Back in May, I ranked my top 15 prospects in the Sharks system. Since then, the Sharks have added a host of new prospects to the organization via the 2025 draft. With both training camp and rookie camp on the horizon, it’s a great time to revisit the exercise and see the state of the pool heading into the 2025-26 season. I will release my top 15 over the course of three articles, starting with 15-11 and working my way up from there.
Regarding eligibility, my cut-off for what I consider a prospect will be 50 NHL games played for Skaters and 25 games played for Goalies, with an age cut-off of 24. This is the same cut-off I used for the prior ranking. Let's get into the list, starting with prospects 15-11!
15 - Cole McKinney, C, 2nd round 2025 (53)
We are kicking off the list with a new addition to the prospect pool in the recent 2nd round pick, Cole McKinney. A testament to the depth of the Sharks' system is that a recent top-60 pick, which some scouts had projected as a late first-round pick, is this low. McKinney is heading to the University of Michigan and could crack Team USA’s world junior roster with a good start to the year. I fully expected to rank McKinney higher, but there are so many prospects that deserve recognition. This is what Elite Prospects had to say about McKinney in this year's draft guide.
“Night in and night out, McKinney brings the same high-end attention to detail and determination. Forcing turnover after turnover, he never stops engaging opponents. He pushes them into support, to the walls, and traps them. With proactive physicality and a strong stick, he rips away possession from bigger opponents and puts his team right back on the attack.”
14 - Haoxi Wang, D, 2nd round 2025 (33)
Wang is a very hard player to rank. I love the potential in his game and the tools he possesses as a 6'6 "defenseman, but he is so far off from reaching his ceiling that you have to balance the upside with his current level of play. Wang can skate like the wind for his size and has incredible reach and potential to be a Matchup nightmare for forwards at the NHL level. However, his decision-making and experience are clearly lacking at this point, which is not surprising given his later start and the unique path he took to the NHL compared to most prospects. I'm being more conservative right now, but some significant improvements this season could see his stock rise very quickly.
13 - Eric Pohlkamp, D, 5th round 2023 (132)
Pohlkamp has undoubtedly made himself known to Sharks fans with his dev camp performances over the last couple of seasons, and while I put little stock in those games when it comes to these rankings, Pohlkamp is more than just a dev camp merchant. Pohlkamp has been a solid contributor at the college level, scoring 35 points in 44 games for the University of Denver, and will be entering a bigger role this season, with Zeev Biuim heading to the NHL. Pohlkamp is an exciting player; despite his smaller size, he is built like a brick house and possesses an intriguing combination of offensive ability, primarily through his thunderous shot, as well as his physical play. Still, I have questions about whether he can translate his offense to the pro game to really make an impact. It will be interesting if he makes strides as the main driver on the backend for Denver this year.
12 - Filip Bystedt, C, 1st round 2022 (27)
Recently, I wrote about Filip Bystedt being a breakout candidate, and that is still true. This is a big season for Bystedt. A good season could see him receiving NHL looks now that he has a full year of experience in North America. Bystedt has many of the tools you look for in a prospect: he has size, can skate, and possesses some underrated skill. The reason he is dropping in the system is partly due to the influx of new players, but also partly due to his own development. Bystedt still hasn’t really taken that big step you're looking for. It's been a slow burn for him since being drafted, and while that isn’t a bad thing, I would like to see him really put things together this season and take that step Sharks fans are waiting for.
11 - Kasper Halttunen, W, 2nd round 2023 (36)
Similarly to Bystedt, I wrote about Halttunen in that same article. Halttunen is entering his first professional season with the Barracuda after a brief cameo last season. The Finnish winger has had a solid Junior career, flashing his elite shot, something that separates him from every prospect in the Sharks system. Even in Juniors, Halttunen is a bit of a specialist; his game has holes outside of his shot, but his shot is good enough that if he can develop his physicality and B game, he doesn’t need to do much more to get in an NHL lineup as a power-play specialist. The AHL will be a good test to see how his game translates to the pro level on a larger sample size. The 6’4 winger is definitely a big wild card in the Sharks' system.