The San Jose Sharks announced the hire of former Nashville Predators assistant GM and director of scouting Jeff Kealty as the team’s newest assistant GM. In the announcement, the Sharks said Kealty will oversee the team’s professional scouting staff and assist GM Mike Grier in all aspects of hockey operations. Kealty has an amateur scouting background, having taken a lead role in the Predators’ amateur scouting operations for both former GM David Poile and former GM Barry Trotz. The Sharks’ amateur scouting, however, is currently run by Chris Morehouse.
But while Kealty will be officially tasked with overseeing professional scouting, one must assume he will also have a presence of some kind in the team’s amateur scouting process. During his time with the Predators, Nashville was able to unearth some real gems in the draft, including 2008 second-round pick Roman Josi and 2009 fourth-rounder Mattias Ekholm. In joining the Sharks, Kealty will be reunited with one of his recent top draft selections: Yaroslav Askarov. The No. 11 overall pick of the 2020 draft was traded by the Predators to San Jose in August 2024. Kealty’s hockey operations work extends beyond scouting and into the international arena, as he was GM of the U.S. Men’s National Team for the IIHF Men’s World Championships in 2025. There, he constructed the roster that would win a gold medal, the country’s first at the tournament since 1933.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
Former St. Louis Blues and Arizona Coyotes forward Dmitrij Jaskin has signed a deal with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons, confirming his exit from Ak Bars Kazan after three seasons with the club. Jaskin, who made over $3MM on his most recent NHL contract, has been in the KHL since the 2022-23 season. A star scorer in the league, Jaskin captained Ak Bars in the 2024-25 season and that season scored 35 goals and 54 points. This past year, he managed 18 goals and 32 points. The two-time KHL MVP will join a Shanghai team seeking to make the postseason for just the second time in franchise history, and the first time since the club’s inaugural 2016-17 campaign.
2025 New Jersey Devils draft pick Gustav Hillström has signed a one-year contract extension with his SHL club, Brynäs IF. The 19-year-old was selected in the fourth round, No. 114 overall, at last year’s draft and had a solid 2025-26 season, setting a new career-high in games played at the SHL level. This one-year extension will keep Hillström in the SHL through the 2027-28 season, at which point he and the Devils may need to decide whether a move to North America is appropriate.