Sharks Sign Center Filip Bystedt to Three-Year, Entry-Level Contract

San Jose Sharks (

) General Manager Mike Grier announced today that the club has signed center Filip Bystedt to a three-year, entry-level contract. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Bystedt, 19, recorded 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 45 games with Linkoping HC in the 2022-23 season, finishing third in scoring among forwards age 20 younger in the league. He scored a goal in each of his first two games before adding a pair of assists in his fourth contest of the year. Bystedt, who enjoyed a career-long, four-game point streak from Jan. 31 through Feb. 14 (one goal, three assists), closed the season with a point in each of his last two SHL games of the season, March 7 and March 9. On May 2, Bystedt was named the 2022-23 SHL Rookie of the Year.

The center represented Sweden at the 2023 World Junior Championship and tied for first on the team with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in seven games. He posted a pair of three-point outings, starting with two goals and an assist on Dec. 26 against Austria in an 11-0 win and concluding the tournament with two goals and a helper, including the game-tying marker with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, on Jan. 5 in an 8-7 overtime loss against the United States in the Bronze Medal game.

In 2021-22, Bystedt recorded 49 points (16 goals, 33 assists) in 40 games with Linkoping in the J20 Nationell. He led his team in assists (18) and had the fourth-most points (23) in 18 games in the J20 Nationell Top 10 group, a separate circuit featuring the top-ranked clubs from early season play in the J20 Nationell regional divisions. He finished the J20 Nationell playoffs tied for first with 10 points and was the postseason leader with nine assists.

The six-foot-four, 198-pound native of Norrkoping, Sweden was the Sharks' first draft pick under Grier, selected by San Jose in the 2022 NHL Draft (first round, 27th overall).