Matt Johnson
The lottery once again worked out in the San Jose Sharks‘ favor, landing them the second overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. With draft day approaching, there is growing buzz about who the Sharks may draft at No. 2.
In his latest NHL mock draft for The Athletic, Corey Pronman has the Sharks selecting right-handed defenseman Chase Reid. More notable than the mocked selection, though, is what Pronman shared about the buzz around the league regarding San Jose’s selection.
“Reid’s name comes up often in those conversations as arguably the draft’s most talented defender who can quarterback the power play with those forwards for a decade. Most of the league thinks that’s who San Jose will go with.”
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman on the San Jose Sharks and Chase Reid
Related: Scouts, Execs Predict Who Sharks Will Draft with No. 2 Pick
Reid is not the consensus second-best prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft. In fact, in EliteProspects.com’s consensus NHL Draft prospect rankings, winger Ivar Stenberg is rated No. 1 overall, followed by Gavin McKenna. Meanwhile, Reid is rated as the third-best defenseman and the sixth-best prospect in the class.
Pronman, a senior NHL prospects writer for The Athletic, sees things a bit differently. He rated Reid as the best player in the 2026 NHL Draft, viewing him as the obvious top choice for San Jose.
Read More: What Are Fair Trades for Sharks’ No. 2 Pick?
The Sharks are in dire need of a right-handed defenseman, and Reid would fill that void perfectly. With a well-rounded skill set, he projects to be an excellent quarterback for a power-play unit, and he could develop into a premier top-pair defenseman if he hits his ceiling.
It is evident why the consensus among scouts, executives, and analysts around the NHL is that San Jose will draft Reid with the second overall pick. This is a rare opportunity for the Sharks to add a premium talent at their weakest position, and selecting Reid would put them in an even better position to become a perennial Stanley Cup contender.
Related: Latest Intel on Sharks’ Contact Talks with Mario Ferraro
However, it is again worth examining what happened to the Sharks this past season. The club struggled significantly to generate offense whenever Macklin Celebrini was kept off the scoresheet, and San Jose remained the only team in the NHL to feature a 110-plus point scorer without a single other player on the roster reaching the 60-point mark.
Sharks general manager Mike Grier also has a history of taking the best player available, as he demonstrated last year by selecting goalie Joshua Ravensbergen despite already having Yaroslav Askarov. If San Jose believes that Stenberg is the top player available, it seems reasonable to assume Grier will take the highest-rated talent on his draft board.
