San Jose Sharks’ Nikolay Golbobin Set To Debut
By Sam Kelly
San Jose Sharks forward Nikolay Goldobin will make his NHL debut on Friday evening against the New Jersey Devils. The skilled winger was selected 27th overall by the Sharks in the 2014 Entry Draft and was one of the team’s final roster cuts prior to the start of the 2015-16 season.
Goldobin was called up from the San Jose Barracuda on Friday morning after the Sharks announced that center Logan Couture will miss four to six weeks with a broken right fibula. Couture sustained the injury during the team’s morning skate in New Jersey on Thursday.
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In Couture’s absence, Tomas Hertl is expected to center the second line. Chris Tierney will move up to line three, while Ben Smith draws into the lineup as San Jose’s fourth-line pivot.
With rookie winger Joonas Donskoi also reportedly out of the lineup due to injury, Goldobin will get a crack at the first-line left wing spot next to Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski. The 20-year-old Russian has high-end offensive skill, as evidenced by his 94 points in 67 games during his pre-draft season with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. Goldobin also managed a respectable 21 points in 38 matches playing among men as an undersized 19-year-old in the Finnish Elite League last year.
The Sharks have high hopes for Goldobin, and they’ll get to see his skills put to the test for the first time at the NHL level on Friday. San Jose is undefeated and goaltender Martin Jones has posted two consecutive shutouts, but the evening’s top story line may end up being Goldobin’s performance.
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