PWHL
Scott Wheeler Says Stenberg to Sharks (For Now) | Ravensbergen Talks Carels
Scott Wheeler jumps on to talk about the 2026 Draft!
Joshua Ravensbergen also comes on to talk about Prince George Cougars teammate and potential San Jose Sharks No. 2 pick Carson Carels!
The San Jose Hockey Now Podcast is sponsored by Bring Hockey Back and Bladetech Hockey!
(00:04:12) Scott Wheeler shares why he has a “hunch” that the Sharks will pick Ivar Stenberg at No. 2.
(00:10:39) How does Wheeler look back at Michael Misa vs. Anton Frondell last year?
If the Sharks select the Swedish winger, Wheeler explains why he wouldn’t be so quick to trade from the Sharks’ excess of forwards for defensive help.
(00:19:13) If the Sharks pick a defenseman, have Chase Reid and Carels set themselves apart from the rest of the field?
Wheeler has been arguing with fellow Athletic draft guru Corey Pronman on their podcast about the potential value of Reid versus Stenberg. How does Reid rank amongst recent top blueline picks like Artyom Levshunov, David Jiricek, Simon Nemec, Zayne Parekh, Zeev Buium, and Sam Dickinson?
(00:26:44) What are strong San Jose Sharks’ options at No. 20? Wheeler selected defenseman Tommy Bleyl to San Jose in his most recent mock.
What are Sharks’ draft trends under GM Mike Grier? Which Sharks prospects are most likely to help the big club next year?
(00:44:13) Why do Keegan, Sheng, and Zubair still think that the San Jose Sharks will pick a defenseman at No. 2?
What about Joe Pavelski interviewing for the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach job?
Sheng talks more about his brutal AirBNB story.
(01:30:11) Who was the best prospect to chat with at the Combine?
(01:34:50) What can the San Jose Sharks learn from Stanley Cup finalists Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes?
Some free agents Mario Ferraro, Vincent Desharnais, Ryan Reaves, and Philipp Kurashev talk.
Should the Sharks trade for Darnell Nurse, Morgan Rielly, Marcus Pettersson, or Filip Hronek?
(02:17:30) Would you do this Hronek trade?
PWHL San Jose has signed its first players.
(02:31:45) Finally, top San Jose Sharks prospect and 2025-26 WHL Goaltender of the Year, Joshua Ravensbergen!
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I sure hope it isn’t Stenberg. I’m all about picking the best value which often is not the BPA. An undersized winger will never be worth as much to an organization as a #1 D. Toronto and Edmonton both spent years trying to trade for that missing piece.
Yep. Toronto was always trying to figure it out while simultaneously clearing cap space to try and pay all the star forwards. Even then, remember when Nylander held out the first two months of the season?
And Edmonton never was able to make the deep runs to the finals until they drafted and developed Bouchard – prior to that it was only disappoint with all of the forwards they took at the top of drafts (in the span of 6 years they drafted 4 forwards at #1OA and Draisaitl at #3OA 🤯 ).
I think Wheeler’s point is that there may be a talent gap after Stenberg. Reid is more valuable IF he is a #1D but there are more uncertainties about his future than Stenberg and McKenna. The danger in this draft is that the org is so desperate for a #1 D they oversell themselves on what Reid or Carels realistically will be. Put it another way, if scouts and other observers believed Reid or Carels or Verhoeff are real deal #1D, they would probably be ranked ahead of McKenna and Stenberg. They are ranked behind because there are more questions… Read more »
Some scouts have Reid ranked ahead though. And there’s no way to know what the Sharks scouts think.
True. That’s just Wheeler and he admits he has changed his views.
The Leafs issues were way beyond missing a #1 D. They did a piss poor job managing their cap. Had poor depth at forward more often than not, and usually a pretty mid-to-poor defense. Throw on top of that inconsistent goaltending and a tendency for their stars goal scoring to dry up in the playoffs and that’s a more complete picture. Far more than lacking a #1 D. Btw, just picking Reid, who has the potential of being a #1 D is not a guarantee. Morgan Rielly was drafted at 5 by the Leafs. Never a #1 D.
The Vegas “draft picks don’t matter” approach can work. The end of the Doug Wilson era was marred by an example of it not working. Vegas can continue to do this for 2-3 years, and then they will be squarely in the window closing timeframe. If they continue to stretch that timeframe as the Sharks did, they’ll be headed for a world of hurt.