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Sharks Sign Collin Graf To Entry-Level Contract

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3:21 p.m.: PuckPedia has the full details of Graf’s contract, which expires in 2026 and will make him a 10.2c RFA, meaning he’s ineligible to sign an offer sheet. The deal carries a $942K cap hit and breaks down as follows:

2023-24: $830K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $25K bonus for 5+ games played
2024-25/2025-26: $855K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $500K Schedule A performance bonus

11:57 a.m.: The San Jose Sharks have won the Collin Graf sweepstakes, signing the top free agent to his entry-level contract on Thursday per The Athletic’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). Johnston adds that the deal begins immediately, opening the door for Graf to make his first NHL appearance before the year’s end. San Jose has eight games left in their season and sit confidently at the bottom of the standings, making now a great time to test out young players.

Graf earns a move to the NHL after a tremendous collegiate career. He kicked it off with one year at Union College, moving to D1 hockey straight out of the USPHL-NCDC – a rare and challenging jump to make. But he handled it in stride, scoring 22 points in 37 games as a freshman but missing the postseason. Perhaps inspired by their run to a regional championship, Graf decided to transfer to Qunnipiac in the summer of 2022. And to say he found a new layer to his game would be an understatement. Graf flourished under the guidance of legendary NCAA coach Rand Pecknold, exploding for 21 goals and 59 points in 41 games last season. He followed it up with an even higher scoring rate this season, netting 22 goals and 49 points in just 34 games. His career 1.44 points-per-game rate is the third-highest in Qunnipiac history, and the most any Cougar has scored since Chris Cerrella’s collegiate career ended in 2001.

Graf earns his keep on the back of a phenomenal shot, and fantastic awareness in the offensive zone. While not the most eloquent skater, he’s shown a great understanding of how to slide into the danger areas of the ice and exploit open space. The strong offensive toolset makes him a must-watch for defenders, often leaving teammates open and giving Graf a chance to use a passing ability that’s nearly as good as his shot. Keeping up with the tempo of play wasn’t always easy for Graf, and likely represents his biggest barrier in transitioning to the pro scene. But with an open role on a terrible team, it seems the sky is the limit for the red-hot Graf.

Luke Grainger Signs ATO With Sharks' AHL Affiliate

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  • San Jose’s AHL affiliate announced the signing of Luke Grainger to a tryout agreement. The 24-year-old had a very successful senior year with Western Michigan, posting 14 points and 34 assists in 38 games, leading some to wonder if he’d get an NHL contract.  It doesn’t appear that will be coming just yet and while he’s on the Sharks’ affiliate, they don’t hold his NHL rights with this signing.

Eric Pohlkamp Enters The Transfer Portal

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In an update from Brad Elliott Schlossman of the Grand Forks Herald, San Jose Sharks’ prospect Eric Pohlkamp has entered the transfer portal after only one season at Bemidji State University. The Sharks originally drafted Pohlkamp with the 132nd overall selection of the 2023 NHL Draft.

Despite being a late-round pick, Pohlkamp has turned into something of a diamond in the rough for the Sharks organization. Scoring 11 goals and 24 points in 32 games for Bemidji State this season, Pohlkamp also registered one goal and three points for Team USA en route to a gold medal in this year’s IIHF U20 World Junior Championships.

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Sharks Recall Jack Studnicka

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The San Jose Sharks have recalled forward Jack Studnicka from their AHL affiliate the San Jose Barracuda. The 25-year-old was demoted to the AHL back on January 5th after playing nine games for the Sharks in which he was held scoreless and went -6.

Since going to the AHL, Studnicka hasn’t been able to re-capture the offensive touch he displayed two years ago when he was a member of the Providence Bruins. The Windsor, Ontario native has dressed in 27 games for the Barracuda and has just six goals and eight assists.

Studnicka was acquired by the Sharks from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Nick Cicek and a 2024 sixth-round draft pick. The December 2023 trade allowed Studnicka to go from a team that was stacked at forward to a rebuilding team desperate for forward depth. Studnicka’s move to the Sharks was far from seamless and eventually led to him being demoted to work on his game.

A former second-round pick of the Boston Bruins in the 2017 NHL entry draft Studnicka quickly ascended to the NHL and appeared in two games during the 2019-2020 season. He would spend the bulk of the next two seasons in the AHL and remained close to a point-a-game player before dressing in 48 NHL games during the 2022-23 season.

Since that time, Studnicka has lost his offensive game and hasn’t appeared fully comfortable during his recent demotion. Despite the struggles, the Sharks have opted to recall him which could signal that they are ready to give him another look at the NHL level.

Sharks Assign Filip Bystedt To AHL

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The Sharks are bringing Swedish center prospect Filip Bystedt to North America to finish out the 2023-24 campaign, assigning him to AHL San Jose on Monday. San Jose loaned him to Linköping HC of the Swedish Hockey League for the season after signing him to an entry-level contract last June.

Bystedt, 20, was the Sharks’ lone first-round pick in 2022, going to them at 27th overall after they traded down from 11th in a major pick swap with the Coyotes (Arizona drafted center prospect Conor Geekie with San Jose’s pick). The 6’4″ pivot checks in as the fourth-best prospect in the Sharks’ system in The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler’s organizational rankings after being crowned SHL Rookie of the Year in 2022-23. He was an important secondary fixture on a rather poor Linköping squad last year, notching seven goals and 20 points in 45 games.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t build on that production this year, finishing the SHL campaign with 17 points in 47 games. That’s despite Linköping being a much-improved squad overall, finishing above the .500 mark and making the SHL playoffs for the first time since 2018. He did represent Sweden at the World Juniors for a second straight season, where he notched three goals and an assist in seven games en route to a silver medal.

Bystedt’s European Assignment Clause in his ELC is only for this year, so he’ll likely play a full season in the minors with San Jose next year. Playoff hockey won’t be in the cards for him later this month – the Barracuda are tied for last place in the AHL with 53 points. However, he should factor into a few of San Jose’s eight remaining games and get a taste of playing in the Sharks’ organization. He’s an entry-level slide candidate, meaning that since he won’t see NHL action this year, the beginning of his ELC will defer to next season. As such, he’ll remain signed through 2027, at which point he’ll be an RFA.

Minor League Notes: Carriere, Bucheler, Hanzel, Hanelt

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The San Jose Barracuda have joined in on the NCAA free agent market, signing University of Vermont defenseman Jérémie Bucheler and goaltender Gabriel Carriere (Web link). Carriere is signing after his senior year, having spent all four college seasons with Vermont. He’s become a pivotal piece of their lineup since joining in 2020-21, totaling 89 games with the club, while no other goalie topped 25. And he’s performed well in the role, with 28 wins ranking him as the fourth-winningest goalie in Vermont’s history. His career .908 save percentage ranks 10th in club history.

Meanwhile, Bucheler just completed his first season with the Cougars, joining via the transfer portal after four years at Northeastern University. Bucheler had the best season of his collegiate career in Vermont, setting career-highs in all scoring categories on his way to six goals and 18 points in 33 games. He also served as an assistant captain for the club. Bucheler played in five collegiate seasons, totaling 143 games and 46 points. He’s already made his professional debut, stepping into the Barracuda’s lineup on Wednesday night. He went without a point, but did record his first shot on goal.

Other notes from the minor-leagues:

  • The Milwaukee Admirals have signed WHL defenseman Jeremy Hanzel to an amateur try-out (Twitter link). Hanzel was the main return in the Trade Deadline move that sent Yakov Trenin to the Colorado Avalanche, moving to the Predators organization alongside a 2025 third-round pick. Colorado originally drafted Hanzel in the sixth-round of the 2023 NHL Draft. He’s now signing his first pro deal after four seasons with the AHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds, where he totaled 149 points in 218 career games. He also showed plenty of clutch, with 35 points in 44 playoff games. Hanzel is a great on-puck defender that knows how to find teammates and draw opponents out of position. He’ll look to maintain that poise into the pros, moving to the AHL for the remainder of the season.
  • Washington Capitals draft prospect Haakon Hänelt has signed a professional try-out with the AHL’s Hershey Bears (Twitter link). The 20-year-old forward – who can also play defense – has spent all season in the DEL, Germany’s top league. He’s scored two points, split evenly, in 38 games this season – his second stint in the league after spending the last two years in the QMJHL. The Capitals drafted Hanelt in the fifth-round of the 2021 NHL Draft.

Labanc Knows His Days In San Jose Are Coming To An End

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  • Speaking with reporters including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News, Sharks winger Kevin Labanc acknowledged that he knows he’s in his final days with the organization and that there hasn’t been much communication with the coaching staff. The 28-year-old had a respectable 33 points in 72 games last season but he has been a frequent healthy scratch this year, notching just nine points in 41 appearances when he has played.  It’s fair to say that he won’t come close to getting his current $4.875MM AAV on the open market this summer but he could be an intriguing buy-low candidate if a team feels that he can get back to his old offensive levels in a new environment.

Mike Hoffman Sustained Concussion; Ty Emberson Done For Season

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  • Sharks winger Mike Hoffman has been listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury since March 9 against Ottawa, which the winger confirmed Sunday to Colby Guy of San Jose Hockey Now was the first concussion of his career. Hoffman has been a full participant in practice in recent days but hasn’t yet been cleared for game action. The former top-six fixture has continued to regress after potting six straight 20-goal seasons between 2015 and 2020, posting 10-12–22 in 61 games with the Sharks this year in mainly third-line minutes. The 34-year-old is in the final season of a three-year, $13.5MM deal signed with the Canadiens in 2021 and found his way to San Jose in last offseason’s Erik Karlsson three-way swap with the Penguins.
  • Sticking in the Bay Area, promising shutdown prospect Ty Emberson’s season is likely over due to a lower-body injury, head coach David Quinn said Monday (via Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). The 23-year-old has missed over 20 games already this season with different injuries and hasn’t played since Feb. 29 against the Ducks. It’s a tough end to an otherwise promising rookie campaign, as Emberson logged 10 points in 30 games and will finish the season with a team-high -4 rating among skaters with at least 10 games played. The 2018 third-round pick of the Coyotes is on his third NHL organization after being dealt to the Rangers in July 2022 and being claimed off waivers by the Sharks to begin the 2023-24 season.

Hoffman Won't Play Tonight But Is Nearing Return

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  • Sharks winger Mike Hoffman is nearing a return from his upper-body injury but won’t play tonight against Chicago, head coach David Quinn told reporters including Max Miller of The Hockey News. The 34-year-old has missed the last two weeks with the injury which he revealed is a concussion.  It has been a tough year for Hoffman who has been limited to just 10 goals and 12 assists through 61 games so far, hardly the type of platform year he was hoping to have as he gets set to hit the open market in July.

Sharks Activate Mackenzie Blackwood, Reassign Magnus Chrona

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The Sharks announced they’ve reassigned rookie netminder Magnus Chrona to AHL San Jose. His weeks-long emergency loan ends because Mackenzie Blackwood is ready to come off injured reserve. As such, their roster size remains at 23, and their cap space increases by Chrona’s $867.5K cap hit.

Chrona has been on the San Jose roster for the last three weeks, except for a brief return to the minors on trade deadline day to make him eligible to play in the AHL down the stretch. The Sharks recalled him under emergency conditions on Feb. 28 when Blackwood landed on IR with what was later revealed to be a groin injury. After getting shelled in his first two NHL appearances earlier this season, Chrona improved over the last few weeks, posting a .891 SV% and a 1-4-1 record in six starts this month. However, his emergency recall meant he must be returned to the minors (or converted to a standard recall) upon Blackwood’s return.

The Sharks will likely keep Chrona in the minors down the stretch while 26-year-old rookie Devin Cooley, picked up from the Sabres in one of the final trades before the March 8 deadline, serves as Blackwood’s backup. Chrona, 23, was initially a fifth-round pick of the Lightning in 2018 but saw his signing rights traded to San Jose in April 2021 for minor-league defenseman Fredrik Claesson. He’s in his first professional season after four seasons with the University of Denver, posting a .892 SV% and 3.51 GAA in 24 games with AHL San Jose and a .940 SV% and 2.94 GAA in two showings with ECHL Wichita. The Swede has one season remaining on his entry-level contract and will be an RFA in 2025.

Blackwood returns after his groin injury sidelined him for all of March to date. He’s had a solid rebound season after the Sharks picked up his signing rights from the Devils in a trade last summer, leading San Jose with 32 starts, a 9-18-3 record, .899 SV%, and 3.48 GAA. He’s also saved 2.6 goals above expected, per MoneyPuck, his first season above expected since his standout rookie season in 2019-20. He signed a two-year, $4.7MM deal with the Sharks just after they failed to issue him a qualifying offer and, like Chrona, will be an RFA in 2025.

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