The San Jose Sharks‘ four-day Rookie Faceoff event begins today, and most of the attention will be on a handful of players. Top prospects Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, and Shakir Mukhamadullin will make San Jose a central part of the showcase. But the Sharks have other prospects participating with storylines of their own. Here are four Sharks who won’t draw most of the focus during the tournament but will be worth keeping an eye on when they take the ice.
Filip Bystedt
Towards the end of the 2023-24 season, forward Filip Bystedt got his first taste of North American hockey and handled it well, posting seven points in just eight games as a member of the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League. His numbers marked a strong end to his campaign, which was particularly important since he was not nearly as productive during his season with Linkoping HC in Sweden. He’ll likely spend all or most of 2024-25 with the Barracuda, and the Rookie Faceoff is the perfect place to start on the right note.
The Sharks currently project Bystedt to be a middle-six forward, and he stated in a recent interview that he wants to become a complete offensive player, working on his puck control, shooting and creation. Both he and the team knew that he wasn’t going to be an immediate NHL contributor when he was drafted 27th overall in 2022, but his arrival in San Jose means that now is the time to begin progressing toward that status.
Ethan Cardwell
Once one of San Jose’s strongest prospects, forward Ethan Cardwell posted good numbers in junior before continuing his run by scoring 23 goals in his first season with the Barracuda in 2023-24. However, as the Sharks added to their prospect pool, he fell off the radar, and most listings of the team’s best young players no longer include him. At the Rookie Faceoff, the 2021 fourth-round pick will have a chance to remind everyone of the skill that earned him several awards, including Sharks Prospect of the Year in 2023 and Barracuda Rookie of the Year in 2024.
Related: Sharks’ Ethan Cardwell Optimistic Heading into Rookie Faceoff
Cardwell is a strong skater who uses his movement to create offensive opportunities for himself and others and combines intelligence with aggression to serve as an effective defender. But as the Sharks continue to build up one of the NHL’s strongest prospect groups — highlighted by…
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