San Jose Barracuda Finalize Opening Night Roster
The San jose Barracuda begin their first ever season as the top development affiliate of the San Jose Sharks tonight when they host the Rockford IceHogs, top affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, tonight at SAP Center.
Prior to this matchup, the Barracuda general manager Joe Will announced their opening night roster which consists of 24 players. Here’s the breakdown of the players for the Barracuda:
Goaltenders (2): Troy Grosenick (#1) and Aaron Dell (#30)
Defensemen (7): Karl Stollery (#2), Mirco Mueller (#41), Mark Cundari (#45), Joakim Ryan (#47), Patrick McNally (#51), Julius Bergman (#63) and Gus Young (#70)
Forwards (15): Bryan Lerg (#11), John McCarthy (#17), Frazer McLaren (#23), Michael Haley (#38), Ryan Carpenter (#40), Adam Helewka (#52), Nikita Jevpalovs (#53), Petter Emanuelsson (#55), Vincent Arseneau (#67), Melker Karlsson (#68), Chris Crane (#73), Scott Timmins (#77), Nikolay Goldobin #82), Trevor Parkes (#84) and Jeremy Langlois (#86)
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Also, San Jose Barracuda Head Coach Roy Sommer announced that for the second consecutive season Bryan Lerg will serve as captain, while John McCarthy will serve as an alternate.
For fans of the Sharks, most eyes will be on Nikolay Goldobin and Mirco Mueller. The former first-round picks were amongst the final cuts from San Jose so it will be interesting to see how they respond. Both will see plenty of ice time with the Barracuda, and Sharks fans want to see their growth and development.
I get the sense that many fans will be excited to see the offensive skill Goldobin brings to the table.
Also, keep an eye on Melker Karlsson who is rehabbing from an undisclosed injury which kept him out for a majority of training camp. While Karlsson isn’t expected to be with the Barracuda for an extended period of time, the Sharks will want him to sharpen his skills and ensure he’s in game shape. Karlsson was a break out player for San Jose last season, and he will provide more depth once he returns to the Sharks.
Other names to focus on are defensemen Julius Bergman and Mark Cundari, along with forward Nikita Jevpalovs.
Finally, the battle in net will be intriguing all season long as the duo of Troy Grosenick and Aaron Dell duke it out for the top spot. Expect Grosenick to win the job since he seems to be held in high regards by the Sharks. However, Dell posted better numbers last season and won’t make it easy for Grosenick to assume the starting role.
The Barracuda kick off their 68-game campaign tonight at 7:30 p.m. and the first 5,000 fans will receive a commemorative opening night T-shirt.
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