San Jose Sharks
Pohlkamp Has National Championship FOMO, Grier Praises Sharks Prospect
Eric Pohlkamp showed out during the San Jose Sharks’ prospect scrimmage.
The 21-year-old University of Denver defenseman scored a hat trick in a 7-3 Team Teal victory over Team White, outscoring highly-touted youngsters like Michael Misa, Sam Dickinson, and Quentin Musty.
“We’ve been around him a couple years now, and he’s just got a ton of energy and personality to him. I think you can even see it on the ice. He kind of took charge of a little bit of his team out there,” San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier said during the scrimmage.
Pohlkamp starts the scoring right away for Team Teal, his one timer makes it 1-0. #SJSharks #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/aUILQNk3aA
— TEAL TOWN USA – A San Jose Sharks Podcast (@TEALTOWNUSA) July 3, 2025
Last season under head coach David Carle, the stout 5-foot-11 right-hander was second in defensive scoring behind Zeev Buium and sixth among all Pioneer skaters with 35 points in 44 games.
Pohlkamp declared, without reservation, that he’s returning to Denver next season, with the hope of turning pro after his NCAA campaign.
The 2023 fifth-rounder talked national championship FOMO, friendship with Barracuda goalie Matt Davis, and experience at the last three development camps.
Pohlkamp, on his last three years of prospect scrimmages and development camps:
Four-on-four, super fun to play in, [and] three-on-three. For me coming my first year, my third year, I think the confidence is so much [higher.]
My first year, to be honest with you, I was scared shitless. Like I didn’t know, seriously, what was going on, [or] how this worked. I thought this was everyone’s first year development camp. I didn’t realize guys have been here for three years or longer, so everything was just new to me.
Last year was a little more comfortable, and then this year was more comfortable. So comfortable. I think every year you obviously gain more confidence and go from there.
Pohlkamp, on recently-signed goalie and ex-Denver teammate Matt Davis:
Matt Davis, he’s a gamer. He is absolutely a gamer. You saw the National Championship, that save. Everyone knows that save. So, Sharks fans should be absolutely jacked out of their mind to have him. He is one of a kind. He is the nicest human being ever, and he is a stud for sure.
"OH MY GOD! WHAT WAS THAT?! MATT DAVIS IS OUT OF HIS MIND!" – John Buccigross 🏒🎙️ #FrozenFour pic.twitter.com/8XCDlKyd84
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) April 14, 2024
Pohlkamp, on taking over Zeev Buium’s go-to spot on the Denver power play:
I’m a bigger guy, which helps me. Obviously, you need to get bigger, faster, stronger, but I matured with the weight class. For me, working on my speed and touching up on all the little details. Obviously, David Carle’s one of the best coaches in the world. He gets enough credit. (laughs) Super-happy to play for him another year.
Pohlkamp, on David Carle’s future with Denver:
He just had a new kid, so he’s staying put. He let us know that. I’m super-happy. I love playing for him. That’s the reason I went to Denver was for him and that whole coaching staff. The relationships I’ve built at Denver, it’s been absolutely fantastic. We don’t have one guy that’s on his own. It’s Denver, it’s different. It’s not about the money; it’s about the culture. So, and that’s why we win.
Pohlkamp has national championship FOMO: “I really want to win national championship, right? You’re in the locker with those guys when they won in 2024 and you see the tattoo on their leg, you see the tattoo on their rib. And honestly, I get really jealous of that. Matt Davis,…
— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) July 3, 2025
Pohlkamp, on if ex-Cedar Rapids RoughRiders teammate Zack Sharp teased him after Sharp’s Western Michigan defeated Denver for the national title last year:
He’s a good guy, and he understands it all. To be honest, they deserved it. They beat us three times. We never beat them in the regular season…it’s hard to bite your tongue, but it’s good to have him here.
Barclay Goodrow of all people is gonna keep Pohlkamp from getting to wear 23 to start his career.
I can see a guy like Pohlkamp making a serious bid for the Sharks. I’d take him now over Goodrow as there is no upside to his game (Barclay’s). He seems happy to go back to Denver and work hard. Gotta love this kid. He was impressive in the scrimmage.
Between Cagnoni, Dickinson and Pohlkamp, Pohlkamp is arguably the most NHL-ready. Strong, great skater, great shot. He was already a standout at last year’s dev camp, but he clearly made some pretty significant strides since then. Reminds me a lot of Dan Boyle, with a side of Tom Pederson. Dmitry Orlov is a player he would do well to watch up close if they overlap in San Jose, too, a sub-6’0 defenseman who plays big and carries a significant amount of weight effectively. Pohlkamp is a better skater and right handed, so he arguably has more upside than Orlov, who… Read more »
A few years back, shortly after GMMG was hired, I wrote something to Keegan essentially saying his success (or not) as GM would mostly come down to drafting. Multiple parts to drafting. Obviously where you finish and how the lottery balls bounce is part of it. But so is acquiring added picks and using them well. And while the Sharks have done their part by finishing at/near the bottom (in large because GMMG moved off the good players), he’s clearly been good at the other parts of the job. Acquiring picks and using them wisely. He’s picked a number of… Read more »
There are like a half dozen of us here who have been stumping for Pohlkamp for over a year now, he’s been an NHL lock since he transferred to Denver. I commented a few months back that I see him ending up in a good team’s top four because despite his height, he just isn’t small. We were debating whether or not there’s room for him and Cagnoni on a good roster. Don’t try to steal my fan club presidency!
he was really good in last season’s prospect game. That was the first time I saw him play. Some guys just have that ‘want it’ gene and even in the most meaningless practice imaginable, he’s bringing that intensity.
my hope is that he’s not another Ferraro. A spaz on the ice who can’t settle down and just do his job instead of trying to do everyone else’s.
I see what you’re saying but I’m not sure it’s entirely Ferraro’s fault. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ferraro looked best early on when he was playing with a competent overall group of D-men, who knew how to do their jobs. That makes it easy to stay in one’s own lane. But, once the Sharks tore it down and the defensive cupboard was left particularly bare, I agree that Ferraro has been trying to do too much.
fir my money Ferraro has looked good a total of 1 month in the entire time he’s been a Shark. A couple weeks of that were right before he got injured last season. That guy stayed in his lane. Still he was very expendable. He’s a terrible breakout passer. In today’s NHL your defenders better be able to break the puck out effectively or carry it out. Ferraro can do neither.
Despite your backhanded compliment regarding last season, isn’t it possible you’re suffering from recency bias? I’d encourage you to go back and watch Ferraro in his first couple seasons, when he was playing alongside Burns, Karlsson, Dillon, pre-collapse Vlasic, even Middleton (aka a group of competent NHL defensemen). He was a solid even strength defender and penalty killer, logging heavy minutes. There’s a reason that playoff teams were rumored to be offering a 1st or 2nd for him just a couple years ago. Should the Sharks have taken that deal? Yep. But that ship has long since sailed. I’m not… Read more »
He’s not. I watched him all last season and in the final four tournament when Denver needed a defenseman in overtime or crunch time they turned Pohlkamp.
What we’ve witnessed in the prospect scrimmage is what you see when he plays for Denver.
He’s controlled energy and passion. He hits and skates and shoots and scores.
He is hard as nails and has more talented than Ferraro. He’s a pleasure to watch play.
Bless this beautiful meathead, I am pulling for him.