Bystedt, Musty aiming to take next step, join Sharks' young core

CHICAGO -- Filip Bystedt and Quentin Musty like the direction the San Jose Sharks are headed.

The forward prospects enjoy watching 20-year-old center Macklin Celebrini dazzle on a seemingly nightly basis. They see Celebrini and other young players like forwards Michael Misa, 19, and Will Smith, 21, and defenseman Sam Dickinson, 20, working to accelerate the Sharks’ rebuild.

Bystedt and Musty want to be among the next to help them.

"It's exciting," Bystedt said during the NHLPA Rookie Showcase on July 29. "They took a good step last year and picked high again. Now with Ivar (Stenberg, No. 2 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft) and Macklin, 'Smitty,' all those guys coming up, the future's bright for the upcoming years and you really want to be part of that."

The Sharks had 86 points last season (39-35-8), four points behind the Los Angeles Kings (35-27-20) for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, finished fourth in the League with 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists), behind Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid (138 points), Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (130) and Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (127).

"I mean, you skate with those guys for the first time, and we've been lucky enough to skate with him a couple of times now, he's a generational player. Nothing much more to say than that. He's a special player," Musty said of Celebrini. "Obviously he's gifted a lot of things you wish you had in your game. It's fun to watch and try to learn from him and the things he does."

Bystedt and Musty are working to join Celebrini after each had success with San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League last season. Bystedt, 22, was selected in the first round (No. 27) in the 2022 NHL Draft, and in his second full season in North America led the Barracuda with 60 points (22 goals, 38 assists) in 65 games. Musty, 21, had 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) in 61 games. Selected with the No. 26 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, he tied for fourth among AHL rookies in goals and was tied for eighth in points.

"It was my first year (as a) pro and just getting games at that level is big for me and just getting used to the pace and how the league works," Musty said. "We had a pretty good team as well and it was a lot of fun to play with those guys, a lot of young guys there like Filip and myself. It was a lot of fun to go there and obviously we got riddled by some injuries, but overall it was a good year and I had a lot of fun."

John McCarthy, who coaches San Jose's AHL team, said each played in the top six and logged important minutes.

"Bystedt (6-foot-2, 187 pounds), he's 22 years old, he's still young," McCarthy said. "He has size, he sees the ice well, he can see plays developing that way which enables him to create offense for us.

"Musty (6-2, 200), obviously, is an offensive type of player as well. You can see in his point total from last year as a rookie in the AHL. That's pretty impressive what he was able to put together. He makes good plays in tight areas. He's able to find his teammates and he can also put the puck in the net himself."

Now they have to show continued improvement.

"For 'Fil,' coming from a bigger ice surface (in Sweden), he's still developing in the sense that the pressure comes quicker on the smaller ice, so that's an adjustment for him," McCarthy said. "It's continuing to work on those pro details: taking care of the puck, the defensive side of the puck, face-off circle, adjusting to size and the strength of guys in the league, as with almost any young player.

"Musty's similar. It's rounding out his game. Obviously the offensive talent is there. Coming from junior (Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League), where he was relied upon to create offense pretty much exclusively, it's about working on the other side of game. He's taken strides already and will continue to do so and put himself in a good spot to fight for a roster spot."

The Sharks are building around their young core and look to return to the postseason for the first time since 2018-19. Musty, who is entering his fourth training camp and Bystedt, who's going into his third, are the latest who want to help them do that.

"I'm excited. I've been waiting for it the whole summer," Bystedt said. "I think it's going to be a huge camp for me. I've been training hard, trying to prepare myself for the best and it's going to be fun to see the guys as well and compete for a roster spot."