Sheng Peng
Who will the San Jose Sharks draft at No. 27?
The San Jose Sharks had the No. 20 pick in the 2026 Draft, but they traded that to the Buffalo Sabres earlier this week for defenseman Michael Kesselring and the No. 27.
Could the San Jose Sharks look for more help on the blueline in the late first round?
How about defensemen Adam Goljer, William Håkansson, Juho Piiparinen, Nikita Shcherbakov, Maksim Sokolovskii, or Xavier Villeneuve?
San Jose Hockey Now spoke with an NHL scout about some of these defensive prospects’ strengths and weaknesses. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic provided perspective, too.
Adam Goljer
Goljer is a 6-foot-2 Slovak Extraliga right-hander.
Scout #1 says, “Goljer is a tough one. Because he played Slovakia men’s league all year, looked really overwhelmed early, and then as the year progressed, he figured it out. He’s a very smart, mobile puck-mover. He’s still really weak and thin, excellent brain, excellent transition defenseman, more of a modern new age defenseman. But he is a little light. Defensive game isn’t going to be his forte. He’ll do it, but I don’t think he’s going to excel at it…If you value him doing it at a men’s league, and how he finished the year, he was like the best defenseman in the U-18 Worlds, so it might be like a recency bias.”
William Håkansson
Håkansson is a 6-foot-4 SHL left-hander.
Scout #1 says, “Big and talented, not sure he makes it as an offensive guy. I think he’s very smart, more of an efficient puck mover. Don’t think he ever runs a power play or anything. I’d be scared to take Håkansson at No. 20, if you’re telling me I get him at 27, I’m all in. I think there’s just a missing offensive element to him…But he’s big, he’s mobile, and he’s a good shutdown [guy], so teams like that.”
Juho Piiparinen
Piiparinen is a 6-foot-3 Liiga right-hander.
Scott Wheeler says, “He projects as a solid two-way D who should continue to develop and add some more dimension to the strong foundation he has already established, but he’s too vanilla to warrant a first-round selection for me at this point.”
Nikita Shcherbakov
Shcherbakov is a 6-foot-5 VHL left-hander.
Wheeler says, “His game is still pretty raw, and he has development ahead of him on both sides of the puck, but…his comfort over his feet at his size makes him intriguing for NHL clubs…Is he a bit of a project you work toward becoming a third-pairing NHL D, or can he be something more?”
Maksim Sokolovskii
Sokolovskii is a 6-foot-8 OHL left-hander.
Scout #1 says, “Sokolovskii is a freak show. 6-foot-8, and he’s like the Undertaker. He’s mean and intimidating…I could see someone getting really ridiculous with it, and pulling like a Tyler Boucher like Ottawa did, and taking him at like 10. Or I could see teams being like, what is he gonna be outside of like a big shutdown D? And probably taking him at like No. 32…I don’t know. He’s gonna excite a lot of people, the physical tools and the style he plays, mean and intimidating. And he’s not [hockey] dumb either. He’s actually a decent puck-mover, his skating for his size is actually all right, which is like a big hurdle for those big guys…he looks a little awkward at times trying to handle pucks, but he sees plays, he makes plays, he’s just raw in that regard. But the two hurdles that would be scary for a guy his size, the skating and the thinking of the game, is actually good.”
Xavier Villeneuve
Villeneuve is a 5-foot-11 QMJHL left-hander, committed to Boston University next year.
Scout #1 says, “Bleyl and Villeneuve are like almost the same style defenseman, just in two different bodies. Really mobile, high-end skating, elite skating from both of them. The puck-moving, the transition is outstanding, incredible vision, creativity. They just both are very small and not the best, most committed defenders, they get pushed around. And Villeneuve, what I think has moved him back behind Bleyl, is he is riskier. His puck management, he tries to do too much, he tries to do it on his own. So he gets a knock behind Bleyl, because Bleyl is a little more intelligent where he picks his spots. But they’re both very, very talented offensive puck-movers… Villeneuve gets into the I’m going to beat everybody [mode]…I’m going to beat everybody up ice, I’m going to make the pass, I’m going to score the goal. Well, you can’t beat everybody.”