The 2026 NHL Draft will take place next Friday. The Chicago Blackhawks currently hold the 4th overall pick, only behind the Toronto Maple Leafs, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks.
There is reason to believe that Ivar Stenberg, the consensus second-best player in the draft, will fall to the Blackhawks at 4. That could happen if the Maple Leafs select Gavin McKenna, the Sharks select a defenseman, which is an organizational need, and the Canucks select their head coach’s son, Caleb Malhotra.
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Although that scenario makes a ton of sense, something happened on Wednesday that could change everything.
The San Jose Sharks acquired defenseman Michael Kesselring and the 27th overall from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for the 20th overall pick. The Sabres basically gave up Kesselring so that they could move up 7 spots.
Kesselring gives the Sharks another good, young player to work with on the blue line. That could, in theory, feel less pressure to draft one.
If that were the case, they could select Stenberg and add him to their embarrassment of riches at forward. Of course, that would likely eliminate the Blackhawks from getting one of the three top forwards in this year’s draft unless they trade up.
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San Jose is by no means “set” on defense, but this is another good piece added to their puzzle. They still could stand to add another top prospect at the position, which would be good for the Blackhawks, but this is certainly a wrinkle in the lead-up.
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