Sharks Have Several Good Choices With 2nd Pick at 2026 NHL Draft

It feels like we were just here last year. Though under very different circumstances, the San Jose Sharks have earned the second overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft for the second straight season. Despite the new context, this year’s draft has one thing in common with last year’s for the Sharks — they’ll have a few different options for what to do with the second pick, and no clear best choice. They could use it to select a handful of different players or trade it, but either way, it will be a major decision for their efforts to break through and turn into true contenders.

Ivar Stenberg Would Likely Be Best Forward Pick

Assuming Gavin McKenna goes first overall to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the best remaining player is probably Swedish winger Ivar Stenberg. With 33 points in 43 games, he’s having one of the best draft-eligible seasons ever for a Swede. He is a highly intelligent forward with tremendous playmaking ability and disruptive defense despite his average size.

Stenberg is so good that he remains a dark-horse candidate to be the top pick, even though the general consensus remains with McKenna. But assuming the Maple Leafs’ decision breaks as expected, the Sharks will have a lot of reasons to take Stenberg. Yes, defenseman is a greater need for them than forward, but they might have an easier time signing or trading for already-developed blueliners than drafting and trying to develop one themselves.

Adding Stenberg to their top six would be a hard proposition to turn down. If he pans out, San Jose will have one of the most dangerous offenses in the NHL. Furthermore, drafting a player like Stenberg could indirectly make it easier for the Sharks to improve their defense, as they’d likely find it easier to part with forwards like William Eklund or Quentin Musty in a trade for a defenseman.

When teams have a high pick in the draft — especially via moving up in the lottery — they tend to draft for the best player available rather than need. If the Sharks follow this pattern, Stenberg could be headed to San Jose very soon.

Sharks May Lock in on Right-Shot Defensemen

Before they won the second pick, the Sharks assumed they were going to use this draft to add a top-tier defenseman. Given the recent poor quality of their defense, they still might want to focus on that. Only now, they have a chance to bring in the best blueliner in the draft rather than the third or fourth-best.

When it comes to the blue line, the Sharks need righties more than lefties, and the two best defensemen in this year’s class both shoot from the right side. Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff are both big, skilled defensemen with massive upside and room for improvement. Reid has more pure skill while Verhoeff is more powerful, but they’d both be all-around upgrades on the San Jose blue line.

If the Sharks don’t start acquiring quality defensemen soon, they will face a huge gap in the quality of their offense and defense. This problem would seriously limit their potential, and it’s an issue that’s harmed other teams such as the Edmonton Oilers in recent seasons. Too often this season, the Sharks’ offense and goaltending were bogged down by a defense that wasn’t good enough, leading to them allowing the third-most goals in the NHL. This offseason is crucial for the team as a whole, but perhaps nowhere more than their defense, and given Reid and Verhoeff’s potential, the draft may be a great place to start.

Sharks Can Trade Down — Or Out Entirely

In comments shortly after winning the lottery, general manager Mike Grier indicated that he’d be open to trading the pick for the right price. In this possibility, the Sharks find themselves with a couple opportunities.

If the Sharks badly want Reid or Verhoeff, they will likely be able to get one of them with the third or fourth overall pick. They could use Stenberg’s talent as leverage to dangle the second pick and gain additional assets while still drafting their preferred player. The Vancouver Canucks and Chicago Blackhawks may be frustrated by moving down, and the Sharks can take advantage of that frustration by offering them a chance to draft a franchise-altering player of their own.

However, the Sharks might find themselves with an even more extreme trade option. If they feel as though they are one or two moves away from contending and want to accelerate their progress, they could trade the pick for an active player or package it with other pieces as part of a blockbuster deal. The front office has spent years building up a trove of assets, including this pick, which just became significantly more valuable thanks to the lottery. They finally cashed in some of those assets by trading for Kiefer Sherwood, and now they have a chance to go even bigger.

Throughout his time as Sharks’ general manager, Grier has shown a desire to avoid stagnation and has been unafraid to constantly shake up the team’s roster construction. He got some great luck with this lottery result, but he could take advantage of it with even further maneuvering to strengthen the franchise.

Sharks Entering a Critical Draft

After a better-than-expected regular season, the Sharks got favorable bounces from some ping-pong balls to potentially add the piece that puts them over the edge into playoff and even title contention. They have a lot of options — that piece could be a forward or defense prospect or an established NHL player. If they can get it right, they’ll look at this draft as one of the final steps they took on their journey to reestablishing themselves as one of the league’s most consistently successful franchises.