Jeff Kealty looks like he’s joining the San Jose Sharks at the right time.

San Jose’s new assistant GM knows it too: “It’s just a really exciting time, I think, from now and going forward with the Sharks.”

The San Jose Sharks made a 34-point improvement last year, missing the playoffs by just four points, and their collection of young talent, led by 20-year-old superstar Macklin Celebrini, is truly the envy of the league.

But Kealty isn’t just right time, right place. He can help San Jose take the next step.

The Sharks are trying to get back into the post-season for the first time since 2019, and trying to establish themselves as a perennial Stanley Cup contender.

Kealty, most recently Nashville Predators’ assistant general manager and director of scouting, brings a wealth of experience to the Sharks. The Boston-based 50-year-old was a Predators amateur scout from 2001 to 2007, chief amateur scout from 2007 to 2017, and AGM/director of scouting from 2017 to 2026.

For the Sharks, Kealty will oversee the team’s pro scouting staff and work closely with GM Mike Grier.

“So many of the seeds have been planted,” Kealty said on Monday, speaking with local media. “With where things are, there’s no question that that pro personnel aspect is going to be key. I think it’s a great challenge.”

Kealty touched on a variety of topics, like what Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba bring to the Sharks, what his two pillars are when it comes to scouting players, his thoughts on former Nashville first-rounder Yaroslav Askarov, and his reaction to the Leo Carlsson offer sheet.

Here are some of the highlights.

Jeff Kealty, on getting more involved with pro scouting with the Nashville Predators in 2018:

My real wheelhouse has always been the amateur side of things. But I think that I contributed in all areas in Nashville, and I got a good handle on the pro side as well. I think one of the things about doing the amateurs for all these years that it gives you a really good base and foundation of knowing the players.

Kealty, on new San Jose Sharks players Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba, Mason Marchment, and Michael Kesselring:

They’ll bring some size and some different physical elements, some experience. Been through the league with a lot of those guys. This is a young team, but I think all those guys will be good fits and good adds here.

Any time you bring a lot of players in like that, you want to give it a chance to see how it how it takes hold and where it goes from there.

They all have size. They can all move.

There’s leadership qualities. There’s physicality. And there’s the experience level, particularly with Nurse and Trouba.

[Kesselring’s] ability to make plays obviously didn’t work out in Buffalo, but he’s a player that Warso and I had at the World Championships there, and he was a key player for us. So I know he’s got a lot in the tank there.

Kealty, on something “unique” he can bring from his two decades in Nashville, to San Jose:

Any time you’re in one place for 25 years, you see a lot of different ebbs and flows to the organization in terms of where they are.

Kealty, on what he looks for from players:

Two of the big pillars for me are always hockey sense and competitiveness. Hockey IQ, if you want to call it that.

There’s a lot of different things that you can do to evaluate players. But I always feel like if you go back to those two traits, you find a player that can figure it out.

Kealty, on if he will be involved at all with the San Jose Sharks’ amateur scouting:

No question, [Chris Morehouse has] got that under control. He’s done a great job. I’ll have plenty to do with my responsibilities.

I do have a lot of experience if I can be any type of sounding board or resource for him. But he’s done a great job, and I know he’s going to continue to do so.

Kealty, on if now’s the time in particular for the San Jose Sharks to really focus on pro scouting:

So many of the seeds have been planted.

To get to any elite level, everybody’s going to do their job well.

The amateurs still got to continue to draft well. The pros got to do their part with the trades and signings. The coaches got to do their job. Everybody’s got to do their part.

But with where things are, there’s no question that that pro personnel aspect is going to be key. I think it’s a great challenge.

Kealty, on drafting Askarov in 2020 and trading him to the Sharks in 2024:

He’s got tremendous talent. You guys have already seen that there. Tremendous athleticism. Just needs to continue to round out his game. It takes a long time at that position, certainly.

In regards to us trading him, we had [Juuse] Saros and just signed him to the contract that we did. Became a little bit of an organizational decision for [Nashville], but we always believed in the upside that [Askarov] has. So I’m looking forward to seeing him again here and seeing his career continue to progress.

Kealty, on the Carlsson offer sheet, and how that changes compensation around the NHL:

The landscape has changed a little bit. That’s pretty common knowledge across the league.

One thing I’ll say is that you got to be ready for anything. It’s in the rules, and [the Philadelphia Flyers] used it.

The cap is moving up at a quick rate, so there’s always a little bit of sticker shock when you first see those numbers, but then you get your head around it and you understand that this is just the way that things are trending. You got to be thinking ahead and be prepared for that.

Kealty, on how his playing career ended at 23 because of a concussion, and how concussion safety is handled now:

It’s for the better, the way they handle them and how seriously they take them now. You do see guys in the league now that have had numerous concussions, but they’re able to come back from them and continue their careers, which I think is a good thing. That probably speaks to the care and how they handle them now. I even see it in the younger levels. I see with my kids and how they are with their youth sports, how aware they are with them now. When I was a kid, it was you got your bell rung and you keep going.