SCHAEFER, CELEBRINI AND THE ISLES-SHARKS’ YOUNG GUNS
Both the Sharks and the Islanders boast top-tier young talent with recent first-round selections. The Sharks’ lineup consists of five players who are 21 years old or younger.
The 2024 and 2025 first-overall picks each lead or share the lead on their teams in points. Macklin Celebrini, the first-overall pick in 2024, leads the Sharks with 21 points (7G, 14A), despite missing two games with a lower-body injury. He enters the contest with a three-game point streak. Celebrini ranked fourth in the NHL last season with 115 points (45G, 70A), surpassing Joe Thornton for the Sharks’ single-season points record.
Matthew Schaefer, the 2025 first-overall pick, is tied with Bo Horvat for the team lead in points this season, with 16 points (5G, 11A). Schaefer has 14 points (5G, 9A) across his last 12 games and is now tied with Tim Connolly for the second-most career points by a teenager in Isles history with 76.
Victor Eklund was selected 16th overall in the 2025 Draft. Eklund is tied for the second-most goals for the Islanders, finding the back of the net five times this season. Victor will face the team that drafted his brother, William, whom San Jose traded to Ottawa this offseason for the ninth-overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
The Sharks have had nine first-round selections in the last four drafts. In 2023, the Sharks selected Will Smith fourth overall. The 21-year-old has tallied 13 points (7G, 6A) this season, which ranks second on the team. Celebrini and defenseman Sam Dickinson were both selected in the first round of the 2024 Draft, first and 11th, respectively.
In the 2025 Draft, the Sharks selected Michael Misa with the second-overall pick and picked second again in 2026, taking 19-year-old left wing Ivar Stenberg. Stenberg and Misa are tied for third on the team with 11 points
Filip Bystedt, San Jose’s 2022 first-round pick (27th overall), made his NHL debut on Oct. 29, adding to the Sharks’ young core. The 22-year-old center is looking for his first NHL goal and point.