The San Jose Sharks have spent years quietly turning their rebuild into one of the NHL’s most impressive prospect systems, and the latest look at the organization shows just how far that work has come. Even after players like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, and Sam Dickinson moved into full-time NHL roles, the pipeline behind them still looks stacked.
Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis ranked San Jose’s system among the league’s best, and the strongest part of that group is clearly on defense. The Sharks came out of the 2026 NHL Draft with a deep class of blue-liners, giving the organization a collection of puck-moving defenders that fits the modern game almost perfectly.
Keaton Verhoeff leads that group. Taken ninth overall, the 6-foot-4 right-shot defenseman went straight to the NCAA at North Dakota and has the look of a possible top-pairing anchor. San Jose also traded up to grab Ryan Lin at No. 21, adding a 5-foot-11 right-shot puck-mover from the Vancouver Giants who finished as the highest-scoring defenseman at the 2026 U18 World Championship and is headed to the University of Denver this fall.
The depth goes well beyond those two. Luca Cagnoni already has a short NHL stint on his resume and brings the kind of skating and puck skill that draws comparisons to Vince Dunn.
Eric Pohlkamp, another right-shot defender, piled up more than 70 points across two seasons at Denver. Leo Sahlin Wallenius is part of the group, too, adding to a back end that keeps getting deeper.
What stands out about all of those defensemen is the same trait: they can move the puck. That remains the premium skill on NHL blue lines, and San Jose has loaded up on it.
The Sharks are strong in the middle as well. Ellis expects both Cam Lund and Filip Bystedt to get meaningful NHL time this season. Bystedt in particular took a big step last year, producing 60 points in 65 games for the San Jose Barracuda while playing a heavy, physical style.
The left side of the forward pipeline is just as healthy. Ivar Stenberg, the second overall pick in 2026, sits at the top of the entire system as a dynamic scorer with a lethal shot and very few flaws.
Igor Chernyshov is starting to look like a major find from the 2024 second round after putting up 19 points in 28 NHL games as a rookie. Quentin Musty, a 2023 first-round pick, is coming off a productive AHL season.
San Jose even has goaltending depth, with Joshua Ravensbergen and Brady Knowling in the mix. In other words, almost every part of the prospect chart has something in it.
Almost.
The one obvious hole is right wing. Ellis pointed out that San Jose does not have a single right winger in its top 10 prospects, and he also said he does not see the fringe options as likely future NHL regulars. For a system this loaded, that kind of absence is hard to miss.
There is some built-in flexibility there. Centers and left wingers can move over to the right side, and players like Chernyshov or Stenberg could fill that role if needed.
So this is not a crisis. But it is still the one spot that does not match the rest of the roster’s depth.
The Sharks also have a straightforward way to attack it. They can target right-wing help in future drafts or use the prospect surplus they already have to swing a trade. General manager Mike Grier has already shown this summer that he is willing to move assets, and San Jose has the kind of depth on the back end that gives him plenty to work with.
For now, though, the big picture is simple: the Sharks have built a pipeline that most teams would love to have, with elite defensemen and strong center depth leading the way. The missing right wing is the rare weak spot in a system that is otherwise overflowing with talent.