Sharks Need 2 Prospects To Make The Jump To The NHL In 2025-26

The San Jose Sharks are not looking like they are going to finish anywhere but the bottom of the league again. Their bottom-6 is terrible and it will not look the same all season. Throughout the season, the Sharks will most likely be selling off a few players on expiring contracts, claiming one or two players off of waivers, and giving many guys a shot. This will see a handful of players at least play some games for the team next season, but two in particular are important.

The defense of the Sharks is actually their strong area because of the veterans they picked up this offseason. That won't necessarily last though as most of them are UFAs after next season and some will be moved. This includes players like Mario Ferraro, Timothy Liljegren, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Vincent Desharnais, and Lucas Carlsson. Fortunately, that opens up space for one d-man that the team will not want to lose to waivers.

Jack Thompson is eligible for waivers this coming season, so the best bet is that he will make the team. If not, I can see another team picking him up and giving him a shot to open the season. He is 23 years old and played 31 games for the Sharks last season, scoring four goals and recording 10 points. Thompson averaged nearly 16 minutes per game in his first real look in the NHL while playing over one minute per game on the power play and a small amount on the penalty kill. He is a former third-round pick that can produce and has developed nicely, but the Sharks don't want to lose him, even if they do have Luca Cagnoni nearly ready to come up and Sam Dickinson soon after that as well.

The other prospect that the Sharks would like to see make the jump to the NHL next season is Filip Bystedt. Their late first-round pick from 2022 is now 21 years old and has a good chance of outperforming some of the depth that the team has who could also fill spots in the middle or bottom-6. He played well in the SHL for two and a half seasons and impressed in his late showing in the NHL in 2023-24 before playing his first full AHL season in 2024-25.

Bystedt had 12 goals and 31 points in 50 games for the Sharks' AHL affiliate and I think he may have a better chance of making the NHL partway through next season to get a little more seasoning unless it gets bad quickly and he plays well. There are a lot of question marks and little confidence with players like Philipp Kurashev, Ryan Reaves, Ty Dellandrea, and Carl Grundstrom, none of which look to fit into the near future plans of the Sharks. Bystedt could succeed and fit in nicely in a third line role, but there isn't as much of a rush with him since he is still exempt from waivers.

However the Sharks handle preseason and the coming season, they should continue to get some solid young or future assets back, open up space, and give younger players looks.