San Jose Sharks sign 2022 first-rounder Filip Bystedt to entry-level contract

The San Jose Sharks have announced that 2022 first-round pick Filip Bystedt has signed a three-year, entry-level contract.

Taken with the 27th pick in 2022, Bystedt was the first player selected under GM Mike Grier. He’s coming off his first full season in the top Swedish league, recording 20 points in 45 games with Linkoping. That was good for third among U-20 scorers in the SHL, sitting behind 2023 NHL Draft prospect Leo Carlsson (25 points) and Detroit Red Wings pick Marco Kasper (23).

In 61 career SHL games, the young winger has 22 points, all while with Linkoping. Bystedt was especially impressive at the 2023 World Junior Championship, scoring four goals and 10 points in seven games en route to a fourth-place finish. The 2023 SHL rookie of the year also won gold at the U-18 World Hockey Championship last year, a season that also included bronze at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and gold in the Swedish U-20 league.

The Sharks don’t have a deep prospect pool, with Bystedt being near the top. Other top prospects in the system include forwards William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau and Tristen Robins, as well as defenders Henry Thrun and Shakir Mukhamadulin. San Jose has the fourth pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, giving them a good shot at landing one of Will Smith, Ryan Leonard, Zach Benson or Matvei Michkov, among others.

The Sharks have $14 million in cap space for the coming season, with most of the team’s core signed on. Between the team’s four RFAs (Noah Gregor, Jacob Peterson, Evgeny Svechnikov and Fabian Zetterlund), as well as UFAs James Reimer, Andreas Johnsson and Jeffrey Viel, its mostly depth positions the team needs to fill. The Sharks are still in a full rebuild, with the biggest question being the future of defenseman Erik Karlsson and his $11.5 million cap hit. It’s unclear how Bystedt factors into the team’s plans for next year, but it’ll be interesting to see how he fares during training camp.