[NHL] The Official 2025-2026 NHL Season Thread
- Thread starter QWERTYLICIOUS
- Start date
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
That was a phenomenal move in order to get around the goaltender and find the back of the net!
Yeah, that was a beauty for sure. Will Smith also hit the game winner in the 3rd period (getting a stick in behind the goalie to poke in his own rebound). Celebrini is alone for now at the top of the points leader board one ahead of Connor Bedard who had a 4pt day and the Sharks are 6-2-1 since starting the season winless in their first 6 games.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
Here's to hoping that the future is TEAL in the NHL!!!
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
SOLID, SOLID, SOLID all-around performance by the Sharks tonight. Offense played well, defense was on point and, man, Askarov was BEASTLY between the pipes!!! Would like to see the Sharks keep their collective feet on the gas pedal after a fast start, and not give the other team a glimmer of hope throughout the duration of the game, but I am hopeful that will all come with experience.
Last edited:
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
We see you, 2025-2026 San Jose SHARKS!!!
After some early season struggles (to put it lightly) both Askarov and Nedeljkovic have looked the part of elite goaltenders for the past two weeks and that's made all the difference in turning things around. They're probably going to come back down to earth a bit (though it would be damned cool if they don't!) but even so, you can see that this team is on an upward trajectory.
Obviously I'm stoked to see Celebrini hanging out at the top of the points leader board already as a teenager but it's also cool that Bedard and Carlsson (the top 2 picks from the 2023 draft) are up there tied with him for 2nd place. Add in Will Smith (the 4th pick in that draft) also surging up to #34 and we've got a full on youth movement taking place.
In less exciting news, the Sharks are currently at the mid point of a game against the last place Calgary Flames and they have only 3 shots on goal. That's no bueno.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
A "Mackie Hatty"!!! Wouldn't mind seeing many more of them throughout the year, and the rest of his (Sharks) playing career!
Nightmare fuel for goalies. Looks like the puck was caught in his sleeve. 
This thread fell off about the same point as it did in the previous season. I was still watching the games but didn't find time to post about them. Also, the team struggled for awhile there in the middle months before going on a brief run right at the end so I drifted off toward looking at draft prospects instead. Old habits die hard I guess.
For the Sharks, Michael Misa started to show us some things after he returned to the team post Olympics break. I'm excited to see him build on that next year. Igor Chernyshov may have already carved out a spot for himself in the first line alongside Mack and Will Smith. Not bad for a second round pick. Sharks' Right-Shot Defenseman prospect Eric Pohlkamp was a runner-up for the Hobey Baker award in college and helped win a National Championship for the University of Denver so congrats to him! We should see him on the Sharks next season, perhaps paired up with Sam Dickinson. And most exciting of all, Celebrini broke Joe Thornton's team record for most points in a single-season in the final game. 115 points for the19 year old superstar. With a player like that on board, the Sharks ought to be very good for a very long time.
I believe the Sharks are picking 9th and 20th in the first round barring any trades (or improbable lotto luck) and there should be some very good prospects available at #9 at least. Any of Carson Carels, Daxon Rudolph, or Albert Smits would be nice additions if the top 8 teams lean toward taking forwards. Caleb Malhotra or Ethan Belchetz would be great additions to Misa's second-line if the earlier teams go defense heavy. Either way we should be getting another key piece. More consistently strong play from Askarov in the net would go a long way toward getting the Sharks into the playoffs next season. There is also a lot of cap space to spend and prospect depth to trade so adding a notable veteran to speed things along could also be part of the plan.
For the Sharks, Michael Misa started to show us some things after he returned to the team post Olympics break. I'm excited to see him build on that next year. Igor Chernyshov may have already carved out a spot for himself in the first line alongside Mack and Will Smith. Not bad for a second round pick. Sharks' Right-Shot Defenseman prospect Eric Pohlkamp was a runner-up for the Hobey Baker award in college and helped win a National Championship for the University of Denver so congrats to him! We should see him on the Sharks next season, perhaps paired up with Sam Dickinson. And most exciting of all, Celebrini broke Joe Thornton's team record for most points in a single-season in the final game. 115 points for the19 year old superstar. With a player like that on board, the Sharks ought to be very good for a very long time.
I believe the Sharks are picking 9th and 20th in the first round barring any trades (or improbable lotto luck) and there should be some very good prospects available at #9 at least. Any of Carson Carels, Daxon Rudolph, or Albert Smits would be nice additions if the top 8 teams lean toward taking forwards. Caleb Malhotra or Ethan Belchetz would be great additions to Misa's second-line if the earlier teams go defense heavy. Either way we should be getting another key piece. More consistently strong play from Askarov in the net would go a long way toward getting the Sharks into the playoffs next season. There is also a lot of cap space to spend and prospect depth to trade so adding a notable veteran to speed things along could also be part of the plan.
Last edited:
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
I'd love to see the Sharks beef up the defense heading into next season. Give Asky a solid defense in front of him, and Mack a solid defense behind him, and go to work.
Oh for sure! The defensive pairings were a real sore spot for the Sharks all season. Right now it looks like the biggest changes are going to be the addition of Eric Pohlkamp (he already signed his 2-year contract to join the Sharks starting next season) and hopefully some improvement from Dickinson and Mukhamadullin. Even if we do luck out and get a top defender in the draft, they're going to be 17 or 18 years old and most likely a couple years away. It might be time to start trading some prospect depth for a veteran defender or two.
The NHL Draft Lottery will be held today at 4pm PDT. For the first time in awhile, it's long odds for the Sharks to move up but stranger things have happened. Like last year when the Islanders moved from #10 to #1. The right-handed defenders that the Sharks ought to be targeting are slated to go in the 3-7 range so that would be the benefit of moving up, but I like a lot of players in the 8-12 range too so there's no reason to sweat this one.
QWERTYLICIOUS
Starter
With the SECOND pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, THE San Jose Sharks select...
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Let's GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!
Woah! Didn't actually think that would happen. All sorts of trade down scenarios for extra picks make sense now but this also puts a lot of guys on the table (Chase Reid, Caleb Malhotra, Carson Carels, Keaton Verhoeff, Alberts Smits) who most likely wouldn't have been there at #9. Chase Reid seems like the most likely pick at #2 as the consensus top scoring defenseman in the draft and a guy we could pair with Dickinson in the top pairing but I've really come to like Malhotra a lot from watching all the scouting videos. So those two players are my favorites at this point.
I ventured into Reddit for the first time ever over the past month to see what the San Jose Sharks fans there were thinking about this year's draft and hoo boy.... that is not a nice place to be! I've read some version of "anyone who doesn't think the Sharks are drafting Ivar Stenberg at #2 is a complete moron!" ad nauseum in every possible configuration, in every single draft thread.
And then it morphed into "any draft commentator who dares to mock anyone else for the Sharks or rank any player above Stenberg is clearly a shill for the Canucks and Blackhawks and has created their website/podcast/Youtube channel for the express purpose of convincing the Sharks to pass on Ivar Stenberg". I think I'll stay away from Reddit for a long while.
Stenberg is clearly very talented but I don't like the idea of top line of all 6' forwards where Celebrini needs to be the brains, the muscle, and the goal scorer on every shift. I think Will Smith needs to stay in that right wing spot for team chemistry so that third forward ought to be someone more like Chernyshov -- someone with some size who is good on the boards, likes to hit people, and specializes in making space in front of the net. Before the draft lottery I was looking at all the defensemen in this draft and lamenting that we may just miss out on all the top guys. We now have a chance to get the best defenseman in the draft. From the scouting videos I've been watching, I still think Chase Reid is the smart pick here. San Jose Sharks reddit be damned
And then it morphed into "any draft commentator who dares to mock anyone else for the Sharks or rank any player above Stenberg is clearly a shill for the Canucks and Blackhawks and has created their website/podcast/Youtube channel for the express purpose of convincing the Sharks to pass on Ivar Stenberg". I think I'll stay away from Reddit for a long while.
Stenberg is clearly very talented but I don't like the idea of top line of all 6' forwards where Celebrini needs to be the brains, the muscle, and the goal scorer on every shift. I think Will Smith needs to stay in that right wing spot for team chemistry so that third forward ought to be someone more like Chernyshov -- someone with some size who is good on the boards, likes to hit people, and specializes in making space in front of the net. Before the draft lottery I was looking at all the defensemen in this draft and lamenting that we may just miss out on all the top guys. We now have a chance to get the best defenseman in the draft. From the scouting videos I've been watching, I still think Chase Reid is the smart pick here. San Jose Sharks reddit be damned
I've only seen Gavin McKenna play and he seems locked at #1 despite numerous clickbait articles making the case for Stenberg and Reid.
Hard to pass up a potential #1 D man that can put up a point per game but if Stenberg is that good and you don't want to break up your first line drafting a guy to feature on the second line isn't like drafting second in the NBA and saying "this is our 6th man for the next 20 years!".
Seems like Sharks are in a good spot either way. I do think picking defensemen over a high scoring wing prospect is less sexy but if you get a chance at an elite one you can't pass it up.
Hard to pass up a potential #1 D man that can put up a point per game but if Stenberg is that good and you don't want to break up your first line drafting a guy to feature on the second line isn't like drafting second in the NBA and saying "this is our 6th man for the next 20 years!".
Seems like Sharks are in a good spot either way. I do think picking defensemen over a high scoring wing prospect is less sexy but if you get a chance at an elite one you can't pass it up.
It's always a matter of perception with prospects. McKenna was heavily criticized throughout the course of the season for being a finesse player who seemed uninterested in playing defense but he had a bit of a resurgence late in the year to re-claim the top spot. Stenberg was largely there in the top 2 throughout the early part of this year by default as a young guy playing well in the Swedish pro-league who looked good, not great at the World Juniors earlier this year. Keaton Verhoeff was supposed to be #2 but he went to college and got exposed a bit as a weak skater who makes poor decisions under pressure.
Stenberg is a solid prospect but the idea that he's a full tier above everyone besides McKenna has largely been debunked by anyone outside of the Sharks fan echo-chamber. These fans are looking at rankings from 3 months ago which called this a two player draft and ignoring everything that has come out since because it disagrees with the opinion they have already formed.
Chase Reid was ranked somewhere around 100 earlier this year. But if you watch the videos, he's possibly the best skater in this draft, an exceptional passer, played just as well as Stenberg at the same World Juniors, and is getting better at such a rapid rate that a lot of unbiased scouts now think he has the most potential of anyone in this draft and should be in play for #1. He also fits the Sharks biggest need as not just a potential top pairing defenseman, but also a guy who shoots right (the Sharks have only 1 RS defenseman with NHL potential in their prospect pool) and has the intelligence to run the top power play.
Everything the Sharks do from here on out needs to be based around Celebrini as the leader of the team. All else being equal, having a defenseman who can retrieve the puck and get it up the ice quickly either with a long pass or by skating it up himself and then pass off to Celebrini for a quick scoring chance is going to be way more impactful than a solid two-way jack of all trades wing like Stenberg who largely replicates skills that the Sharks already have in Celebrini, Misa, Smith, and Eklund. I wouldn't hate it if the Sharks draft Stenberg, but I think it would be a wasted opportunity. Chase Reid looks like the better NHL pro to me between the two even if he is likely 3 years away from impact minutes on the Sharks.
Stenberg is a solid prospect but the idea that he's a full tier above everyone besides McKenna has largely been debunked by anyone outside of the Sharks fan echo-chamber. These fans are looking at rankings from 3 months ago which called this a two player draft and ignoring everything that has come out since because it disagrees with the opinion they have already formed.
Chase Reid was ranked somewhere around 100 earlier this year. But if you watch the videos, he's possibly the best skater in this draft, an exceptional passer, played just as well as Stenberg at the same World Juniors, and is getting better at such a rapid rate that a lot of unbiased scouts now think he has the most potential of anyone in this draft and should be in play for #1. He also fits the Sharks biggest need as not just a potential top pairing defenseman, but also a guy who shoots right (the Sharks have only 1 RS defenseman with NHL potential in their prospect pool) and has the intelligence to run the top power play.
Everything the Sharks do from here on out needs to be based around Celebrini as the leader of the team. All else being equal, having a defenseman who can retrieve the puck and get it up the ice quickly either with a long pass or by skating it up himself and then pass off to Celebrini for a quick scoring chance is going to be way more impactful than a solid two-way jack of all trades wing like Stenberg who largely replicates skills that the Sharks already have in Celebrini, Misa, Smith, and Eklund. I wouldn't hate it if the Sharks draft Stenberg, but I think it would be a wasted opportunity. Chase Reid looks like the better NHL pro to me between the two even if he is likely 3 years away from impact minutes on the Sharks.
I agree with everything you say, just that I have had limited eyes on these prospects. I watch a lot of Terriers hockey, and occasionally watch the Winterhawks too, and sometimes the junior international tournaments when they are over the holidays. I got nothing on the Swedes or the Candian Juniors outside the WHL.
