Finally some good news for the San Jose Barracuda, as the San Jose Sharks today announced that they’ve assigned centre Filip Bystedt to the San Jose Barracuda for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Bystedt was a first round pick of the Sharks in 2022, going 27th overall, and has been playing for Lingkoping HC of the SHL since then. This year in 47 games he recorded 17 points (8G, 9A), and added a goal and an assist in 4 playoff games. Pretty good numbers for a player who just turned 20 in February of this year. He represented Sweden at the U20 World Juniors this season, recording 3 goals and an assist in 7 games. Sweden went home from that tournament with a silver medal, losing to the USA in the final game.
Scouting Report
Bystedt will likely be a top six forward for the Barracuda. Dobber Prospects called him “a playmaking centre with great size” in their scouting report. He could end up being a very solid 2C for the San Jose Sharks, but right now, look for him to play with players like Ethan Cardwell, Daniil Gushchin or Nathan Todd. Cardwell, the team’s leading scorer, is a very intriguing player to pair with Bystedt. JD Young of Locked On Sharks calls him a “Big boy who’s good in front of the net, has soft hands up close, and has a tendency to get lost defensively, but that should be less of an issue on smaller North American ice.”
The Barracuda have struggled with top end talent this season, losing many players to long injuries or call-ups, so Bystedt should provide an injection of offense into the line-up, and hopefully propelling the team to a strong finish to the season.
The Barracuda’s next game is on Wednesday against the San Diego Gulls. It’s not confirmed that Bystedt will draw into this game, but it seems likely that fans will get their first glimpse of the newest member of the Barracuda then!
