people are actually spiraling because a lot of people are saying if grier picks steinberg then he'll have to trade a current player for a great defenseman because sharks is very forward heavy rn and will smith has a great trade value for a defenseman that will attract a lot of teams rn.
do u think there is a chance of grier even thinking of will getting traded?
Ok, first thing's first: no. I think there is *zero* danger of Will Smith getting traded. I have a whole post planned about Will Smith's value to the team, and it might surprise some of you.
Second, I think there's a lot of misunderstanding about what it means to draft a player, and how long it typically takes for a drafted player to have an immediate impact.
Celebrini is *not* a typical player. There's a reason people call him a generational talent. The type of game he plays, referred to as a "200 foot game", means he plays responsibly both on & off the puck. This is something that usually takes *years* to develop. His hockey IQ, his compete, his skating skill, it's all miles above average. For him to be dropped into the NHL at 17 years old & have the kind of impact he's had, it's insane.
When a team drafts a player, what they get is the right to sign that player. And more often than not, that player will continue to play elsewhere for 1-2 years to keep developing & working on their game. Will Smith, for instance, played at Boston College for 1 year before he signed his contract. Ryan Leonard chose to play in college for 2 more years after he was drafted.
Once they sign their ELC (entry-level contract), most players are still not just dropped full-time into the NHL. They will often get some playing time at the AHL level (the minor league team associated with their NHL team). For the Sharks, that team is the Barracuda. A lot of our prospects spend the majority of their time with that team, continuing to develop. (This is where Cherny was before he got called up.)
So. Getting back to drafting a defenseman. Best available is Chase Reid, who most people think will play 1 more year in the OHL and THEN has committed to Michigan State. So soonest we'd see him is likely 2028/29. Reid getting drafted would essentially have no impact on our current defensive needs. (But could still be a huge defensive piece in a couple years.)
What we'll see is San Jose dipping into the free agent market, looking to re-sign players who have expired contracts and carefully considering our current prospects (looking at you Pohlkamp!). There will probably be some trades, yes. But they have to make financial sense & they have to make sense for the overall growth of the team.
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