How quickly things change. As recently as a few days ago, the hockey world widely assumed that the San Jose Sharks would be selecting Canadian forward Michael Misa with the second overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft. But since then, most of the chatter has surrounded the idea that they will make a more surprising move and draft Swedish center Anton Frondell instead. Various draft experts and insiders such as Elliotte Friedman have stated that the Sharks taking Frondell is a real possibility, and while sportsbooks are hardly the ultimate indicator of what will happen, Misa’s odds of landing at second have dropped dramatically. With the pick less than 72 hours away, let’s take a look at how and why we got here.
Sharks Creating Uncertainty Around Their Decision
Even though analysts have made it clear that the Sharks could draft Frondell, the San Jose front office won’t reveal their exact plans before the day itself. As such, much of the commentary around the selection includes some hedging.
“Teams are starting to wonder if Frondell could be taken second overall by San Jose,” Friedman said. “He’s a very good player. I don’t think people would be shocked if that happened.”
“Everybody is waiting to see what San Jose is going to do,” FloHockey’s Chris Peters told San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng. “They’re not convinced that it’s absolutely Misa.”
The potential that the rumors are a smokescreen doesn’t make a lot of sense when considering that most sources seem to consider Misa to be the second-best player in the draft. Some sections of the league reportedly do prefer Frondell, but if the Sharks are bluffing to gauge what they could get in a trade for the pick, they’d have a much easier time hammering the idea that they like Misa to see what they could get for him, rather than focusing on Frondell or any other player.
If San Jose’s goal was to introduce ambiguity, a glance at their fanbase would suggest they’ve succeeded. Online comments from Sharks fans overwhelmingly favor Misa as the choice, with a genuine feeling of anger if Frondell were selected. Even some Chicago Blackhawks fans have gotten in on the action by pretending to be Sharks fans on social media and satirically encouraging the Sharks to take Frondell in hopes of their team ending up with Misa at the third pick.
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