Sheng Peng
BUFFALO — The San Jose Sharks have three first-round picks today…we’ll see if that’s the case tomorrow.
But as of Thursday morning, the Sharks have the No. 2, 9, and 27 picks in the 2026 Draft.
Ivar Stenberg appears to be headed to San Jose at No. 2, despite GM Mike Grier’s parrying.
“Everything is pointing there,” a league source told San Jose Hockey Now.
Grier, however, wasn’t having it, when asked about Stenberg in a media availability on Wednesday: “It’s all speculation on your part here. 6-foot-3 right-shot D who can skate and create offense don’t grow on trees either.”
That’s referring to Chase Reid or Keaton Verhoeff, presumably Reid.
Of course, Grier was full of praise for Stenberg, too: “He’s a competitive kid, sees the ice well, competes hard, dual threat, pretty comfortable playing against men already, and had a historic season. He’s a very talented player.”
For his part, Stenberg looked pleased as punch by the prospect of joining the San Jose Sharks, speaking on Thursday morning at a pre-Draft prospects availability.
“I would be happy to go there, for sure,” he said. “[They] have something good going on. It would be a dream.”
The No. 9 pick doesn’t seem as clear-cut, though five mock drafts all had Daxon Rudolph headed to the San Jose Sharks.
Rudolph is a 6-foot-2 right-hander, considered a more offensive defenseman, a possible PP1 quarterback of the future, which is exactly what the Sharks need.
Rudolph certainly wouldn’t mind.
“A young, upcoming team with a bright future, so it’d be a neat spot to go there and play alongside the great players they have there,” he said. “I think they’re heading towards the right direction.”
Big winger Ethan Belchetz could also be a possibility for the San Jose Sharks at No. 9, along with defenseman Malte Gustafsson.
“A lot of the NHL likes Gustafsson,” a source told SJHN.
Like all hockey fans, Belchetz has watched the top of the draft board move like deck chairs in the past few days, highlighted by the No. 9 getting passed around from the Florida Panthers to the Ottawa Senators to the Sharks, and the No. 4 going to the Buffalo Sabres.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all hockey fans here, and when we see all these things happening, it’s pretty cool to watch.”
Rudolph has an interesting connection to all this movement.
“I had dinner with Florida during the Combine,” he said, smiling, “thinking that could have been a spot [for me].”
Speaking of the Combine, SJHN was able to confirm on Thursday that the San Jose Sharks interviewed Oliver Suvanto and Ilia Morozov there.
Meanwhile, Nikita Klepov, who was not at the Combine, said that he had spoken with the Sharks a couple times, including at the Gold Star camp in Florida last week. The Gold Star camp, agent Dan Milstein’s brainchild, is a pre-Draft showcase mostly for Russian prospects.
“I didn’t get sunburnt,” the Russian winger laughed, when asked if he was aware of Igor Chernyshov getting sunburnt at that camp in 2024, and falling to the San Jose Sharks in the second round. “It was a funny story with Chernyshov. They got really lucky, I think, with the type of player he is.”
Suvanto, Morozov, and Klepov are possibilities for the Sharks at No. 27.