Sharks sign big-bodied, sharp-shooting prospect to entry-level contract

The San Jose Sharks have signed 2023 draft choice Kasper Halttunen to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced Wednesday. CapFriendly reports the deal carries a $940K cap hit with the breakdown as follows:

2023-24: $825K base salary + $95K signing bonus + $30K games played bonus + $82.5K minor salary
2024-25: $855K base salary + $95K signing bonus + $82.5K minor salary
2025-26: $855K base salary + $95K signing bonus + $82.5K minor salary

The hulking Finnish winger already stands at 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds. He went off the board to the Sharks early in the second round with the 36th overall pick. While Halttunen didn’t necessarily turn many heads in pro play, recording just one assist in limited minutes throughout 27 games with Liiga club HIFK, he dominated amongst his age group, notching 24 points in 18 junior games with HIFK. He also logged 10 points in five games while captaining the national squad at the 2023 IIHF U-18 World Championship.

The appeal with Halttunen lies mostly with his size and his shot – 18 of those 24 points in juniors came on goals and he posted six goals in five games at the U-18s. Some skating issues and concerns about his overall hockey sense let him slip to the second round and he figures to need a long development track before making an NHL impact.

Halttunen will likely be loaned back to HIFK for the 2023-24 campaign, which will slide the start of his entry-level contract back another season (assuming he plays fewer than 10 NHL games). It’ll be three or four years before we likely see Halttunen in a Sharks jersey on a full-time basis, but when he does arrive in earnest, expect one thing if nothing else – shots on goal.