2026 NHL Draft: We won #2! Reid or Stenberg for the win; taking Verhoeff is a drafting sin!

[coooldude]

My no extras, straight down the middle dream draft for the Sharks

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If they keep the pick, they really will have a mind bogglingly wide range of options at #20.

 

[TheBeard]

I like Goljer, but I'm kinda on the Gleb bandwagon at this point.

Don't know a damn thing about the guy at #20, but I like the concept of taking two RHD

 

[Sturminator]

If they keep the pick, they really will have a mind bogglingly wide range of options at #20.

Yeah, they have a lot of work to do. Winning the lottery didn't make their lives easier.

 

[Star Platinum]

I like Goljer, but I'm kinda on the Gleb bandwagon at this point.

I just can't get behind a guy with a dumbass name like Gleb. He'd have to be God on skates to get me over that. They already pushed me to the edge of my limit drafting Magomedsultanov.

 

[Star Platinum]

Im surprised you think there's so little chance we take Stenberg given he's the broad consensus #2 prospect on the board and Mike is adamant that we aren't selecting for positional need, I do see a world where we pick a D man because we value them more highly than Stenberg but I don't see him as a 0% possibility

I do agree that the posturing to entice a trade will be fruitless and we'll be selecting at #2, no one moves these picks anymore, it's just too risky

There probably isn't going to be a trade because no team sees any of the guys in this draft (including McKenna) as a have-to-have guy for their team. They have their own team-specific pecking order of who they would take if they were higher in the draft, but nobody is going to make Grier the type of offer to make him want to move down.

 

[Star Platinum]

I don’t think it’s because of Korchinski… I think it’s more they have a tier of 4 players. They can obviously rank them within that tier but if they think Stenberg, Reid, Verhoeff, and Carels are all equal within that tier… than you can comfortably move to 4OA and know you will get one of them. If you know for a fact McKenna is going 1OA then math tells you at 5OA you’ll get one of them as well too.

So it’s more about we like all four equally, if we get other assets (34OA plus Korchinski) along with one of our preferred 4…. That’s just maximizing value. AGAIN that’s if they view the prospects as the same, so if you can get the same level prospect in a trade back to 4OA while adding more lotto tickets (34OA plus Korchinski) that’s objectively smart.

Again it comes down their evaluation of the 4.

In my thoroughly uneducated opinion, taking Carl's and Verhoeff out to dinner is not about the Sharks rating them equally to other options they might take at #2. It's about signalling to the league that there are other defensemen that we'd be happy to draft if you make us a compelling enough offer to entice us to trade down.

 

[Lebanezer]

Sharks twitter is going to go ballistic when it’s not Stenberg.

I think, barring a trade prior to the draft, there’s a 0% chance it’s Stenberg.

 

[Jargon]

In my thoroughly uneducated opinion, taking Carl's and Verhoeff out to dinner is not about the Sharks rating them equally to other options they might take at #2. It's about signalling to the league that there are other defensemen that we'd be happy to draft if you make us a compelling enough offer to entice us to trade down.

I think it's possible we think they're being trickier than they are. They're going to meet with prospects they like, it's what they do -- so it makes sense that they're going to meet with the 4 that excite them the most. I don't think it means that they rate them exactly the same or that they're being manipulative, I think they're simply preparing for multiple scenarios.

If they wanted to be particularly manipulative, they would've met with Malhotra to make the Canucks think they're considering taking him (if they indeed want him that bad).

 

[Patty Ice]

I just can't get behind a guy with a dumbass name like Gleb. He'd have to be God on skates to get me over that. They already pushed me to the edge of my limit drafting Magomedsultanov.

Gleb son of Gleb son of Glob.

 

[TheBeard]

I just can't get behind a guy with a dumbass name like Gleb. He'd have to be God on skates to get me over that. They already pushed me to the edge of my limit drafting Magomedsultanov.

I can picture him standing over a victim of a brutal open ice hit and yelling, “you’ve just been Glebbed.”

 

[Juxtaposer]

Im surprised you think there's so little chance we take Stenberg given he's the broad consensus #2 prospect on the board and Mike is adamant that we aren't selecting for positional need, I do see a world where we pick a D man because we value them more highly than Stenberg but I don't see him as a 0% possibility

I do agree that the posturing to entice a trade will be fruitless and we'll be selecting at #2, no one moves these picks anymore, it's just too risky

Except he’s not the broad consensus #2. Cam Robinson’s scout poll, which you can trust if you ever trusted Bob McKenzie’s, had Caleb Malhotra as the 2nd overall pick.

He’s the broad consensus by internet scouts who only care about pointz. I don’t value those people’s opinions.

And most damningly, Grier said “we aren’t at the point of needing to draft for position yet” last year, meaning that there exists a point of needing to draft for position. And if that point isn’t now, then I don’t know when it is.

 

[SJS1991]

In my thoroughly uneducated opinion, taking Carl's and Verhoeff out to dinner is not about the Sharks rating them equally to other options they might take at #2. It's about signalling to the league that there are other defensemen that we'd be happy to draft if you make us a compelling enough offer to entice us to trade down.

And that could be the case. We don’t know for sure. The only thing we can “read into” is based on Dreger’s rumor that if they have a floor of “4OA” and they have now taken out those four prospects… that they are comfortable walking away with one of them.

Having a floor speaks to a tier. As mentioned before “if” they view them as equal within the tier than trading down can have real legs. If we are dealing with multi tiers say tier 1 (McKenna, Stenberg, Reid) and tier 2 (Verhoeff, Carels).

Then yes I agree they might be comfortable going to tier 2, but it needs to be worth it.

Ultimately I agree with most and they likely are just going to pick a 2OA. But all the different scenarios of a trade back are more interesting to discuss at this point. At 2OA it’s the same Stenberg v Reid discourse.

 

[Gecklund]

The worst part, is that he has us reaching to do it

Where?

 

[weastern bias]

Except he’s not the broad consensus #2. Cam Robinson’s scout poll, which you can trust if you ever trusted Bob McKenzie’s, had Caleb Malhotra as the 2nd overall pick.

He’s the broad consensus by internet scouts who only care about pointz. I don’t value those people’s opinions.

And most damningly, Grier said “we aren’t at the point of needing to draft for position yet” last year, meaning that there exists a point of needing to draft for position. And if that point isn’t now, then I don’t know when it is.

He said the same thing about going BPA immediately after winning this lottery as well

Perhaps Grier doesn't see Stenberg as the best (non-McKenna) forward, but he was the only forward our team took to dinner at the combine so I would be surprised if the org ranked Malhotra (who is also mostly just a pointz player, but doing so in a much easier youth league) above Stenberg

 

[Erep]

He said the same thing about going BPA immediately after winning this lottery as well

He was a lot less emphatic about it, and was more just saying things to fill air space on an awkward interview.

 

[weastern bias]

He was a lot less emphatic about it, and was more just saying things to fill air space on an awkward interview.

I'm not sure Mike has ever sounded emphatic about anything, lol

 

[Juxtaposer]

He said the same thing about going BPA immediately after winning this lottery as well

Perhaps Grier doesn't see Stenberg as the best (non-McKenna) forward, but he was the only forward our team took to dinner at the combine so I would be surprised if the org ranked Malhotra (who is also mostly just a pointz player, but doing so in a much easier youth league) above Stenberg

Of course he would say that now. No GM has ever admitted they’re right about to draft for need. That’s why the quote from last year was so interesting.

Whether or not the org ranks Malhotra over Stenberg is irrelevant to my point, which is that Stenberg is not the clear consensus #2 to anyone but internet scoutzz.

I don’t think Grier is stupid enough to hinge our entire rebuild on someone trading him a top pairing D for William Eklund.

 

[Lebanezer]

He said the same thing about going BPA immediately after winning this lottery as well

Perhaps Grier doesn't see Stenberg as the best (non-McKenna) forward, but he was the only forward our team took to dinner at the combine so I would be surprised if the org ranked Malhotra (who is also mostly just a pointz player, but doing so in a much easier youth league) above Stenberg

BPA is specific to every team. The Sharks don’t need wingers, need D, RHD, D with size and forwards with size. If it was Leo Carlsson instead of Stenberg in this draft, then I think he would be the clear argument for selecting him over a defenseman. Personally, I think everything the Sharks are doing with Stenberg is perfunctory.

 

[weastern bias]

Of course he would say that now. No GM has ever admitted they’re right about to draft for need. That’s why the quote from last year was so interesting.

Whether or not the org ranks Malhotra over Stenberg is irrelevant to my point, which is that Stenberg is not the clear consensus #2 to anyone but internet scoutzz.

I don’t think Grier is stupid enough to hinge our entire rebuild on someone trading him a top pairing D for William Eklund.

If we draft Stenberg it's much more likely we trade Misa or Smith (or even Stenberg if he breaks out as a star) for a D man eventually than Eklund

 

[weastern bias]

BPA is specific to every team. The Sharks don’t need wingers, need D, RHD, D with size and forwards with size. If it was Leo Carlsson instead of Stenberg in this draft, then I think he would be the clear argument for selecting him over a defenseman. Personally, I think everything the Sharks are doing with Stenberg is perfunctory.

IMO this team still needs everything, we had one 60 point player last year, that's not a good offensive team, even if we still have a promising offensive potential future, I understand if the team feels they still aren't in a position to draft for positional need because we need everything

 

[Star Platinum]

IMO this team still needs everything, we had one 60 point player last year, that's not a good offensive team, even if we still have a promising offensive potential future, I understand if the team feels they still aren't in a position to draft for positional need because we need everything

But of all the things we need, the things we need the least are guys that project as Top 2 centers and soft skill wingers.

I think we can safely assume that Misa will become the center we want him to be and I think we can assume that what Smith was last year is at least the floor of what kind of guy he will be going forward, but every time I read a post on this forum (and it's not just Shark fans, it's any fan) of how many talented Shark forwards there are, I think to myself "If we have so many talented forwards, how come it's so hard for us to score when Celebrini isn't on the ice?"

I think we are assuming too much still at this point about what kind of player Chernyshov will be. He probably is part of the solution, but he had long stretches of invisibility last year. We very possibly could need as many as three better wingers on this team if Chernyshov is not that guy and Eklund doesn't improve his shot. And everybody else that could be part of the solution we don't even know if they are NHL players yet.

 

[Lebanezer]

IMO this team still needs everything, we had one 60 point player last year, that's not a good offensive team, even if we still have a promising offensive potential future, I understand if the team feels they still aren't in a position to draft for positional need because we need everything

They do still need everything, but there’s still a hierarchy of needs and a smaller winger isn’t a high priority.

 

[Jargon]

But of all the things we need, the things we need the least are guys that project as Top 2 centers and soft skill wingers.

I think we can safely assume that Misa will become the center we want him to be and I think we can assume that what Smith was last year is at least the floor of what kind of guy we will be going forward, but every time I read a post on this forum (and it's not just Shark fans, it's any fan) of how many talented Shark forwards there are, I think to myself "If we have so many talented forwards, how come it's so hard for us to score when Celebrini isn't on the ice?"

I think we are assuming too much still at this point about what kind of player Chernyshov will be. He probably is part of the solution, but he had long stretches of invisibility last year. We very possibly could need as many as three better wingers on this team if Chernyshov is not that guy and Eklund doesn't improve his shot. And everybody else that could be part of the solution we don't even know if they are NHL players yet.

Part of the reason is that the forward corp is still very young. Misa, Chernyshov and Smith are still developing at human levels, not Macklin Celebrini levels, which is why he's scoring and they're scoring less. I expect them all to take a step next year.

The other reason we're not scoring when Macklin isn't out is because our defense cannot move the puck from their zone to the offensive zone if their life depended on it. We desperately need guys who can move the puck from back there.

 

[Jargon]

It's actually really surprising to me how many people don't want to pick a defenseman. We have so much talent up front -- and can get more with the prospects/picks we have left -- but our defense is entirely barren. It seems absolutely insane to not use the #2 pick to draft whoever you perceive to be the best defenseman in this class.

 

[Juxtaposer]

If we draft Stenberg it's much more likely we trade Misa or Smith (or even Stenberg if he breaks out as a star) for a D man eventually than Eklund

Who exactly is playing 2C if we trade Misa? It’s not going to be Will Smith, and it’s certainly not going to be Ivar Stenberg. They could trade Smith, I suppose, if they want to move off a clear locker-room guy and Mack’s running mate. And before the “Celebrini will get over it” brigade comes in, I cannot possibly imagine discounting the value of a cohesive, positive locker room in the NHL.

Stenberg is not nearly good enough to justify jumping through hoops to make fit.