Another historic draft for the San Jose Sharks is in the books, and it’s safe to say that they are by far the biggest winners of this year’s NHL Draft with their three selections made in the first round tonight. Let’s begin and explain why:
The Sharks’ first selection made tonight was left wing Ivar Stenberg from Frolunda HC in the Swedish Hockey League with the second overall pick. Stenberg is regarded as one of the best forwards in the 2026 draft class and will fit easily into the Sharks’ top-six forward core next season and for many more years to come. Last season for Frolunda, Stenberg recorded 11 goals, 22 assists, and 33 points in 43 games, leading the SHL in assists and points by a junior. His last season for Frolunda was the fifth-highest scoring season by an 18-year old in SHL history. He also scored four goals, six assists, and ten points at the World Junior Championships at the beginning of this year and helped lead Team Sweden to a gold medal at that tournament. On top of that, Stenberg tallied four goals, four assists, and eight points in eight games for Sweden at this year’s World Championships and led Frolunda to a Champions Hockey League title.
San Jose’s second first-round pick in this year’s draft is defenseman Keaton Verhoeff from the University of North Dakota at no. 9 overall. Verhoeff projects as the Sharks’ franchise cornerstone top defenseman and has high offensive potential. The Sharks struck two birds with one stone with this pick as Verhoeff was both best player available and filled an organizational need. Last season for North Dakota, Verhoeff recorded six goals, 14 assists, and 20 points in 36 games, ranking top-three among North Dakota blueliners in all scoring categories. He also recorded four assists in five games in the latest World Junior Championships, leading Team Canada to a bronze medal in that tournament. Verhoeff will more than likely play at least one more season at North Dakota before turning pro.
The Sharks’ last pick in the first round this year was at no. 21 overall, which was acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers for picks 27, 62, and 120 in this year’s draft. With the 21st overall pick, the Sharks moved up six spots to select defenseman Ryan Lin from the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League. He is projected to be a complementary piece to the Sharks blue line of the future. Last season with Vancouver in the WHL, Lin recorded 14 goals, 43 assists, and 57 points in 53 games, leading Vancouver blueliners in assists and ranking second in points and fourth in goals among this group. He is committed to playing for the University of Denver next season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman brought out PWHL San Jose’s 4th overall pick and Olympic Gold medalist Laila Edwards to announce the Sharks’ selections at 2nd and 9th overall. I love all three of these selections made by the Sharks in the first round of this year’s draft. I especially see the selections of Stenberg and Verhoeff as absolute no-brainers. No matter what the Sharks do for the rest of this year’s draft, they have already earned a grade of A++ in my and the rest of the hockey world’s eyes. The NHL is about to have a San Jose problem in the next few years, and the rest of the league should be terrified. I was greatly looking forward to the Sharks taking the next step towards playoff contention next season at the end of last season and the start of this offseason, and I am even more thrilled for them now.
The 2026 NHL Draft resumes tomorrow morning with rounds 2-7, and the Sharks now have three picks remaining this year, with their next selection at 127th overall in round 4. It will be interesting to see if the Sharks potentially trade back up or down the draft board or use their remaining draft capital to acquire another defenseman that can improve their roster immediately tomorrow morning. Watch this space for my recap of the rest of this year’s NHL Draft from the Sharks’ perspective coming sometime tomorrow after the entire draft is complete.
In other news, yesterday the Sharks announced that they re-signed restricted free agent forward Ethan Cardwell to a one-year, two-way contract, which carries a cap hit of $850k at the NHL level. He spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL with the Barracuda, recording seven goals, eight assists, and 15 points in 24 games. He also had a brief stint with the Sharks in November, scoring one goal in seven NHL games. However, Cardwell's 2025-26 season was unfortunately cut short due to injury. I can definitely see Ethan Cardwell bouncing back next season and potentially receiving more opportunities to earn a bottom-six NHL role as well.
Sources: ESPN, Sharks + SAP Center App
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