This Oilers trade may have landed Edmonton its next Brett Kulak
Photo credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Edmonton Oilers acquired defenceman Zack Sharp from the San Jose Sharks on July 1, and his path to Rogers Place runs through Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Sharp arrived alongside Shakir Mukhamadullin in the deal that sent Darnell Nurse and his $9.25 million cap hit to San Jose.
Brett Kulak, the veteran Sharp keeps getting measured against, has not worn an Oilers jersey since December 2025.
Kulak is signed with the Colorado Avalanche through 2030-31 at $4.5 million per season. Edmonton did not lose him this summer; he was gone eight months ago.
The Kalamazoo connection Stan Bowman keeps returning to
Sharp spent two seasons at Western Michigan University, winning the 2025 national championship as a freshman before posting 19 points in 37 games as a sophomore. He is the second Bronco Edmonton has added since April.
General manager Stan Bowman signed Broncos captain Owen Michaels as a college free agent on April 2.
With Edmonton's draft capital thinned out, Bowman is treating the NCAA as a parallel draft.
Why the clock on Sharp is shorter than it looks
Kulak was an 18-year-old fourth-round pick in 2012 who did not become an NHL regular until 2017-18.
Sharp was passed over twice before San Jose selected him 124th overall in 2025, already 20 years old.
He turned 21 in March and still has college eligibility remaining.
Edmonton holds his rights, not a signed contract.
Bowman was asked in June whether Edmonton is on the clock with Connor McDavid's two-year extension beginning in 2026-27.
If Sharp needs the Kulak runway, he becomes useful long after that window shuts. The bet is that a national champion blue liner at 21 moves faster than a fourth-round teenager did.
Kalamazoo is now an Oilers scouting outpost, and Sharp is the second piece of evidence.
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