Verhoeff on What He Has To Improve, Celebrini’s Phone Call, the Dachs

The San Jose Sharks got themselves the defensive prospect they were looking for.

At No. 9, they selected 6-foot-4 right-hander Keaton Verhoeff.

Verhoeff just finished his freshman season at the University of North Dakota, opting to head to college at age 17 – like Macklin Celebrini – to get a year in the NCAA ahead of the NHL Draft. He put up six goals and 20 points through 36 games en route to the Frozen Four, where North Dakota lost to Wisconsin.

Verhoeff is now joining the San Jose Sharks’ young core.

“They’re a super special group there with a lot of talent,” Verhoeff said. “The next 10, 15 years are going to be pretty special there. The players, how they’ve been playing already, and taking the jump, they’ve been exciting to watch, and super excited to see where it takes them. Can’t wait to get to San Jose and development camp and go from there.”

Verhoeff spoke about hearing his name called, hearing from Macklin Celebrini afterwards, his cousins Kirby and Colton Dach cheering him on, and his takeaways from his year in the NCAA.

On who was at the draft with him…

I was pretty lucky to have a lot of my family out here. I’ve just got to give a lot of thanks to my mom and my sister too, and my whole family, but most importantly those two. They’ve brought me through a lot, and my mom brought me to all the early morning skates, and always my biggest supporter. My sister too, super special. We grew up pushing each other, we were always competitive, and to have her [here] was a super honor tonight, and I couldn’t be more grateful for them.

Verhoeff to the Sharks! pic.twitter.com/KxCgioVMq2

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 27, 2026

On Celebrini calling him after he got drafted…

It was pretty cool. Macklin called me too, and talked to me, and welcomed me to the organization. Anytime you hear from a player like that, and with all he’s accomplished and achieved in such a short time in his career, it was incredible. You get a little starstruck, you’ve been watching this guy, you see him in 2024 in Vegas get drafted, and you see him playing in the NHL, and you get a little bit starstruck.

On hearing his name called…

Pure excitement of watching all those guys and watching guys you played with, and see them get drafted. Super excited for them to see where they land and see where their journey begins for them, super cool to see them. And then finally, hearing your name called is pretty surreal. It’s a special moment, and obviously getting drafted by such a great organization was special and couldn’t be more happy to celebrate with my family.

On what he wants to do next season, play for the San Jose Sharks or return to North Dakota…

There’s two incredible options. It’s hard to turn down both. North Dakota, which is an incredible place, will be an incredible team next year, and super excited to meet those guys and see the type of group we’ll have. And then you have a chance to play pro, and with such an incredible team and a team with so many young, skilled hockey players, and even with those older guys, too, that give you a bit of leadership. Excited to be able to learn from them and see them, but there’s so many options, and it’s hard to say which one’s better.

On the Sharks having so many NCAA prospects…

It’s exciting to see that. I [will] never regret my decision to go to North Dakota. It was a special year, and the players I had around me, and to be in North Dakota was a special place. I was super happy with my decision. The support we had there and development I had this year was incredible. It was special, and so it’s definitely a little bit reaffirming..

On his takeways from playing against older players in the NCAA this season…

Just learning how to play against those older guys. It was competitive, it was hard, it was fun. Especially being around the older guys as well, learning from them, learning how they carry themselves on the ice, stuff like that. Being around those guys was super helpful for me this year, just competing with them in practice and in games, it was fun, and it was hard, and you got to be able to build that grit to another level.

On which of his skills will translate to the NHL and which need more work…

All areas are going to need work, and it’s just the start here. So getting to work and putting the work in is going to be exciting, but definitely being able to use my size, my compete level – that’s my one consistent thing every single night. I know there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season, and even throughout games, there’s going to be ups and downs, but the one thing I can bring consistently to every single game is my compete level, and that’s the controllable I can bring.

Then also my skating, too, is something I want to work on, and have been super excited to get back at. But that’s something I think has definitely improved, and excited to keep working at it.

On his cousins, NHL players Colton and Kirby Dach…

They’ve been huge for me too. Growing up with them, being competitive with them, whether it’s on the ice or in the gym, they’ve pushed me so much. To have them in my corner has been super special. They’re here tonight, and having them cheer me on and being around them for the past couple of years, it’s been amazing.

We play a bit of everything, we’re pretty active. We play a lot of ping pong too. We’ll play anything, really. It gets competitive, no matter what it is. But the three of us have been pretty close. Colton was a little closer to me in age. He was five years older than me, so he was always a little more rough, and I think that built my toughness up, for sure. He would always bully me around a bit, and I couldn’t be more thankful for both of them.