San Jose Hockey Now Podcast
Stenberg or Reid? Button on Who San Jose Sharks Should Draft | Boyle on Signing Raddysh
Who does Craig Button think that the San Jose Sharks should pick at No. 2?
00:04:32 Button is on the hot seat from the first question!
If the Toronto Maple Leafs pass on Gavin McKenna, would Button take Chase Reid over McKenna?
Is Reid his clear-cut top defenseman of the 2026 Draft over Keaton Verhoeff, Carson Carels, Alberts Smits, and Daxon Rudolph?
Is Ivar Stenberg vs. Caleb Malhotra a discussion? Could Malhotra make sense for the Sharks?
00:27:44 Why is Reid so exciting to Button?
Would Button trade the No. 2 pick for a star NHL defenseman?
Button shares a possible target for the San Jose Sharks’ No. 19 or 20 pick.
What did Button think of Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson’s rookie seasons? Why is he high on Leo Sahlin Wallenius and Eric Pohlkamp?
00:46:09 Dan Boyle and Zubair Jeewanjee jump on to talk about the playoffs! Why has Boyle been so impressed by Quinn Hughes?
What did he think about the Norris Trophy voting? Boyle has no issue with Evan Bouchard getting passed up. He also shares his thoughts about potential UFA target Darren Raddysh.
01:11:27 Would we trade the No. 2 pick for Werenski?
01:32:22 We chat about the Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews to the San Jose Sharks speculation.
01:38:35 Our thoughts on how Toronto Sun reporter Steve Simmons approached the John Chayka press conference. Sheng Peng also recalls making Macklin Celebrini walk off in a post-game press conference this season and asking David Quinn about his job status three years ago.
Who are realistic free agency or trade targets on defense for the San Jose Sharks this off-season? Keegan McNally wrote a great article about it recently!
02:27:04 Peng gives a more concise explanation for why he didn’t vote Celebrini No. 1 for the Hart Trophy.
02:39:01 Finally, who do we think the Sharks should pick at No. 2?
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Nice! My favorite guest!
Hey Sheng just a note… you should link to Keegan’s article mentioned about who to trade for, please?
It’s a good one.
https://www.halfwallhockey.net/post/wanted-a-few-good-defensemen-the-sharks-offseason-blueprint-for-the-blue-line
The trade proposal for Hronek is particularly interesting. My first reaction was it felt like a lot. But it’s essentially the same package the Sharks got for Meier, a first line winger on an expiring contract. Hronek is a solid 2D with term at a good number. Both teams at the bottom of a strategic tank. Probably a pretty solid comp.
I’m loathe to give up Shak at this point after his season ending tease. Hate to be the team that gave up on him right before it clicked for him.
I agree, last year felt like the stumble before the leap.
I hope so. He’s clearly got a real NHL game and he’s also clearly not winning over his coaches. Seen many d-men take a leap in/around his age.
If he gets moved, sure feels like that’d be selling low.
Coach sounded positive about him. He’s just taking longer than you hope.
100%.
one thing about the Hronek compensation, now owning the 2OA to swap this becomes way more doable.swap picks, sharks get Hronek and Couv gets …? Not Shak? You’ll hate it but of course I want Eklund in that deal. You decide who needs to add a little to even it out. Then the sharks start with
orlov, Dickinson, Hronek, Shak, Smits/Reid?, Polkamp? Raddysh?
personally I think you can win with that group assuming guys make their expected development jumps and Raddy is legit.
Now you’re saying Shak has more value Eklund? I like Mukhamadullin, but his value is depressed right now. I think bringing him back on another cheap prove it deal is probably the solution. Or let somebody try to offer sheet him, I dare them
Yeah. Duh. Shak is a 6’3” defender that skates like a gazelle. Incase you haven’t been paying attention, big ass D that skate well help you win cups. Keebler elf wingers with no elite trait? not so much. Quit crying thru your tiny teal Eky rally towel and pay attention.😜🤣 offer sheet Shak? You fabricated your own scenario to be outraged about…? WTF? of course the Sharks are bringing Shak back (unless he’s part of a trade). The only ones thinking Shak might run to the KHL or demand a trade are the Shakistans who are overly butt hurt for… Read more »
I don’t want to say bad things about him, but the guy has nearly played his way out of town. I agree he could be on the cusp on something good, but he needs to show it. Eklund has shown a lot more. And a lot of what you said sounds like Eklund hate to me if I didn’t know better, so not sure if you’re inadvertently proving another point I made yesterday in an attempt to disprove a point I made today
Last comment I’m just talking shit because you came in all outraged that a bid mobile D is worth more than a small winger. Mostly tongue in cheek if you couldn’t tell. But yeah, decide if you want to win a cup or keep guys you’re emotionally attached to. Can’t do both.
Good point! Here it is for you:
https://www.halfwallhockey.net/post/wanted-a-few-good-defensemen-the-sharks-offseason-blueprint-for-the-blue-line
Worth the wait!
Interesting quote from Wheeler today that has me wanting to watch more Stenberg and thinking a trade with Chicago really does make too much sense: How does Ivar Stenberg rank compared to Anton Frondell and Leo Carlsson in recent drafts? — Jared C.I’m higher on Stenberg than Frondell. Frankly, I’m a fair amount higher. Stenberg versus Carlsson is more interesting to me. Evaluators in the NHL would tell you Carlsson pretty quickly. I’d probably have it a little closer. Both were on the older side in their class. Stenberg was more productive (0.79 points per game in the SHL versus… Read more »
Wow! I can definitely see Toronto taking him if they keep the pick.
He does rate a McKenna higher still, but this is high comparative praise for both, I think
Not that this should impact their decision if they’re certain on Stenberg, but it’s going to be something else to watch Leafs nation react if Mats and Chayka take a Swedish kid over the Canadian consensus.
Yeah, I expect the reaction would be crazy. Can’t imagine them doing it.
Isn’t that basically what the Habs did with Slavkosky?
Really they should be taking a D-man too or trading the pick for more immediate help.
UGHHH… I watch Button’s interview and I’m all “Wow, take Reid!”
I read this comment from Wheeler, and I’m “DUDE, take Stenberg!”
I’m so confused.
I think it just goes to show that the opinions are not a consensus. The team need on D is so strong that I’ll be questioning ending up with Stenberg just because you can trade for a Panarin, but Hughes or Werenski would cost much more. Similar to why Love was such a horrible pick by the Arizona Cardinals. With pass rushers and more premium positions available, taking even a great RB at #3 was not an efficient use of resources. As I said yesterday, if either Chicago or NYR is willing to pay significantly to move up and get… Read more »
We are all waffling. It’s just due to the stark reality of our D corps. If all things were equal, and our team needs were identical between F and D, then I suspect it would be a fairly easy call.
Good way too visualize it.
💯
Can’t argue with that Sarge 💯
Im leaning towards ending up with a young dman regardless of how the 2OA is leveraged 🤷♂️
Ditto. Sounds like a few are good possibilities.
Totally me as well this time of year.
Button sold me
on Chase Reid
But can we get him without needing 2OA and who can we exploit in the process in terms of additional personnel or considerations by trading down to 3OA or whatever it would take to get Reid and Mayne more!? 🤔
maybe*
hard to know how the draft will actually play out. Seems like it should be doable to trade down and still get one of these top 3-4 D.
1) Love Button!
2) If we can guesstimate both players are more or less projected to be at or around the same “level” at their respective positions why not draft accordingly to positional need for the team and choose a defenseman given that this is our need at this time!?
One of the other chat boards one guy is all in on Malhotra in the top 3-5? Is that even reasonable? Maybe the Sharks have other teams that like him enough to trade up?
Supposedly VAN loves him. There is speculation that Stenberg could fall to CHI if SJ goes Reid (or another D) and VAN goes Malhotra. There are people who thought Malhotra could go two if SJ hadn’t jumped up. GM perception on the value of wingers over centers or potential top pair D is a much bigger deal than what a lot of people realize. On The Athletic Hockey Show podcast today (which was very interesting on many levels), they even mentioned how Eklund dropped to 7 for the Sharks despite being mocked mostly 2-4, because teams don’t want to build… Read more »
Almost never a bad choice to go centers and big mobile D over wingers. Even if they don’t hit their peak they can be useful players.
Like I was saying, Van, Chicago and NYR all need C’s so I think there is a major opportunity to spread fear and trade one pick down with Vancouver so they secure their guy and the Sharks can still take Reid. At 3, they could even trade down again to to 4 or 5 and get Reid or Carels or possibly even the top Dman on their board. I think there is good work to be done.
I think that trick probably only works once a draft but who knows. I admit I know the other prospects not even a little other than what’s been written but the one guy I actually watched, Smits, I really, really like.
Yeah, Smits held his own at the Olympics and looked like he belonged on the ice against Team USA, so I like him for sure.
But I think that if his ceiling isn’t as high, the team needs to swing for the fences and get the guy with the highest ceiling. I trust the team if they take him and they believe in him though
My thoughts as well.
Let’s see what Mike can do!?
After listening to Button I don’t think Vancouver will budge. No matter what they’re getting something they need. If I’m them I’m not moving. Chicago should be the target. Too big a chance that the top 3 forwards are gone by their pick and gotta believe that’s what they’re hoping for. If Lev really is somehow perceived as losing value I would target him to get back. He was just injured last season when some apparently thought he was ready to break out. We’ve seen that before.
He’s lost value, but that isn’t likely to mean Chicago is willing to cut bait this early.
Depends on what Grier offers.
yes!
If I’m Mats I’m bringing Reid’s whole family to Toronto for a meal and courting him like a French duchess. if what button says is the gospel Toronto could possibly get Mike to give something up to switch spots. That being said I think Toronto has learned its lesson about building a team around Dandy’s like McKenna. It wouldn’t shock me at all if they avoid him.
I think McKenna being Canadian and the long time #1 consensus guy, plus there being more depth at D means that the Leafs don’t have that leverage. The Sharks could easily justify a McKenna pick if the Leafs go that way, or it could even increase the value of #2 if the Sharks are trading it. I think Grier is probably ecstatic with a guy like Carels, too
I actually think that from a game theory standpoint, the Sharks have far more leverage on the teams behind them whether McKenna or Reid are on or off the board
Yes, totally this. Grier is the most important GM going into this draft now regardless of who TO takes.
So your saying the best case scenario is that Mats Takes his boy Stenberg, McKenna
falls to us, we trade back one spot and get our guy and some cookies from Vancouver for McKenna?
I think the Sharks can even trade down to 4-6 and get a great option from everything I’m hearing.
Toronto is not getting Grier to trade. That’s rediculous.
This is a big fucking deal. We’re not picking this high for a decade or more hopefully. I’m sure Mike has his guy and he’s only one pick away from securing him. Toronto has some cards to play because everyone and their sister knows we’re not taking a forward.
We all agree on the importance of this pick, that isn’t being debated here. If Carels and Reid are similar like Button says and it’s just about handedness, I think that takes away a lot of Toronto’s leverage. I think the fact that to take Reid, Toronto would be leaving the consensus Tier 1 players on the board to do it, and the criticism that would bring from their media and fans, that takes away the rest. Everyone expects their new egghead GM that they all hate to come in right away and galaxy brain this, and rest assured taking… Read more »
In this draft I think Mike has 2 or 3 guys and a deep desire to improve the roster for next season. If his 1 is Stenberg and TO takes him you trade back for an extra 1st or a vet or an NHL ready prospect and take one of your other guys. If you end up with Smits and play Shak at RD I think it’s a great day.
Revisiting this with new knowledge… if you take Smits he’s potentially NHL ready AND plays RD. With Shak and Orlov also able to play RD you have a whole world of options available in UFA and trades.re-signing Deharnais is a no brainer IMO. Then maybe you go for one guy who can be your PP1QB either in trade or UFA and you’re probably set for a while. Take another D with the Edm pick and get ready for the season. Maybe you don’t even have to trade Eklund until Musty takes his job.
I think we are taking Reid and hopefully not at 2OA 🤞🏻🤞🏻
At the 16min mark, Cam and Chris Peters start talking Sharks draft. Both agree its McKenna at 1st overall.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDSf0L0wMmA
I’d encourage interested peeps to watch from the start – plenty of early relevant discussion (before the Sharks convo) around who’s in the top tier, the idea of “we’ll just trade for a defenseman”, etc…
You don’t think the leafs learned anything from the past half decade of disappointment getting ground down by teams with more character, competitiveness and physicality? I’m kinda expecting mcKenna to fall to us for these reasons. I think they are scared from soft skill players.
I doubt they’re scared in the least. You might be projecting.😉
I’m definitely Scarred from the past 25 years of loosing. And the Leafs should be too. I’ll bet you 50 bucks donation to Shengs travel fund that the Leafs don’t take McKenna.
Go Ivar!!! Haha
You’re getting $50 either way lol. As long as that old curmudgeon snarky puts his money where his mouth is.
Right, go Sports then!
F-U I ain’t betting $50. I’m trying to put a kid thru college on a very limited budget. Talk to me in 5 years. Pretty sure the 2nd one will earn a full ride somewhere.😉
My daughter is dead set on attending Heidelberg university in Germany and is studying German and taking all the advanced classes in high school so I’m going to have to sell a kidney and cash out my pension in 2029, whenever I bring up UC’s she shuts the shit down quick 🤦
huh? Dude I’m the one who first said that I think Toronto might take Stenberg at 1 or go D, or maybe even trade out of the 1OA to help their roster now. We’d be betting the same side.😳
The more I listen, there more it feels like all the teams in the top 3 would prefer to trade down. Toronto needs defense, but the top d-man isn’t first overall material with McKenna on the board. Sharks need defense, but BPA is Stenberg on top of which, its hit-and-miss when teams select the first d-men off the board. Often, the best d-man in a draft is taken later. Vancouver supposedly wants Malhotra, but he’s also not BPA (usually ranked about 5th). That’d leave CHI with a choice of d-men, the position where they’re stocked. Trades are rare, but it… Read more »
Oh shit! Didn’t know that about Smits! Yes take him. Love a good off side D!😜
Loved the pod – thanks guys! I remember last offseason thinking about how I was hoping maybe the Sharks could make a strong jump up to 70 points so we could feel really good about the improvement, but still be in position to draft Verhoeff (the clear #2 in virtually everyone’s rankings at the time). I strongly believed that if we exited the rebuild with truly elite, foundational prospects at C1, C2, D1, D2, G (and knowing there was enough else to be sure we’d hit on some other key pieces around that)…well, the message to the NHL would be… Read more »
Damn, that’s somewhat poetic!
Love this!
Agree, if Stenburg hits his ceiling i believe thats Mitch Marner. Ried projects werenski if he hits. Which type seems available UFA or trade? Right now bigish puck moving PP QBs seem more like the rare find. Grier should pick him with our lucky #2OA pick
All over the internet, NHL team writers are posting about which defensemen their team should try to sign. It’s the same 4-6 names everywhere.
Not every team has a Cele or are on the trajectory the Sharks are on.
When’s Zeke going to put out his aggregated list of prospect rankings? I was just looking up a few more lists (ESPN, Smaht, Flo, Tony Ferrari, etc…) and I see Reid showing up 8th..9th… 2nd, all over the place. I see Carels 23rd/24th or something like that on a few. Stenberg almost always 1 or 2, but did show up like 5 or 6th in one list.
This is pretty wild!
I also see Stenberg more consistently at the top, the d men are more of a projection (which is understandable).
Sam Dickinson was supposed to be a 2, now people wondering if he’s a 3.
I trust the GM and our scouting staff to make the right call, whoever they rate the best, just take him.
Where is Smits?
He was 8 w/Smaht, 6 w/scoutching, 5 w/Farrari…
Interesting write up on Smits from Scoutching stating that he gives some Brent Burns vibes. Also interesting, I knew he was a LHD, but it sounds like he plays on the right side:
https://www.scouching.ca/the-blog/april-rankings-2026
Thanks! Yup Zeke posted that above. He’s my new favorite because of that.😜
The Athletic Hockey Show Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5uuuEYEjYY Really interesting all the way through. Before the specific talk about the Sharks, lots of food for thought (could Stenberg fall to CHI, could TOR draft a D – which, to be fair, TOR publicly highlighted D as the biggest thing to address prior to jumping to #1). There was even mention about Eklund falling to the Sharks at 7 despite being ranked in the top 4 (because GMs don’t want to build around wingers). If you solely want to focus on the Sharks conversation, it started at 24:48 (per their summary – it… Read more »
Gonna be a long month of armchair gm’s coming up with the most asinine* trades imaginable.
*not necessarily on here, haven’t seen anything absurd here, yet – aside from floating Will Smith around.
💕 🤣
Scott Wheeler was asked to rank McKenna and the last 10 #1 picks, based on how he rated them at the time of the draft. Here is the list he provided:
1 – Bedard
2 – Celebrini
T3 – Dahlin / Hughes (Jack)
T5 – McKenna / Lafreniere
7 – Schaefer
T8 – Power / Hischier
10 – Slafkovsky
So…he views Stenberg on a similar level as he viewed Lafreniere before that draft – possibly slightly lower since he’s behind McKenna in Wheeler’s rankings. For whatever that is worth to you…
He’s obviously an idiot picking Bedard over Cele…
There have been 2 recent drafts where a D went #2, 2022 when NJD picked Nemec & 2024 when CHI picked Levshunov. In each case, there was an elite F taken AFTER them that has had a bigger impact on the team that selected the F over the team that selected the D at #2. Hindsight being what it is, would NJD still select Nemec over Logan Cooley taken 3rd or Cutter Gauthier at #5? Same can be said about the 2024 CHI. Would they still select Levshunov over Demidov or Sennecke? While neither Nemec or Levshunov are in the… Read more »
I get what you’re saying and I’m not opposed to adding a little capital if it makes sense – always try to maximize your return. But at the end of the day, you either believe in Chase Reid is a D1 or you don’t, and that is the basis for taking him or not.
We can play the “where they were drafted” game until we’re blue in the face if we want to. The last time a winger was drafted 2nd, it was Kaapo Kakko, and Seider and Byram were drafted within the next four picks after him. So…
It’s almost like you can always find an example where a player who ended up being meh goes before a guy who ends up being a much better player. People always bring up Demidov when it comes to Levshunov, but they passed on Sennecke too. Grier is going to need to look at all the guys and determine if there really is a major tier drop after anyone. If the value is close and he can even make up the difference by trading back, it’s defensible. If he pulls a Jon Lynch and drafts a kicker because it’s a position… Read more »
I just think the top of that draft is a rough one to use as an example of anything. Nobody had Sennecke going that high – literally. It was shocking when ANA picked him. Even Sennecke was completely shocked, as we all saw with his reaction. And as for Demidov, people forget…at that time there was a lot of uncertainty about Russian players getting out of contracts and coming to the NHL due to the Russia/Ukraine stuff. In addition, scouting Russians in person was very challenging since they aren’t in international competitions and nobody really wanted to actually go to… Read more »
Yeah the Michkov thing is looking better and better by the day for the Sharks.
This is when I stopped doubting Grier and the brass. They nailed this one. I thought they were going Todd Fuller on us with that pick, but it was far more Chris Mullin
But then there’s plenty of great D selected later in the round right? Not sure how much we should get our panties in a twist playing shoulda,woulda,coulda?
Niether Nemec or Lev should be in the bust category. Especially Lev at 86 total NHL games on that shitty team. Nemec seems like he’s always injured.
I do like the trade proposal though. I would want to figure out the value of getting one of Chicagos D prospects in that trade instead of the 2 2nds though. As I said elsewhere, if anyone is thinking Lev is a bust, grab him now. I don’t see that moniker lasting very long.
This is going to be a very key decision to make. There is no doubt that a Defenseman is what we need most. But the reality is that we’re on the cusp of making the playoffs and I don’t see any of those top 4 defensemen being ready to play with this team for one to two seasons. Would it be more advantageous to go find a seasoned top four defenseman through a trade and take the Swede? Putting Stenberg in with what we already have up front could be one of those most potent offenses in the league.
So far I’ve watched 4 different prognosticators say Smits has a real chance to start in the NHL next season. He’ll be in the AHL minimum.
I think the best choice is the guy who will be playing at the highest level in the 3-10 year horizon. Next year is great, but even 18 year old Smits isn’t likely to be better than 19 year old Dickinson was, and while we will have fun watching him grow, that’s not the end game. I don’t know enough about any of these guys to make the right choice. This is why Grier is the GM and not me.
Agree. And Grier isn’t going to draft based on what gets us to the playoffs the quickest. It’s all about what sets us up best to compete where are cup window truly opens. And as much as we want to push that forward as fast as possible, the reality is that the development of the rest of the young core is the single biggest factor that will determine when that window opens. This is why, IMO, you draft the young D stud who can anchor the defense for a decade. And you do enough defensively (free agency/trades that don’t hurt… Read more »
It sounds like from reading reports that if any of the top 3-5 defensive prospects hit their peak they’d anchor the D-core for a decade. Carels sounds like a legit option too especially with guys like Shak & Orlov able to play the right side.
You can’t know that. 3-10 years is a long ass time to be predicting 18 year olds. He’s the 1st defenseman on one of these lists I read in the last couple days.
Yeah, Smits is definitely the closest, and I think there is little doubt that he’s AHL/NHL next season. He might have the highest floor, but probably has the lowest ceiling too (of the top five D). He’s the least likely of the five to drive offense at a PP1 level, maybe not even PP2. If Smits lasts to FLA, they draft him in a heartbeat based on where they are (cup contending window) and their needs. The Jets, before that, I think also makes sense, with Morrissey already driving their offense. That’s the kind of team for whom he’s the… Read more »
As with a guy like UpChuck when they got him, I could very easily see Grier stating they see a little more untapped offense than maybe others predict. Not saying it’ll happen for sure but wouldn’t shock me if they have their own way of predicting these things that goes against standard convention.
I trust the brass, but if they see more than others see and they don’t trade down to get their guy, it’s a wasted opportunity. You can make the right pick and still leave money on the table and cost yourself. To take Smits at #2, you would have to see him in a tier by himself above Stenberg, Reid, Malhotra and Carels. If you see Smits on the same level as those 4, then you can safely trade back as far as #6 and the pigeonhole principle (math, look it up) guarantees you get one of your top guys… Read more »
Yes, Sharks really should move down if they want Smits. But trades are just so hard this high up – it is such a game of poker. Even the Sharks trading with CHI makes perfect sense to all of us looking at it. But I guarantee you CHI’s GM is looking at it and thinking “well SJ has got to love at least one of those D as much as they love a winger, don’t they? And if they do, and if VAN loves Malhotra and values a C over a winger, we’re gonna get our guy anyway. So why… Read more »
Oh for sure. If Smits is their guy I hope they do trade down.
Yeah, fair point – we never really know what they see in a guy. If the Sharks extend Grier, his next contract ought to have a requirement that he writes a book someday and explains to us everything that guided all of the decisions he made during his time in SJ. It would be fascinating (imo, anyway).
🤣 No doubt!