Was there ever any doubt? Soothing the souls of San Jose Sharks fans everywhere, Mike Grier and company have selected Ivar Stenberg as the second overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft. A forward, Stenberg played in the Swedish Hockey League last season, an 18-year-old playing against a bunch of men and still putting up points. He managed to have 33 points in 43 games and took home the Rookie of the Year trophy at the end of the season.
Among all of the players left on the draft board, Stenberg was the one most likely to make the jump to the NHL right out of the draft. Look for him to compete out of camp for a spot in the top six. Stenberg is expected to be leaned on to try and fill the role left open by the William Eklund trade earlier this week. If he plays alongside Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith next season, as some expect, he could be one of the favorites to compete for the NHL’s Calder Trophy by the end of the season.
Sharks select defenseman Keaton Verhoeff at 9th overall
After filling the hole left open by the Eklund trade, the Sharks filled the team’s biggest need, a right-shot defenseman who can move the puck. With the 9th overall pick, the Sharks drafted defenseman Keaton Verhoeff. I have more details about the large – he’s 6’4″ and 212 pounds – puck-moving defenseman in this post.
Verhoeff didn’t have the best of seasons with the University of North Dakota last season, but he was also a 17-year-old playing in the NCAA. What it says is he doesn’t shy away from a challenge. The kid could have had the easier route and played another season in the CHL to pad his stats before making the jump to the NCAA, but he wanted the challenge. He got it and he improved in the second half of the season. He has a lot more to learn, but he’s getting there.
Grier trades up to take defenseman Ryan Lin at 21st overall
If Grier had stopped there, Sharks fans would have been happy with the days draft, but he wasn’t done. He was pretty sure he couldn’t get the player that he wanted at 27th overall, so he traded up, handing the 27th, 62nd and 120th overall picks in this year’s draft to the Philadelphia Flyers for th 21st overall pick. With that pick, Grier took right-shot defenseman Ryan Lin.
Lin has all the tools of a top ten defenseman; the only problem is that he’s under six feet tall. The defenseman comes in at 5’11” and 176 pounds. But he was still more than a point per game player for the Vancouver Giants in the WHL last season. The evaluations of Lin were all over the board, but The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler was the highest on him.
“Lin is, for me, the smartest defenseman in this draft class and arguably its most well-rounded,” wrote Wheeler. “Lin does almost everything at a high level, executes the small things extremely well and plays the game with a rare quality, maturity and detail for a D his age. He steers play with his quiet efficiency, feel for the game, puck-moving, A-level hockey IQ, good skating (he could use another gear in straight lines, but his footwork, pivots, edges, surfing, etc., are all high-end), a great stick offensively and defensively, and head-on-a-swivel defensive play and reads (shoulder checks, positioning, etc.). He’s comfortable in any situation and playing with anyone, and excels on both special teams. He adjusts well to his teammates and coverage and has become very active moving pucks and then immediately moving his feet off the puck to jump into holes and beat opposing players to spots. He has a great first touch. His head is always up, and he moves pucks crisply on the breakout but can also read right through the first layer of pressure into the next play. He can carry pucks and make plays, but he can also find space off pucks. He never seems to have to overdo it or overextend to create his offense, knowing when to move it and when to try to make something happen. He picks his spots to carry and attack for himself smartly and is starting to do it more and more often to impose himself on games more (jumping quickly in give-and-gos off the line to put opposing D zone structures into uncomfortable spots). He takes pucks off the wall really well, his first touch reception is pristine, and he navigates play out of the defensive zone with a ton of poise, making a lot of little plays under triangles or off the wall to find his way out of trouble. He anticipates at an extremely high level. He closes out nicely, is disruptive and heady defensively and defends with polish and consistent reads and habits. And, importantly for a 5-foot-11 D, he battles and competes for pucks and into contact along the wall, and will deliver big hits when they’re there.”
Day 2 of the draft tomorrow
The craziest thing of all is that Grier isn’t done. There’s still a second day of the draft, though all the heavy lifting is pretty much over. The Sharks traded away picks 62 and 120 to acquire Lin, so the team won’t have another selection until the fourth round. Given how packed the prospect pool is at the moment, we imagine that GMMG is pretty okay with where he’s at.
Tomorrow, the Sharks pick at #127 (Round 4), #174 (Round 6) and #201 (Round 7).
Sleep tight, Sharks fans. It was a great night!
