Sharks’ Grier provides health updates on trio of key young players, including former top-10 pick

San Jose Sharks general manager Mike Grier said William Eklund is expected to be ready for the start of the team’s training camp in September, reinforcing a belief the organization had when the Swedish-born forward first needed surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

Eklund, 20, had shoulder surgery on March 30, eight days after he was involved in a collision along the boards in a San Jose Barracuda road game against the Colorado Eagles. The Sharks said after the surgery that Eklund was expected to make a full recovery in time for camp in the fall.

Assuming he can play at full speed from the start of camp, Eklund will likely find himself in competition for a top-six role among the Sharks forward at the beginning of the season. Drafted seventh overall by the Sharks in 2021, Eklund played eight NHL games last season and had two goals and an assist as he averaged close to 20 minutes of ice time per game.

“Eklund is doing well in his rehab. He’ll be ready for training camp, which is good,” Grier said earlier this month in an interview posted Monday on the team’s YouTube channel. “He should be able to hopefully have a somewhat normal schedule as far as strength training goes for him.”

Grier also said he expected goalie prospect Eetu Mäkiniemi, defenseman Nikita Okhotyiuk and forward Luke Kunin to also be ready for the start camp.

Grier said in April that Mäkiniemi, 24, had been dealing with a hip issue for much of the season until an MRI midway through the year revealed a small labrum tear. He could have kept playing, Grier said but was shut down for the season in mid-February to help him get ready for camp in the fall.

Mäkiniemi, acquired last July from Carolina as part of the deal that sent Brent Burns to the Hurricanes, went 8-10-3 with the Barracuda and 1-0-1 in two games with the Sharks. He is set to become a restricted free agent but is expected to remain with the organization, although it appears the Sharks will be seeking to add another goalie with greater NHL experience to possibly pair with Kaapo Kahkonen this upcoming season.

Okhotyiuk, 22, was acquired on Feb. 26 as part of the Sharks trade with New Jersey that sent Timo Meier to the Devils but never played a game for the Sharks or the Barracuda and needed core muscle surgery on April 3.

Okhotyuk has 15 games of NHL experience and could challenge for a Sharks roster spot in camp, although the team presently has six defensemen on one-way contracts, including Erik Karlsson. Rookie Henry Thrun, who impressed in eight games with the Sharks last season, will also be vying for a spot on the team’s 23-man roster.

Kunin tore his ACL in a Dec. 13 game against Arizona. He said in April that he hoped to be back by training camp.

“(Kunin) was back (in San Jose) towards the end of the season, starting his rehab, and … you couldn’t even tell that he just had his ACL surgery,” Grier said. “They all should be ready for camp and have fairly normal summers as far as training goes.”