The San Jose Sharks announced this week that Jeff Kealty will join the franchise as an assistant general manager, taking charge of the team’s professional scouting department.
Scouting Reinforcements in San Jose
Kealty, who spent a decade with the Nashville Predators rising to assistant GM, brings a deep amateur scouting pedigree that helped land Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm in Nashville. He will work directly under GM Mike Grier and is expected to collaborate closely with the Sharks’ existing scouting chief, Chris Morehouse.
His appointment also reunites him with Yaroslav Askarov, the highly touted goaltender who was acquired in a recent trade, adding a fresh dimension to the Sharks’ player development pipeline.
On the international front, former NHL forward Dmitrij Jaskin has signed a contract with the KHL’s Shanghai Dragons after three seasons with Ak Bars Kazan, where he captained the team and earned two MVP awards, posting 35 goals and 54 points last season.
Meanwhile, 2025 New Jersey Devils draft pick Gustav Hillström has extended his stay in the Swedish Hockey League, agreeing to a one‑year deal that will keep him with Brynäs IF through the 2027‑28 campaign after setting a new career‑high in games played.
Cross‑Continental Moves Shape Off‑Season Landscape
These transactions illustrate a growing trend of NHL talent seeking opportunities abroad while teams bolster their rosters with seasoned scouts and players, a dynamic that could reshape the competitive balance heading into the next season.