Sharks take North Dakota defenseman Keaton Verhoeff with No. 9 pick at NHL draft

Curtis Pashelka, Bay Area News Group on Jun 26, 2026

Published in Hockey

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BUFFALO, N.Y. — The San Jose Sharks eschewed any trade offers and selected North Dakota right-shot defenseman Keaton Verhoeff No. 9 overall in the first round of the NHL draft on Friday.

The Sharks now have a forward and a defenseman early in this year’s draft, after they took Swedish-born winger Ivar Stenberg at No. 2 overall.

Verhoeff, listed at 6-foot-4 and 208 pounds, had 20 points in 36 games for North Dakota this past season, making the transition from the WHL’s Victoria Royals to NCAA Division I hockey.

It wasn’t long after the Sharks acquired the ninth overall pick from the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday that general manager Mike Grier started to receive calls from his counterparts regarding the availability of that selection.

The Sharks traded winger William Eklund and forward prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda to the Senators for the ninth overall pick, giving Grier three selections in Friday’s first round.

It was just a matter of what the Sharks might do with the No. 9 pick. Taking Stenberg at No. 2 seemingly increased the chances of the Sharks taking a defenseman, an organizational need, ninth overall.

But considering that the player at No. 9 will likely not be NHL-ready for another year or two, the Sharks, who have designs on making the playoffs next season, could have also opted to trade the pick for a younger player who fits into their timeline and could help the team right away.