No. 12 Filip Bystedt: Coming along nicely with the Barracuda

With the recent successes of the San Jose Sharks’ first-round acquisitions, it can be easy to forget 2022 first-round pick Filip Bystedt. The 27th overall pick has been slower to develop than his fellow first-rounders in the Sharks’ organization, especially considering the recent emergence of 2024 first-round pick Macklin Celebrini, 2023 first-round pick Will Smith and potential arrival of 2025 first-round pick Michael Misa. But Bystedt was a later pick, and that means that the forward is going to, understandably, take a little more time to develop than the earlier draftees, especially considering that he’s a European-born skater who, in addition to having to grow into the NHL role, also had to learn how to play on North American ice.

Bystedt has steadily dropped down our Top 25 Sharks Under 25 list over the years, but as with many of the elder statesmen on the list, it has more to do with the additions at the top than any defects in his development. Bystedt went from 6th on our list in 2023 to 8th on our list in 2024, but the additions of players like the aforementioned Celebrini, Smith, Misa and others will do that. In other words, don’t hold the decline against the player and rather attribute his decline to the work General Manager Mike Grier has done to elevate the prospect pool in the past three years.

In his first full season on North American ice, Bystedt held his own. He played 50 games for the Barracuda and had 31 points (12 G, 19 A). He was a plus-4 and spent time on the penalty kill, where he had one shorthanded goal. As far as first seasons go, he did pretty well.

Position: Forward
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 187 pounds
Age: 21
Date of Birth: February 4, 2004
Draft Year: 2022 (27th overall by the San Jose Sharks)
Shoots: Left
2024-25 Team: San Jose Barracuda

What we like

When Bystedt was drafted, his best attributes were the way he picked up speed quickly both with and without the puck. His skating was a weapon that allowed him to move up the ice quickly and attack the opposing team with a purpose. Those attributes have translated well at the AHL-level, where he uses his bursts of speed and puck control to create time and space for his linemates. Notice that