​While Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith were stalwarts on the San Jose Sharks’ top line during the 2025-26 season, the left wing spot rotated fairly regularly. Heading into the 2026-27 season, there are a number of options who could compete for the final spot on the first line.If we were living in the world of EA Sports NHL 26’s Franchise mode, Ivar Stenberg would almost certainly jump to the top line immediately after being drafted second overall.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCompared to most 18-year-olds, Stenberg likely has a much higher chance to succeed being thrown right into the fire, as he’s already proven that he can be a dynamic scorer against tough competition. He had one of the best seasons by a teenager in the history of the Swedish Hockey League, and it’s hard to discount his pure skill.With that being said, outside of Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks have taken a very cautious approach to giving their young players a substantial amount of ice time right out of the gate. We saw it with Smith during the 2024-25 season. Then Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson took a similar path this past season.Mike Grier and Ryan Warsofsky like to ease their young players into the NHL, which is fair considering it’s a major step from the collegiate or junior ranks. Stenberg is a bit different than the three aforementioned players, having already played at a professional level, so they may be willing to take a more aggressive approach with him, similar to how they handled Celebrini. At the same time, there’s no major need to rush him into first line minutes.Whether it makes sense to rush him into those minutes or not, it’s hard to argue that a line with Stenberg, Celebrini, and Smith wouldn’t instantly become must-see television.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHad the Sharks not gotten lucky in the 2026 Draft Lottery and moved up to the second overall pick, it seemed like a real possibility that Igor Chernyshov was going to establish himself as San Jose’s long-term first line left-wing in the very near future. Now, that’s certainly a bit more in doubt.Even though Chernyshov spent the majority of his season with the San Jose Barracuda during the 2025-26 campaign, when he was given opportunities at the NHL level, he didn’t look out of place. According to Natural Stat Trick, Chernyshov played 304:22 while paired with Celebrini and just 78:39 without him. During that time, their line produced 20 goals and surrendered 17.To put it bluntly, while Celebrini and Chernyshov were on the ice together, they scored at a high rate and were entertaining to watch. It’s hard to ask for more than that in late March and early April when the team as a whole was struggling and playoff hopes were quickly fading.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementChernyshov is in a bit of an odd position now, as given the Sharks’ number of forwards on one-way deals and their additions over the summer, there’s a chance he doesn’t even make the Opening Night roster which seems en