DENVER – University of Denver hockey junior defenseman
Eric Pohlkamp has signed a two-year, entry-level contract beginning in 2026-27 with the San Jose Sharks, the NHL club announced on Thursday.
A first-team All-American and a Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist as the nation's top college hockey player, Pohlkamp led all Denver skaters and NCAA defensemen this season with 18 goals and 39 points in 43 games to help the Pioneers win the 2026 National Championship. He finished third on the team with 21 assists.
A 2023 NHL Draft pick of the San Jose Sharks in the fifth round at No. 132 overall, Pohlkamp led all skaters in the country with 188 shots on goal while ranking tied for ninth among the nation's rear guards and third on the squad in plus-minus rating (+24). He was also first on DU with six power-play goals and second on the squad with 12 power-play points (6g/6a).
Named the Offensive Defenseman of the Year in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference, Pohlkamp was recognized on the All-NCHC First Team and was runner-up for the league's Player of the Year award. His 18 goals this season were the most in a single season by a defenseman in conference history, as he surpassed the previous mark of 15 tallies that was held by a pair of DU players in
Mike Benning (2021-22) and
Joey LaLeggia (2014-15) with a two-goal performance on Jan. 24 vs. St. Cloud State.
Pohlkamp, 22, combined for 98 career points with 40 goals and 58 assists across 119 games with Denver and Bemidji State (2023-24). His 18 goals this season were tied with
Mike Busniuk for third-most in a single season by a Denver defenseman and are the most by a Pioneer blueliner since
Greg Woods scored 19 times as a freshman in 1975-76.
The Baxter, Minnesota, native totaled three points in a game three times during the year and owns seven such three-point contests in his career. He scored three goals for his first career hat trick in the home opener on Oct. 11 against Bentley, becoming the 12th defenseman to DU history to accomplish the feat. At the time, it was just the fifth instance and Pohlkamp became the fourth defenseman in the NCHC record book to register a hat trick. He also recorded his first career short-handed goal in the shutout victory of Bentley—the first man-down marker by a DU rear guard since
Antti Tuomisto on Jan. 23, 2021.
Pohlkamp also had three points with two goals and an assist on Nov. 21 at Arizona State and matched a career high with three assists on Feb. 13 at Omaha. The defender recorded at least one point in 24 contests during the year and multiple points in 11 games, including three multi-goal outings.
He earned his first career monthly honors as both the NCHC and the National Defenseman of the Month for November after combining for seven goals and three assists in eight games. His seven tallies tied for the third-most by an NCAA blueliner in a single month since the start of the 2002-03 season (online records presently don't go back any further), with only Mercyhurst's Joseph Duszak (9, January 2019) and Boston University's Ahti Oksanen (8, January 2015) scoring more in a month. Pohlkamp registered eight goals in a nine-game period from Nov. 1-Dec. 5 and scored six times in a six-game stretch from Nov. 1-21, 2025, which included a career-long, four-game goal streak from Nov. 1-14, 2025 (4g/2a). The four-game run with a tally was longest by a defenseman in NCHC history and at DU since at least 2002-03.
Defensively, Pohlkamp was first on the Pioneers with 83 blocked shots and has blocked four or more in a game seven times, including five in the national title game versus Wisconsin on April 11 and career-high six blocks on Dec. 13 at St. Cloud State. He was fifth on Denver with 33 penalty minutes.
He appeared in his 100th career NCAA contest on Jan. 16 at North Dakota. He registered his 40th career goal in the NCAA West Regional Final against Western Michigan on Sunday and picked up his 50th assists of his collegiate tenure on Feb. 13 at Omaha.
Pohlkamp represented NCAA hockey at the 2025 Spengler Cup from Dec. 26-31 and was one of the first 10 players to be named to the U.S. Collegiate Select Team. He recorded two goals and one assist while averaging 21:49 of ice time in three games, helping the college squad reach the championship game of the prestigious international tournament.
During his first season with the Pioneers in 2024-25, he ranked second behind Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist
Zeev Buium among team defensemen with 11 goals, 24 assists and 35 points while playing in all 44 games. He finished fourth in the NCAA at his position in scoring and was tied for fifth in the country in goals. Pohlkamp went on a career-long, nine-game point streak (4g/9a) early in the campaign from Oct. 6-Nov. 9, 2024. He totaled three goals and an assist in eight postseason outings last season and was named to the NCAA Northeast Regional All-Tournament Team as the team reached the 2025 NCAA Frozen Four.
Pohlkamp joined Denver in 2024-25 after spending the previous season with Bemidji State as a freshman where he led all team defensemen with 11 goals, while ranking second among blueliners with 13 assists and 24 points in 32 games played. He finished tied for second overall on BSU in goals and tied for fourth in points, while leading the Beavers in shots (121), power-play goals (5-tied) and game-winning goals (3-tied) in 2023-24. He was named to CCHA All-Conference First Team and was also recognized as an All-Rookie Team member that season for Central Collegiate Hockey Association.
In addition to playing in the Spengler Cup this past December, he also skated at the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship on a United States team that was coached by Denver's
David Carle. He recorded three points with a goal and two assists in seven games to help the Americans win the World Juniors in Gothenburg, Sweden—his second championship in international completion after also winning gold at the 2022 World Junior-A Challenge with Team USA.
