Sharks’ Pipeline Is Loaded on Defense, But One Position Is Missing – The Hockey Writers –

For several years now, the San Jose Sharks have quietly built one of the most enviable prospect pools in hockey. The rebuild that stripped the roster down to the studs also stocked the system with high-end talent, and even as players like Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Michael Misa, and Sam Dickinson graduated to full-time NHL roles, the pipeline behind them never thinned out.

A look at their latest roster confirms as much, ranking San Jose’s system among the league’s best. The strength of that pool, according to Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis, is concentrated on the blue line. The Sharks emerged from the 2026 NHL Draft with a haul of skilled defenders, and the depth chart now runs deep with puck-movers at exactly the position teams covet most.

But the same breakdown surfaced a glaring gap, one that stands out precisely because the rest of the system is so complete. San Jose does not have a single legitimate right-wing prospect worth ranking.

A Blue Line Built for the Modern Game

The defensive depth begins with the 2026 draft class. Keaton Verhoeff, taken ninth overall, is a 6-foot-4 right-shot defenseman who jumped to the NCAA at North Dakota and profiles as a potential top-pairing anchor. Behind him is Ryan Lin, whom the Sharks traded up to select 21st overall.

Lin is a 5-foot-11 right-shot puck-mover out of the Vancouver Giants who finished as the highest-scoring defenseman at the 2026 U18 World Championship, and he heads to the University of Denver this fall.

Those two headline a group that runs remarkably deep. Luca Cagnoni, a 5-foot-9 offensive dynamo, already has a brief taste of NHL action and draws comparisons to Vince Dunn for his skating and puck skill. Eric Pohlkamp, a play-driving right-shot blueliner, produced more than 70 points over two seasons at Denver. Even further down, prospects like Leo Sahlin Wallenius add to the surplus.

It is a collection of defenders who all share the ability to move the puck, the single most valued trait on modern NHL blue lines.

Strength Down the Middle Too

The pipeline’s quality is not limited to defense. San Jose’s center depth is genuinely impressive, and Ellis expects both Cam Lund and Filip Bystedt to see significant NHL time this season. Bystedt in particular leaped last season, posting 60 points in 65 games with the San Jose Barracuda while playing a heavy, physical brand of hockey.

On the wing, the left side is stacked. Ivar Stenberg, the second overall pick in 2026, headlines the entire system as a dynamic scorer with a lethal shot and virtually no holes in his game. Igor Chernyshov looks like a steal from the 2024 second round after a 19-point showing in 28 NHL games as a rookie.

Quentin Musty, a 2023 first-rounder, is coming off a productive American Hockey League (AHL) season. The organization even boasts a pair of promising goaltenders in Joshua Ravensbergen and Brady Knowling. Nearly every position is accounted for, and most are overflowing.

The One Hole That Stands Out

Which makes the absence at right wing all the more conspicuous. As Ellis noted in his breakdown, there is not a single right winger among San Jose’s top 10 prospects, and he expressed genuine doubt that any of the fringe options profile as future NHL regulars. For a system this deep, having zero representation at an entire forward position is a real and specific weakness.

The counterargument is that the position is somewhat fungible. Centers and left wingers can slide over to the right side, and that flexibility will almost certainly paper over the gap to some degree. Chernyshov or Stenberg could shift if needed, and a team with this much skill elsewhere has the luxury of experimenting. It is not a crisis. But it is a hole that a perfectly balanced pipeline would not have.

The good news for San Jose is that this is an easy problem to target. With the young core already maturing at the NHL level, the Sharks can afford to prioritize right-wing help in future drafts or use their considerable prospect surplus to address it via trade. General manager Mike Grier has spent the summer showing he is willing to move assets aggressively, and a system this deep on the back end gives him the currency to fill the one position it lacks.

For now, the takeaway is overwhelmingly positive. The Sharks have a pipeline that is the envy of much of the league, anchored by elite defensive depth and skill down the middle. The missing right winger is a footnote rather than a flaw, the kind of minor imbalance that comes with having too much talent nearly everywhere else. As the system continues to blossom, it is a gap San Jose has every resource to close.