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Henry Brzustewicz, London Knights (Luke Durda/OHL Images)

San Jose Sharks 2025 Draft Target: Henry Brzustewicz

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers | By Alex Hutton | Last updated Jun 19, 2025 10:15 AM ET

With the 2025 NHL Entry Draft quickly approaching, the San Jose Sharks still have plenty of tough decisions to make. While those choices begin with the second overall pick, they don’t exactly slow down after that. Towards the end of the first round, the Sharks hold the 30th overall pick, and they also have the first pick of the second round (33rd overall). San Jose could package those selections to trade up in the first round, but if they don’t, they have a clear player to focus on with one of those picks in London Knights right-shot defenseman Henry Brzustewicz. He fills many of the qualities the Sharks are looking for in a blueliner, and they could be a good fit for him considering their timeline and his development.

Brzustewicz Checks Many of Sharks’ Boxes

While he’s not quite in the top tier of defensemen in this year’s draft, Brzustewicz offers a lot to like for the Sharks. They certainly need to draft blueliners to supplement the strong forward group they’ve built, and Brzustewicz is projected to be taken right around the 30th-33rd range. As a right-handed shooter, he fits San Jose’s needs even more. Across two seasons in London, he showed tremendous growth and already has a built-in chemistry advantage as a teammate of Sharks defense prospect Sam Dickinson. His skating ability, puck movement, skill on breakout passes and shooting make him a threat as an offensive defenseman that the Sharks don’t have on their roster right now, especially from the right side.

Even though the Sharks have one of the NHL’s best prospect pools, they need to improve their collection of blueliners, and most of the ones they do currently have are lefties. As such, right-shot defenders are a natural target at this year’s draft, and Brzustewicz makes a lot of sense given where San Jose’s picks fall.

Sharks Can Let Brzustewicz Develop

The main knock on Brzustewicz is that his defense right now is fairly unpolished and will need some time to round out. Thankfully for the Sharks, they can afford to let him take his time far more than most other teams.

As the Sharks improve, they still don’t expect to be contenders next season, and possibly for one more season after that. In that time, as the Sharks build up their roster, Brzustewicz can continue to work on his defense and become a more well-rounded player. He can do so with very little pressure to immediately become an NHL contributor, and won’t feel as though the Sharks desperately need him to rush his progress. On the flip side, San Jose can monitor his development while their other prospects become full-time NHL players, and they add players through trades and free agency. Not every team could afford Brzustewicz that kind of space, and it could benefit both him and the Sharks organization.

The Sharks have a lot of work to do on defense, and Brzustewicz has plenty of room to grow in his own regard. If he were drafted to a team like the Sharks, they could improve together and work to create a vastly improved unit in a few years.

Sharks and Brzustewicz Can Build Partnership

For a rebuilding team, the draft is always an opportunity to add the players who fill in the gaps that caused the team’s downfall. This year, the Sharks have one of those opportunities with right-shot defensemen, and Brzustewicz fits into their current picks very well. Between his offensive skill, room to improve on defense, and strong performances in the playoffs in juniors, he and San Jose can be a great fit. The Sharks have a lot of options, and they could trade the 30th and 33rd picks to move into the middle of the first round and take a different blueliner. But if they don’t make a move out of those picks, they should give Brzustewicz serious consideration in that range.