Misa Excited To Join Sharks, Talks OHL or NCAA or NHL Next Year, Staying Off Social Media

Michael Misa is excited to be selected by the San Jose Sharks.

So excited, the 2025 No. 2 pick is hoping to break camp with the Sharks this fall, which would be an impressive feat for an 18-year-old.

“My thought process is I want to make San Jose next year,” the 6-foot-1 center said, when asked if he was thinking about returning to the Saginaw Spirit and the OHL or going to the NCAA.

Misa talked about ex-Spirit teammate and now fellow San Jose Sharks prospect Igor Chernyshov, being a little “scared” to go back on social media after ignoring all the trade rumors swirling around the No. 2 pick recently, and his recent back injury which kept him out of the U-18’s.

Michael Misa, on how it feels to be drafted:

It feels unbelievable. From the second my name got called to now, it’s just been excitement. I’m really grateful.

Misa, on being able to continue to play with Igor Chernyshov:

It’s awesome. I had a great connection with him in Saginaw, so being able to hopefully do the same thing in San Jose in the near future, it’d be pretty cool.

Misa, on what the Spirit organization means to him:

They meant everything. My last three years in Saginaw, they’ve done so much for me. It’s a really top-class organization. I give a lot of credit to Laz, my coach, Dave Drinkle, our owners, Dick Garber and Craig Gosselin. They made my life feel at home there, so I’m really grateful for that.

Misa, on what it was like to hear his name called:

It was awesome, just a moment of relief and excitement. A little bit of an emotional moment with my family—they’ve meant so much to me and supported me for so long. It’s pretty cool.

Misa, on looking back on this experience as a whole:

It’s been great. From when I got here Wednesday until now, you just take in the moment, because it only happens once, so I’ve just been trying to enjoy it.

Misa, on what he knows about San Jose:

There’s good weather there. I know they have a great team, great young core coming up. I know they’re in a little bit of a rebuild situation now, but nothing but good things to say.

Misa, on whether he thinks he’s ready for the next step:

My goal next year is to play in the NHL. I have a big summer ahead of me, gotta get stronger and help myself on and off the ice, that’s my goal next year.

Misa, on potentially seeing himself playing with Macklin Celebrini:

He’s a heck of a player. Being able to watch him this year, learn stuff about his game, I’m really excited to meet him in the near future.

Misa, on his meeting with the San Jose Sharks organization building up to the draft:

At the combine, I had a great chat with them during my interview, and then I went out to dinner with them. It was just a casual dinner, it didn’t feel like an interview at all, just me being myself. It was great.

I think I had great conversations with them, nothing felt awkward at all. It was just me being myself talking to them, and I thought they thought pretty highly of me, so it’s cool to see them get the draft pick.

Misa, on how he wants to fit in to what the Sharks are trying to build:

Just help out in any way I can. Being another younger player in that group, I want to make an impact right away and try and help out in any way.

Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson, good friends and represented by the same agent, Facetimed each other after #SJSharks picked Misa! pic.twitter.com/G9fmfW4hmT

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 28, 2025

Misa, on whether playing with his brother Luke Misa next year at Penn State is off the table:

I don’t really know. I mean, my goal is to play in the NHL, so that’s kind of where my head’s at right now.

Misa, on going after Matthew Schaefer:

I’m really happy for him. He’s been through so much the last year, year and a half. He deserved that number one, I couldn’t be happier.

I know him well, so we’ll probably joke about it and whatnot, but he’s a great guy. For San Jose to recognize me as this pick and head over there, it’s gonna be a great feeling for me.

Misa, on whether he expected San Jose to draft him:

I knew there was a chance I was 1, 2, or 3. I wasn’t really too sure where I’d end up, but San Jose’s a great spot.

I had no clue until they announced my name, and then it was just excitement from there.

Misa, on the people who got him here today:

Mom, dad, and my brother are the main three I think of. Then, there’s just so much help outside the ranking. There’s too many people to name, I can’t name them all, but there’s my agent, Dave Gagner—just so, so many people who have helped along this journey.

Misa, on why he thinks he’s ready to play in the NHL:

I think that’s kind of for my game to decide—I gotta prove myself. I believe when I’m at my best, I’m making guys around me better. I think I play with good offensive ability, so we’ll see what happens.

Misa, on what he’s been up to in LA since arriving:

It’s been pretty low-key, pretty casual. I’ve just been trying to enjoy these last couple of days.

I went to Santa Monica, that was pretty cool. I went on that ferris wheel there. That was about it, but it was a fun time.

Misa, on his game being compared to John Tavares:

That’s pretty incredible. I mean, he’s one heck of a player, so to be able to be compared to him, it’s pretty cool. I think I play like him in a way offensively—like his puck protection, his shot. I can see myself relating to him.

Misa, on what the next two months look like in terms of training:

Just training, making sure my body’s right and in good condition, because you have to be in good condition to play in the NHL. Ultimately, I think whatever happens, I’m going to be ready for main camp.

Misa, on what he’s learned about the pro life:

That’s a good question. It’s your job, basically—the NHL is your job. The daily habits you have every day, coming to the rink to get better, it’s going to be huge for me. Staying longer, learning stuff off guys is definitely going to help me.

Misa, on what kind of route he wants to go next year, OHL or NCAA or NHL:

My thought process is I want to make San Jose next year. That’s kind of where my head’s at.

Misa, on whether he had anything special in the outfit details for the draft:

I had a couple of pictures of myself, nothing too fancy. I had the draft logo, but it was pretty simple, not too complicated.

Misa, on whether he looked at social media at all, paid attention to rumors swirling around No. 2 pick:

The last couple of days, I haven’t looked at anything. I came here and just wanted to enjoy LA. I’m probably scared to go on social media, right? I don’t know if I want to open my phone, so I try to keep it closed for a bit.

Happy to be a Shark.

Misa said he's been off social media for a couple days, so wasn't really aware of the rumors swirling around No. 2 pick, "probably scared" to go back on.

I told him not to worry, he was #SJSharks fans' choice all along.

Great pic from @hockeyshots! pic.twitter.com/UTymI290CU

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) June 28, 2025

Misa, on if there’s anyone more he wants to call and give the news to:

Most of all my family and stuff is here. I think one person I called was a buddy, Nick Sima, one of my teammates is probably one of the first people I’m gonna call. He’s been there for me since year one, he’s like my best friend on the team.

Misa, on whether he’ll be fully participating in development camp:

That’s my plan. The last month and a half has been more trying to get my back healed up, but I’ve been feeling great recently, so I’m looking forward to dev camp.

Misa, on if he plans to wear No. 77:

If I can, yeah, for sure.

Misa, on how it feels to see a bunch of OHL players get drafted:

It says a lot about the OHL. They produce good players—what was it, five in the top 8?—so it’s pretty cool to see. I know all of them, so I’m sure we’ll catch up.

Misa, on his back injury which kept him out of U-18’s:

It was just muscle spasms. I got them throughout the playoffs, but I’ve been feeling great recently.