San Jose Sharks newly acquired forward Kiefer Sherwood has been anticipating the moment he can suit up for his new team since being traded from the Vancouver Canucks.
Sherwood was traded to San Jose on Jan. 19 in exchange for defenseman Cole Clayton and two second round draft picks in 2026 and 2027.
Both teams play on Jan. 27 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The last time these two played each other was when the Sharks won 6-3 on Dec. 27. Sharks had goals from Macklin Celebrini, Igor Chernyshov, William Eklund, Collin Graf, John Klingberg and Ryan Reaves.
That game for the Canucks, Sherwood had five shots on goal and a missed shot in 16:22 on the ice.
Sherwood is expected to miss this reunion with his former team as it's been reported that he will not play tonight, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.
He remains on injured reserve, the team said.
Who is Kiefer Sherwood?
Sherwood is the Sharks' new forward who was acquired in a trade with the Canucks for Cole Clayton and two second round draft picks.
Sherwood, 30, has scored 23 points (17 goals, six assists) in 44 games in the 2025-26 regular-season for the Canucks. He led the team in goals, was third in points, and ranks second in the NHL in hits with 210.
In 2018, he signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the Anaheim Ducks as an undrafted free agent after playing three years of college hockey at Miami University.
His first career point and win was against the Sharks in 2018. Now, Sherwood looks forward to joining to franchise he began his hockey career facing.
"It's great. I know the facility is pretty new, so I'm coming at a good time," Sherwood told reporters. "It's been great. I'm really excited to join this group. And just love the energy so far, and looking forward to get going."
How does Kiefer Sherwood help the San Jose Sharks?
Sherwood, a 6-foot, 194-pound native of Columbus, Ohio, joins a Sharks team that is young, but aims to make strides towards the NHL Playoffs.
Sherwood leaves a Canucks team that is 17-30-5 and scored 39 points for a Sharks organization with a 26-21-3 record and 55 points scored that is also on the cusp of a wild-card playoff spot.
"I'm just excited. I looked at the standings right away. And, you know, obviously you just want to be able to compete and be in the hunt," Sherwood said. "So that's something that, you know, I'm really looking forward to helping this team and pushing forward in the second half."
Sherwood has an upper body injury that has sidelined him from Sharks games, but when he comes back players know that they are getting an impact player added to their squad.
"I mean, he's a dog, just the way he competes, the way he battles," Celebrini said. "He's hard to play against, and that's something that I respected, playing against them, just anytime you match up against them, you know, it's not going to be easy. And, I mean, I'm happy to have that on our team."
"I think it's great. I think it's great. That's what we want in this locker room, is to add pieces that will hopefully help us win," Celebrini added. "He's an awesome guy, and I think we're all just excited for him to get into the lineup and start playing."
Some standout moments from Sherwood early on in the 2025-26 regular-season has been recording two hat tricks this season. Once on Oct. 30 at the St. Louis Blues and later on Dec. 19 at the New York Islanders.
Over the course of his NHL career with the Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators and Canucks, Sherwood has appeared in 309 NHL games, scoring 121 points (60 goals, 61 assists).
In a seven-game stretch from Nov. 8 to Nov. 20, Sherwood tallied three goals and four assists. He has scored three consecutive 10-goal seasons. He currently has 17 goals on the season, his career-high for a season in 19.
Known for his physical play, Sherwood is excited to bring his tenacity and talents to Northern California and the Bay Area.
"Yeah, that's I want to make us hard to play against and do whatever I can to do that, whether that's being physical or being verbal or emotional or mental, whatever it is, you know, kind of the game within the game, I want to make it hard to play against us, and try to add different and complement some of the identity that I know that the team is building," Sherwood said.
Sherwood said he looks to help bring the team energy by occasionally "stir things up" but also being a "glue guy."
He's eager to get out there.
"I know the Shark Tank is a special place when it gets buzzing," Sherwood said. "There's so many things about Northern Cali and what San Jose has to offer. And obviously, the players are, there's some special players brewing. And, you know, I think it's an exciting time to be part of that. And you know, they're building a great culture moving forward. And I'm just getting, you know, excited to get to know everyone and kind of ruffle some feathers when I can, you know, and and whatnot."
He is excited to join them and their fight for playoffs. Both, literally and figuratively.
He took notice of the Sharks' since-viral goalie fight between Sharks' goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic and Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky on the night of the trade.