There’s a burgeoning friendship that just might deserve some of the credit for one of the best individual starts to a season in San Jose Sharks history.

These two have not known each other for that long, but have quickly developed a bond on and off the playing surface. They have helped bring families together, and likely had a positive impact on San Jose’s top defensive pairing

We’re talking about Harlow Karlsson and Evie Megna, of course.

Harlow, who recently turned 3 years old and Evie, who will be 3 in March, are the two breakout social media stars early in this Sharks season, in part because of their fathers’ participation at ballet class last week.

“The girls have been going for a while now, but the dads hadn’t been able to go,” Sharks defenseman Jaycob Megna said. “That was our first Friday that we had a chance to, so it was good to get out and see them in action. Our daughters started hanging out last year and they quickly became good friends. It’s been fun to see and just watch them both growing up and do more things together. They have ballet. They have swim lessons together. It’s been a lot of fun.”

Erik Karlsson is off to a blazing start this season, with nine goals and 15 points in 12 games punctuated by the first hat trick from a guy playing on defense in franchise history Tuesday night against Anaheim.

Karlsson’s tenure with the Sharks has been tenuous at times, largely because the gambit to bring him to San Jose as the final piece of a Stanley Cup-winning puzzle did not work out in 2018-19, and the club has slipped from its place among the top championship contenders in the years since. He also signed the largest contract for a defenseman in league history, and two of the first three years were defined by a collection of injuries that kept him out of the lineup too often.

This early-season version of Karlsson — healthy, productive and consistently dictating where the game will be played when he is on the ice — has been what the Sharks envisioned when he arrived four years ago in one of the biggest trades in recent NHL history.

“He’s our engine right now. We go as he goes,” Megna said. “He’s been phenomenal. I wasn’t around when he was in Ottawa, but I’ve never seen him play as well as he’s playing right now. It’s been unbelievable to watch. He’s probably been our best player in almost every game and we need him more than ever, especially five-on-five on offense. He makes us go. He’s been great on the power play too. And he’s been good defensively. He’s killing plays and we’re not spending much time in our own end. He’s got two Norris (Trophies) and he’s probably on track for another one right now if he stays healthy.”