The San Jose Sharks aren’t talking like a team content to wait around anymore.
That’s the biggest change hanging over this group after a 34-point jump last season, the largest single-season improvement in the NHL. San Jose went from the bottom of the standings to within four points of a playoff spot, and assistant coach Jeff Ulmer says the organization is ready to push harder this time.
“We know it’s going to be tough, but we think that we can take a shot at the playoffs,” Ulmer told Luc Muir of Ball Exclusives. “I think we’re all ready and focused on the right areas; it’s going to be exciting.”
For a franchise that has not played meaningful April hockey in seven years, that kind of confidence stands out. It also reflects a roster that looks very different than it did a year ago, with the front office leaning into a more physical, experienced identity on the back end.
General manager Mike Grier brought in Jacob Trouba, Darnell Nurse, and Michael Kesselring, giving the Sharks a blue line with more size, edge, and know-how. Ulmer pointed to Trouba and Nurse as the kind of defensemen who keep opponents uncomfortable.
Kesselring may be the biggest question mark of the three after an injury-filled season in Buffalo, but San Jose is banking on his tools. Ulmer believes the 26-year-old’s reach and defensive game can help lift a penalty kill that finished 26th in the league, even if he doesn’t think that unit was nearly as bad as the ranking suggested.
“I think we gave up a lot of goals from missed clears, but I really liked our structure,” he said. “Doug Houda runs it very similarly to Vegas’ kill. They made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals, and I thought ours was right there with them during the regular season.”
The Sharks’ surge, though, is not just about the veterans. Their real ceiling still depends on the players already in the building continuing to grow.
Ulmer said the staff has been careful not to pile too much on the younger players, crediting that approach for the progress San Jose made last season. He pointed to the video work and gradual increase in responsibilities that helped shape Michael Misa’s rookie year.
Misa averaged under 13 minutes a night but finished the season as a legitimate top-six contributor, and his role should grow again. The same patient path is waiting for Ivar Stenberg, the No. 2 pick, who put together the second-best draft-eligible season in Swedish Hockey League history behind only Daniel Sedin.
Ulmer didn’t commit to a lineup spot for the 18-year-old, but he liked what he saw in development camp, especially the way Stenberg “played in traffic and protected the puck” against older players.
The player the staff seems most eager to unleash is Igor Chernyshov. The 6-foot-3 winger showed flashes of top-line chemistry with Celebrini and Smith during a 28-game debut, and Ulmer’s praise for him was unmistakable.
There are still real hurdles in the way. The Pacific Division is tougher, and San Jose’s history of rough starts looms over everything. Ryan Warsofsky will have to keep the group steady early or risk watching all this progress slip away fast.
But Ulmer says the people guiding the Sharks are in a better place now too. “We’ve added some good leaders; even the coaching staff, we’ve been through it now,” he said. “We know how to get our guys ready, and I anticipate taking another step this season.”
That’s the shift in San Jose: belief backed by evidence, and a roster that finally looks equipped to make the talk matter.
In Other News...
Sharks Forward Battle Is Taking Shape Around Celebrini And Smith
The Sharks summer reshaping has already given the forward group a noticeably different look, with Mason Marchment joining the mix, first-round pick Ivar Stenberg now under an entry-level contract, and several departures thinning out the depth chart. William Eklund was moved for a future draft pick, while Philipp Kurashev, Pavol Regenda and Ryan Reaves all left in free agency, leaving San Jose with a clearer sense of which young pieces are going to drive the next wave.
That is why the projected lines around Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith have become such a focal point as camp approaches. The top end still looks centered on those two, but the supporting cast is much less settled after all the offseason turnover, and the way the Sharks choose to build around them will say plenty about how aggressive they want to be in the short term and how much they want to keep the spotlight on development. [Read more 🡒]
Ivar Stenberg Faces A Big Sharks Question Right Away
Ivar Stenberg is already drawing sharply different readouts before he has even settled into his first Sharks season. The 2026 No. 2 pick is eligible to bounce between San Jose and the AHL this year, and two NHL scouts offered very different visions of what his rookie campaign could look like as the club heads into a season with playoff expectations.
One view has Stenberg stepping into a meaningful NHL role right away, with enough offense to stick near the top of the lineup. The other sees a more uneven path, with time in both leagues as he adjusts to the pace and demands of the pro game. For a Sharks team trying to make the postseason, that split matters, because the standard for staying in the NHL lineup may be higher than it would be on a rebuilding roster. [Read more 🡒]