With the 2024 preseason officially in the books, all eyes turn to the San Jose Sharks opening night roster.
With the 2024 preseason officially in the books, all eyes turn to the San Jose Sharks opening night roster.
With the 2024 preseason officially in the books, all eyes turn to the San Jose Sharks opening night roster.
Danil Gushchin's five-assist night solidified his right to an opening night roster spot, but who misses the cut because of it? Players like Collin Graf and Givani Smith, who had good moments during the preseason, might be pushed out due to Gushchin's strong play.
There are the roster locks like Macklin Celebrini, Tyler Toffoli, William Eklund, and more. Here are the forwards I believe the Sharks will start the season with.
Forwards:
Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea, William Eklund, Barclay Goodrow, Mikael Granlund, Carl Grundstrom, Danil Gushchin, Luke Kunin, Klim Kostin, Will Smith, Nico Sturm, Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, Fabian Zetterlund
After a solid start to training camp, Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky was left wanting more consistency from Klim Kostin. Due to Kostin's waiver eligibility, I believe this pushes Ethan Cardwell back to the AHL.
"I thought he was solid. I think he just got to find more consistency in his game," Warsofsky said after last night's game. "He knows that. He and I talked about that. Obviously, [he] scores a nice goal. He's making some plays. Just shift to shift is a little bit inconsistent."
Cardwell has been a pleasant surprise at Sharks training camp, but returning to the San Jose Barracuda and playing top-line minutes will only benefit his continued development.
There is a lot of interest in the defense core. Warsofsky has discussed the need for cleaner breakout passes at length, yet the projected core lacks quality puck-moving ability.
Injuries to Shakir Mukhamadullin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have opened a possible roster spot for Jack Thompson or Luca Cagnoni to take.
Here are the defensemen I believe the Sharks will start with.
Defensemen:
Matt Benning, Codi Ceci, Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta, Jack Thompson, Henry Thrun, Jake Walman
As good as Cagnoni has been moving the puck, he has had lapses in his defensive zone. He can puck-watch and lose his man in front of the net. That exact mistake led to a goal against last night.
Although it was an optional practice yesterday, Mukhamadullin re-joined his teammates for the first time since training camp started. It will take some time to get the d-man up to speed, but I believe he takes Thompson's spot when he's ready.
As for the goalies, Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek will start the season as the Sharks netminders. Yaroslav Askarov was sent down on Friday and is still returning from a lower-body injury that held him out of Sharks training camp.
Logan Couture will start the season on IR, and there is no timetable for his return.
Rosters are due at 2 p.m. PST tomorrow, and Mike Grier, Ryan Warsofsky, and the rest of the front office need to make many decisions.
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