The Sharks have loved their NCAA guys the last few years.
With recent young additions in Macklin Celebrini (Boston University), Will Smith (Boston College), Cam Lund (Northeastern) and Collin Graf (Quinnipiac), along with Henry Thrun (Harvard), Mario Ferraro (UMass Amherst) and numerous others, San Jose has a liking towards college kids. On top of that, at the helm is general manager Mike Grier, who played three years at Boston University from 1993-1996 and won the national championship in 1995. Therefore, it’s not surprising that 11 players at development camp this week hail from the NCAA.
As these players take the ice this week, let’s give a brief breakdown on who they are.
Noah Beck, Arizona State, D
Capping off a personal best year as a graduate student at Arizona State with 33 points in 37 games, Beck played one game with the Barracuda after signing his ELC as a free agent.
Before Arizona State, he played four years at Clarkson University, where he scored 56 points in 124 games. St. Louis originally held his rights, when they drafted him 194th overall in 2020.
Matt Davis, Denver, G
Davis was the anchor inbetween the pipes during Denver’s national championship run in 2024. This past year, he posted a .924 SV% in 40 games. At the conclusion of his season this year, he signed a one year deal with the Barracuda.
A fun little fact: Matt Davis is a large reason why Celebrini and Smith both don’t have a NCAA championship. In 2024, Boston University lost against Denver in the Frozen Four semifinal and Boston College would lose to Denver in the next game, thus making Denver national champions. With those games and more, Davis has proven that he can turn it on in big moments.
Brendan Fitzgerald, University of New Hampshire, D
Fitzgerald has spent his last two years playing at the University of New Hampshire. In 61 games as a Wildcat, he rotated between being on the second and third defense pairing. Before UNH, he played 101 career games with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in the USHL, notching 55 total points.
He comes from a well-renowned hockey family. His father, Tom, is the general manager of the New Jersey Devils. His brothers Casey and Ryan play in the AHL, last with the Hartford Wolf Pack and Utica Comets respectively. His cousins include the Tkachuks and Hayes brothers.
Reese Laubach, Penn State, C
Laubach is a hometown kid, growing up in San Jose and playing for the Jr. Sharks. He helped bring Penn State to their first ever Frozen Four appearance this year with 15 goals and 15 assists in 35 games.
The player to score the sixth-most points on the team, Laubach played a huge part in the Nittany Lions’ run to the Frozen Four. He scored the game-winning overtime goal against Ohio State on January 25 and had the game-winning goal in both games versus Wisconsin in February — all big games for Penn State.
Nathan Lewis, Ohio State, LW
Though he attended development camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets last year, Lewis is putting on teal this week. In his freshman season at Ohio State, Lewis had six points in 27 games, along with 20 blocked shots.
Prior to attending Ohio State, Lewis spent three years in the USHL. He played his first two years with the Madison Capitols before being traded to the Youngstown Phantoms. Unfortunately, his time with the Phantoms only saw him play 12 games due to injury.
Joey Muldowney, University of Connecticut, RW
Muldowney had an impressive year at UConn, scoring 29 goals and 18 assists in 39 games played, averaging over a point per game. He was an important pillar to leading the Huskies to their first ever appearance in the NCAA tournament. He broke three program records this year — most points in a single season, most goals in a single season and most hat tricks in a single season.
In his media availability earlier this week, he said that getting “bigger, faster and stronger” is something that he wants to continue working on.
“I’m a smaller guy, and I know that, [the Sharks] know that,” Muldowney added. “I’m not gonna shy away from that.”
Libor Nemec, UMass Lowell, RW/LW
Nemec appeared in 26 games for the Riverhawks this season, scoring 12 points. Before college, he played in the USHL with the Omaha Lancers and the Green Bay Gamblers. In Green Bay, he was almost a point per game player.
He also has plenty of experience on the international level, having represented Slovakia almost every year in international competition since 2019.
Eric Polhkamp, Denver, D
Drafted by the Sharks 132nd overall in 2023, Polhkamp is coming off a great year with Denver, where he scored 35 points in 44 games to contribute to Denver's Frozen Four appearance. This made him fourth in the NCAA in points for a defenseman. He also led his team with a +31 plus/minus ranking.
Polhkamp played in all seven games at the 2024 World Juniors where he won a gold medal with Team USA. Before he arrived at Denver, he played one season at Bemidji State and two years in the USHL on the Cedar Rapid Roughriders.
Zach Sharp, Western Michigan, D
Sharp was picked just last week at the 2025 NHL Draft at 124th overall. Fresh off a national championship win with the Broncos, he netted five goals and four assists this year.
He went undrafted the last two years. According to the Elite Prospects NHL Draft Guide, Sharp “flies up the weak to become a lead pass option, sprints the middle to take a forward's role, and becomes the trailer.”
Brandon Svoboda, Boston University, C/RW
With nine points in 33 games, Svoboda spent much of the year centering BU’s fourth line as a vital depth player while occasionally sparking creative plays. During World Juniors with Team USA, he notched six points in seven games.
He has a knack of scoring important goals in important games. During the Beanpot final against Boston College, Svoboda's goal tied the game, which would eventually lead to a win for BU. In the World Juniors final against Finland, he brought the USA to a one goal game, which was an essential shift in momentum for the Americans.
I’d like to see him develop his game in his sophomore year at BU and find himself in a position more often to unleash the shot he has.
Ivan Zadvernyuk, Brown, LW/RW
Zadvernyuk concluded his first year at Brown with 10 points in 32 games. From Russia, he played two years with the Los Angeles Jr. Kings before playing for the Lone Star Brahmas of the NAHL.
He took a more untraditional route, jumping from NAHL straight into NCAA rather than going first to the the USHL or other top junior level teams around the world.