s next for Allan?
This summer, Allan signed a two-year deal that will keep him with the Sharks through the end of the 2027-28 season. He will be 25 and a restricted free agent after that. Allan is a left-side defenseman. While the organization doesn’t have room for him right now, that might change as players like Lin, Verhoeff and Eric Pohlkamp get ready to move into the system. Allan’s ceiling is likely on the bottom pairing, filling a bruising shutdown role alongside one of them in a few years.
Until then, look for him to play most of the season with the Barracuda and move up to the Sharks if there’s an injury to a player like Jacob Trouba or Dmitry Orlov. An injury to a different type of player, say Darnell Nurse, Luca Cagnoni or Sam Dickinson, could see the Sharks calling up a different type of player.
The Sharks will have to use how and when they call up Allan sparingly. He’s not waivers exempt, which means he has to clear waivers every time he’s sent back down to the Barracuda. There’s a very good chance that another team will try to steal him if the Sharks place him on waivers at the wrong time.
Highlight
As we talked about before, Allan isn’t afraid of getting into a scrap if the need arises. Less than a month after he was traded to the Sharks, he dropped the gloves in defense of his defensive partner Cagnoni.
Luca Cagnoni took a hard hit, and his new defensive partner, Nolan Allan, took exception.
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) February 1, 2026
Allan vs Parker Bell pic.twitter.com/jBG9t3BfpI
2026 Top 25 Under 25 countdown … so far
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.
