Sharks see bright future with talented pool of prospects

PLYMOUTH, Mich. --The San Jose Sharks understand returning to Stanley Cup Playoff contention will take a good deal of patience.

The Sharks have missed the postseason four straight seasons and their .366 points percentage (22-44-16) last season was their worst since 1995-96 (.287; 20-55, seven ties).

But judging by the rosters for the United States, Sweden and Finland at the 2023 World Junior Summer Showcase, it might not be long before their patience is rewarded.

The Sharks have an NHL-high seven players taking part in the nine-day event, which began Thursday and runs through Aug. 4 at USA Hockey Arena.

"It's a down cycle right now and we're going to claw our way back inch by inch," Sharks director of player personnel Scott Fitzgerald said. "That's how I'm looking at it and (general manager) Mike (Grier) and the whole organization looks at it. One player at a time, and we'll just start to add some pieces here."

Among the Sharks prospects taking part are their three most recent first-round picks, U.S. forwards William Smith (2023, No. 4) and Quentin Musty (2023, No. 26) and Sweden forward Filip Bystedt (2022, No. 27).

Smith was second on the United States National Team Development Program Under-18 team with 127 points (51 goals, 76 assists) in 60 games last season. He matched Jack Hughes' U.S. record with 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) in seven games and was named most valuable player at the 2023 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.

Fitzgerald knows Smith (6-foot, 181 pounds) well from watching him play minor hockey with his nephews in the Boston area and continues to be impressed.

"He's always been a special type of a player," Fitzgerald said. "Always a leader, pushing the play offensively and stuff like that. ... He's so smart, so skilled. But he's got a tenacity to his game.

"He's very competitive. He understands where he stands as a player within his peer groups, and I think he's someone that wants to be at the high end of that list. He's a very driven player that you don't have to give him a kick in the butt to get going. He's always on and he loves to produce. Most of the great ones who have that success, production wise or whatever, it comes from them, no one else has to get them going."

Smith and Musty played on a line for USA Blue in its 7-0 loss to Sweden on Saturday but they consistently created chances, including Smith's shot off the goal post in the third period.

"We didn't skate once with each other in development camp, but today we were clicking on all cylinders," Smith said. "It was really good to play with him today. ... He's really smart. I don't even know how many chances we had. We were both finding each other so it was really good."

Musty (6-2, 200) had 78 points (26 goals, 52 assists) in 53 games with Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League last season.

"For a bigger kid he's got a real good skill set," Fitzgerald said. "He shoots the puck well, he shows that he has a scoring touch. You put all that together, his size, he moves his feet, his skating looked really good at development camp. Played well in our scrimmage the last day, scored a few goals. I think he has offensive awareness for a bigger-body guy. We're super excited for him."

The Sharks also are excited about Bystedt (6-2, 187), who had 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 45 games with Linkoping in the Swedish Hockey League last season and tied for the Sweden lead with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in seven games at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship.

"He's big, he moves well, he's got skill, he's smart," Fitzgerald said. "He had a real good World Juniors last year, we suspect that will continue to grow with Sweden on their World Junior team coming up this winter. He's moving along nicely development wise.

"He's a really good prospect with size and skill and hockey sense. We're excited to have a guy like him, especially centericemen that big. They're pillars in your organization."

The Sharks also have defenseman Eric Pohlkamp (2023, No. 132) and forward Cameron Lund (2022, No. 34) with the U.S., defenseman Mattias Havelid (2022, No. 45) with Sweden and forward Kasper Halttunen (2023, No. 36) with Finland at the WJSS.

Each will have a chance to play significant roles at the 2024 WJC, which the Sharks hope goes a long way toward their development into significant roles in San Jose.

"We've got a lot of young guys and I feel like it's headed in the right direction," Musty said. "So, it's fun to be considered a part of that."