Last season, the San Jose Sharks’ power play was middle of the road: a 21.2% success rate ranking 16th overall in the league. With a team with so much offensive firepower, but so many defensive woes, this ranking is not incredibly surprising. However, this coming season an open spot on the top power play unit could be a golden opportunity for some young defensemen.
In the previous season, the Sharks insisted on playing 33-year-old defenseman John Klingberg in that top power play slot. Klingberg, though occasionally powerful offensively, repeatedly struggled to maintain the blue line and keep the puck in the zone, often resulting in rushes in the opposite direction. His struggles defensively greatly outweighed his value offensively, sometimes making the power play hard to watch. However, Klingberg is not likely to ink a new contract thus severing his ties with the organization, and with his departure comes an opening on the power play.
There is a lot of excitement surrounding incoming defenseman, Luca Cagnoni, especially with this open power play chance. Although he only stands at 5-foot eight inches, Cagnoni is not only extremely confident, with him not shying away from physicality, he’s also very competent offensively. This confidence is apparent when he crashes the net, knowing an offensive opportunity will result from the play. Even though he played just three games last season, this confidence was evident and effective in power play situations. Additionally, his poise rubbed off on other players.
Cagnoni’s ability and self-assuredness had a glaringly positive effect on defenseman Sam Dickinson. In those three games Cagnoni played, we saw an increase in confidence with Dickinson and greater offensive input. Cagnoni’s confidence while rushing the net seemingly reminded Dickinson he can do the same. If the power play opening doesn’t belong to Cagnoni, it certainly belongs to Dickinson who has previously thrived in the position.
As the Sharks continue to fill out the roster for the upcoming season, new roles are being assigned to players already within the system. With John Klingberg almost certainly gone, Luca Cagnoni and Sam Dickinson have been handed a great chance to flourish on the power play.
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