There's reason to believe Canucks could still snag Stenberg with No. 3 draft pick
It was not the draft lottery result that the Vancouver Canucks were expecting.
At least, that’s the case if you weren’t familiar with the Canucks’ horrific history during draft lotteries.
Vancouver lost out on both lottery draws for first and second overall in the NHL draft, dropping them to third overall.
In a draft that prominently features two top prospects, that’s not ideal.
Gavin McKenna is widely seen as the No. 1 overall prospect in this draft, although he isn’t a surefire lock compared to past draft years.
The Athletic recently polled NHL scouts, and half of them believe McKenna would go first overall.
While some believe that McKenna could fall to the Canucks at No. 3 overall, that seems like a pretty massive reach.
But Ivar Stenberg falling to the Canucks? That’s a more realistic possibility.
Of all the possible teams to leapfrog Vancouver, the San Jose Sharks doing so might not be the worst thing for the Canucks.
On the surface, it’s not great that a talented, young division rival won the lottery ahead of Vancouver. However, the Sharks are an organization loaded with young talent that really needs more blue-chip prospects on defence. Specifically, on the right side.
Despite improving immensely in 2025-26, the Sharks still allowed the third-most goals in the NHL. And while they’ve drafted some young defencemen, it’s really just left-shot blueliner Sam Dickinson (11th overall, 2024 draft) who profiles as a surefire top-four piece.
Sam Dickinson is the Sharks’ lone surefire bet among blueline prospects. (David Kirouac/Imagn Images)
Could that sway the Sharks into thinking harder about passing on Stenberg in favour of a defenceman?
When asked about drafting for need following the lottery, Sharks GM Mike Grier said all the right things.
“When you’re picking at the top of the draft, we always try and go with the best player available,” he said. “I don’t think we’re going to pass if there’s a big gap between two players.”
“We’ve got to do our homework. We’ve got to dig into it, and most likely, we’ll take who we feel is the best fit and the best player available.”
The real question is: how big is the gap between Stenberg and the top defencemen available in the NHL draft?
According to some, not that big.
The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, for instance, had both Chase Reid and Keaton Verhoeff ranked ahead of Stenberg during his March rankings, with Reid being his best prospect available in the draft.
While that’s an outlier compared to most draft rankings, it does only take one team thinking differently to shake up the perceived outcome of the draft.
Grier was asked specifically about Reid during his media availability on Tuesday.
“Dynamic skater, eats minutes, plays a ton every night for the [Soo Greyhounds].”
“He’s a good two-way D, impacts the game on both ends of the rink. He can create offence through his skating, his stick skills, and he can shoot the puck.”
“I think when you watch World Juniors, when Cole Hutson went down, he was tapped to kind of take over the power play and some of those offensive responsibilities, and he answered the call. So, yeah, he’s a good player.”
It’s worth noting as well that the Sharks may have a closer eye on defenceman Carson Carels, considering he’s teammates with San Jose’s top goaltending prospect, Joshua Ravensbergen, who plays alongside Carels with the WHL’s Prince George Cougars.
Whether it’s Reid, Carels, or Verhoeff, don’t be surprised if the Sharks do lean towards defence on draft night, which would theoretically leave Vancouver in a spot to snag Stenberg.