Cole McKinney may not be the flashiest name in the San Jose Sharks’ pipeline, but that’s not the point. The 19-year-old center looks built for the kind of job NHL teams always need filled: the hard minutes, the defensive draws, the penalty kill shifts, the small plays that keep a game from slipping away.
That’s the lane Sharks general manager Mike Grier has been targeting as he builds out the roster. San Jose already has veterans and newer additions to handle the middle and bottom-six mix, including Mason Marchment, Zack Ostapchuk, Kiefer Sherwood and Alex Wennberg.
Eventually, though, those spots turn over. When they do, the Sharks will need players who can skate, defend, win faceoffs and bring energy.
McKinney was drafted 53rd overall in 2025 because he fits that mold.
Listed at center, 6-foot-1, 198 pounds, right-shot, and born March 16, 2007, McKinney is set to return to the University of Michigan for the 2026-27 season. He took the NCAA route at 18, a tougher path than some of the other young players on this list, and handled his first college season with solid results: 20 points, including eight goals and 12 assists, in 40 games, plus a plus-2 rating.
What stands out most is how many jobs he can handle. Coaches have leaned on him everywhere, and the “Swiss Army Knife” label fits.
Michigan head coach Brandon Naurato pointed to McKinney’s work in the faceoff circle after a Feb. 3 game against University of Pennsylvania, saying, “I thought Cole was outstanding, especially in the face-off dot,” Naurato told The Michigan Daily on Feb. 3.
“I think he was like 70% or something. He’s actually 61% in Big Ten play, which is really, really impressive.
He’s a big piece of (the penalty kill), and he’ll be a big piece moving forward.”
The faceoff numbers back up the praise. As a freshman, McKinney won 331 draws and lost 248, finishing at 57.2%.
That put him among the top centers in the NCAA in faceoffs won, and he did it while taking plenty of defensive-zone and penalty-kill assignments rather than easy offensive looks. He was second on Michigan behind senior T.J.
Hughes.
That reliability also earned him a spot with Team USA at the World Junior Championship, where he played five games and picked up one assist. The expectation is that he’ll be back with the team again this season, again in that third-line center, utility type of role.
The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler described him as a “solid two-way center”: “… (he tracks and angles well on the PK, is strong, protects pucks well and took on defensive assignments) and is credited for his well-rounded game on and off the puck … His skill level isn’t flashy, but he sees and reads the game well and has some secondary skill.”
The next step is obvious: more offense. McKinney’s first college season was never going to be a simple runway for production, especially after jumping into the NCAA at 18. The bigger question is what he can add in year two without losing the defensive trust that got him on the ice in the first place.
That sophomore season begins this fall at Michigan, and his role should grow with Hughes gone after signing with the Colorado Avalanche. McKinney has already made it clear he understands how the job changes depending on the group around him.
Speaking with Brodie Brazil on Sharks Mic Check last winter, he said, “I think obviously there’s a ton of skill on our team, and I think for me, any way I can find my footing and way to contribute to help the team win, I’m obviously all in for that,” said McKinney. “I think to be able to have an impact on the game in any way I can is something I take a lot of pride in.”
There’s some offensive touch there, too. In one power-play clip, he moved the puck, kept his feet going, found space and opened himself up for a one-timer.
Another showed his ability to tip pucks around the net against Penn State on Feb. 14.
McKinney comes in at No. 22 in this year’s 25 Under 25 countdown, behind Carson Wetsch, Mattias Havelid and Christian Kirsch, with honorable mentions going to Joey Muldowney, Teddy Mutryn, Andre Gasseau, Brady Knowling and Alexander Karmanov.
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