San Jose Sharks’ Mike Grier has several options after NHL draft lottery

SAN JOSE – Turns out, missing the playoffs was probably the best thing to happen to the San Jose Sharks this season.

The Sharks chased a postseason spot into the second week of April, and had they made it, would have faced incredibly long odds in trying to beat the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche in a best-of-seven first-round series, likely ending up instead with the 17th overall selection in next month’s NHL draft.

After finishing 24th in the NHL’s overall standings, the Sharks had a 64.4% chance of selecting ninth and a 23.5% chance of drafting 10th before Tuesday’s draft lottery.

But thanks to some fortuitous ping pong ball bounces, the Sharks now own a potentially game-changing second overall pick in 2026, giving general manager Mike Grier a plethora of options going forward.

“It’s a good day for the organization,” Grier said about 20 minutes after Tuesday’s lottery. “A little bit surprised and happy and fortunate.”

Assuming the Toronto Maple Leafs take Penn State winger Gavin McKenna at No. 1, the Sharks can add a high-end center like Caleb Malhotra, a defenseman like Chase Reid or Keaton Verhoeff, or winger Ivar Stenberg to a prospect pool that’s already the envy of most NHL teams.

As they get ready to pick inside the top four for the fourth straight year, the Sharks might be tempted to add a right-shot defenseman like Reid, who has offensive upside, after taking Will Smith, Macklin Celebrini, and Michael Misa with their first selections each of the last three years. The 6-foot-2 Reid had 48 points in 45 games with Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL this past season.

“To think that this embarrassment of riches is going to continue,” Sportsnet draft analyst Sam Cosentino told the Bay Area News Group on Tuesday, “it’s a great story here for the San Jose Sharks.”

Grier has several paths he can choose from going forward.

The Sharks, who want to make the playoffs next season, can trade the No. 2 pick to immediately address one of their roster shortcomings, including the need for a top-pair, right-shot defenseman.

Grier said he’s open to trading the selection, although the price tag would undoubtedly be steep.

“I’m always open to listening to what’s out there,” Grier said. “If people have ideas or thoughts, then I’ll listen, and we’ll kind of go from there.”

Getting more specific, the Sharks can use the No. 2 pick to select winger Stenberg – a legit top-five talent – to give them the flexibility to deal fellow Swedish forward William Eklund, who does not have trade protection, to bolster another area of the roster.

Still, the Sharks’ most likely path forward is to keep the pick and add another high-end talent near the top of the draft. With the Sharks hoping to open their playoff contention window soon, perhaps it’ll be the last time for a while that they get to draft this caliber of player.

“Where we were picking, if it was (ninth) or (second), we thought we were going to get a good young player to add to our core,” Grier said. “With the second pick, you’ve got a chance to add some more high-end talent to the group. So that’s exciting.

“When I look at our group, we took some steps forward, and hopefully this player can just come in and add to it. We’re hopefully trending in the right direction, but there’s a lot of work to be done as a whole, my staff included, and the players and coaches included.”

Under Scott Fitzperald, the director of player personnel, and Scott Morehouse, the director of amateur scouting, the Sharks have taken 11 players in either the first or second round over the previous three drafts.

Celebrini, Smith, Misa, and Igor Chernyshov lead the forward group, Sam Dickinson, Leo Sahlin-Wallenius and Haoxi (Simon) Wang are the three defensemen, and Josh Ravensbergen is the one goalie.

“The scouting staff, they’ve done a really good job, not only this year, but the four years that we’ve been here, working and grinding,” Grier said. “Chris Morehouse and Scott Fitzgerald do a good job leading the group, and I think now, from their standpoint, it’s easier to dig in.

“They’ve done a lot of work, interviews, and prep time on these kids already. So to actually know where you’re going to be picking, I think, allows you to dig in even more.”

Now the Sharks get a chance to two more impactful players in the first round this season, with the second pick — from Edmonton in last year’s trade that sent defenseman Jake Walman to the Oilers –– coming in at No. 19 or 20.

“It was pretty neat for me, being a draft guy, to watch what Mike Grier has done, see their six first rounders over the last three years,” said Cosentino, who was at the NHL Network studio in Secaucus, New Jersey, for the lottery. “To watch what Macklin Celebrini has morphed into, to look at Dickinson as he’s growing up, same thing with Misa.

“To see all these things come to fruition on the team that’s truly built through the draft is pretty neat.”