Sharks acquire No. 9 pick from Senators for Eklund, Halttunen and Svoboda
The San Jose Sharks have acquired the No. 9 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for forward William Eklund and prospects Kasper Halttunen and Brandon Svoboda, the club announced Tuesday afternoon.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the details of the trade on Tuesday, with the clubs confirming it shortly thereafter. The Senators previously acquired the No. 9 pick from the Florida Panthers on Sunday as part of the Brady Tkachuk trade.
Eklund, 23, collected 15 goals and 53 points in 78 games with the Sharks in the 2025-26 regular season. The 5’10” winger is under contract through 2029 at a $5.6 million cap hit and was originally drafted by San Jose with the No. 7 overall pick in 2021.
🔁🔁 We’ve acquired the 9th overall selection from the Senators in exchange for forwards William Eklund, Kasper Halttunen, and Brandon Svoboda.
Eklund debuted with the Sharks in the 2021-22 season, immediately after being drafted, and scored four points (all assists) in his first nine games with the club that year. He became a regular with the Sharks in the 2023-24 season and set career highs with 17 goals and 58 points in 77 games the following year.
Through 252 career games over parts of five NHL seasons with the Sharks, Eklund has collected 50 goals and 163 points. The Stockholm product has yet to appear in a Stanley Cup Playoff game during his career to date.
Halttunen, 21, spent the 2025-26 season with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, amassing 16 goals and 35 points in 69 games with the club. A two-time OHL champion with the London Knights, Halttunen is a 6’3″ right wing whom San Jose drafted with a second-round pick (No. 36 overall) in 2023.
Svoboda, 21, is a 6’3″ right-handed center coming off his sophomore year at Boston University, with whom he scored six goals and 15 points in 35 games during the 2025-26 season. The Sharks originally selected the Pittsburgh product in the third round (No. 71 overall) in 2023.
The Sharks now possess three picks (No. 2, 9, and 27 overall) in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft, which will take place in Buffalo on Friday; the Senators still possess the No. 25 and 32 overall picks,