Sharks Draft Keaton Verhoeff 9th Overall

With the Fighting Hawks, he played a massive role, eating a ton of minutes on their blue line and also chipping in offensively with 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 36 games. Verhoeff also captained Team Canada’s Under-18 team for two events, totalling eight points (one goal, seven assists) in 10 games and also had four assists in five games for Team Canada at the Under-20 World Junior Championship after starting the tournament as their extra defenseman.

He does a little bit of everything and does it all well. He is a physical defender who also has excellent vision, whether that be finding open teammates, understanding when he can activate in the rush or seeing where the opposition is going with the puck next. The puck skills are there, although a little raw. He has a threatening point shot, and with some refinement of puck control skills and minor improvements to mobility, the sky is the limit for him.

THW Prospect Profile Excerpt

Verhoeff’s prowess at the college level also caught the eyes of the Hockey Canada brass as they added him to their roster for the 2026 World Junior Championship. He didn’t look out of place among 19 and 20-year-olds, either. The 17-year-old had an impressive four assists in five games playing limited minutes alongside fellow draft prospect Carson Carels.

In college, Verhoeff has quickly developed into a top option for North Dakota head coach Dane Jackson, as he regularly deploys him over 20 minutes a night. His size and right shot are two obvious reasons why he was a top pick this year, but his skills go beyond that. Along with his high-end hockey IQ in the offensive zone, he possesses a hard and accurate slapshot and wrist shot that he’s not afraid to use, especially on the power play. He will almost certainly be an elite power-play quarterback in the NHL one day, as he’s already showcasing that at a high level in the NCAA.

While Verhoeff skates well for his size, many scouts and experts point to his backward skating and mechanics (pivots, four-way mobility, etc.) as areas for improvement. They describe it as “average,” which could hold him back from hitting the heights of what 2025 first-overall pick Matthew Schaefer is doing in the NHL right now. That said, those things can be fixed with the help of a skating coach. He also needs to work on his rush defense, but as Luc Zdancewicz of McKeen’s Hockey points out, most of his issues there stem from his skating, which will be eliminated if that is fixed.

Continue reading our full player profile here.

How This Affects the Sharks’ Plans

Verhoeff won’t only be joining Ivar Stenberg, who the Sharks drafted second overall earlier in this draft, but he’ll be joining an elite group of young players, headlined by Macklin Celebrini, who nearly willed the team to a Stanley Cup Playoff berth this season. With the Sharks already having Sam Dickinson as another one of their young, potentially elite players, they are well on their way to building their blue line of the future, the only thing this organization is missing, with how many young forward prospects they have blossoming.