With the pre-season in the rear view mirror, it will be interesting to see who cracks the Sharks' roster on opening night. In this article, I will project the roster and provide my reasoning. Let's get into it.
Forwards - 13
Macklin Celebrini
Will Smith
William Eklund
Tyler Toffoli
Alex Wennberg
Jeff Skinner
Phillipe Kurashev
Adam Gaudette
Michael Misa
Barclay Goodrow
Colin Graf
Ryan Reaves
Ty Dellandrea
Just Missed: Ethan Cardwell, Carl Grundstrum, Quentin Musty, Pavol Regenda
I have 13 forwards making the cut, 11 of whom are locks for opening night, which includes Michael Misa, who is almost guaranteed to play at least nine games before potentially returning to the OHL. The two spots up for grabs are Colin Graf and Ty Dellandrea. Colin Graf has shown his versatility in the pre-season and his ability to play up and down the lineup, as well as his ability to PK, gives him the edge for an everyday top 9 role this season. Ty Dellandrea gets the 13th forward spot, while you could argue Ethan Cardwell earned a spot on the roster, and I agree he did enough to. Dellandrea had an excellent camp, and you can afford to scratch Dellandrea here and there, more so than a younger player like Cardwell, who is still waiver-exempt. Cardwell had a great camp, and if the Sharks need to call someone up, he should be the first call.
As for Musty, there was hope he could earn a spot after a strong start to camp; however, his game slowed down as camp progressed, and he could use some time in the AHL to keep getting up to pro pace. If he has a good start, he could be a factor later in the year. Regenda opened some eyes this pre-season. Expected to be an AHL veteran, he showed some legitimate moments throughout pre-season and could be a call-up option for the Sharks. I expect Grundstrum to get waived in favor of Graf, Grundstrum hasen’t shown enough over his time in San Jose, and he really isn't in the mold of a 4th line player, without the talent to be much more. Given the Sharks' need for contract space, it wouldn't surprise me if they try to move off him before the season.
Defenseman - 8
Mario Ferraro
Dimitri Orlov
John Klingberg
Shakir Muhkhamadullin
Nick Leddy
Timothy Liljegren
Vincent Deshairnais
Sam Dickinson
Just Missed: Jack Thompason, Luca Cagnoni
I have the Sharks carrying eight defensemen into the season, with Sam Dickinson securing the last spot. The Sharks have seven waiver-eligible defenseman, and given they lack depth on the backend as compared to forward, they likely don’t want to lose one to waivers. Dickinson could very well stick past the nine games; he was definitely one of the Sharks' best defensemen in the preseason and showed elite flashes despite some rookie struggles. While most of the backend is likely to stay off waivers, one player that could hit the wire is Deshairnais. I have him on the final roster mainly because he brings needed size to the Sharks' backend that they lack at the NHL level.
Cagnoni and Thompson didn't necessarily make an interesting case to make the roster. Thompson did not look great in the preseason, but he could still be claimed, given his age and performance last season. Cagnoni played really well, but it is clear he still needs some time in the AHL to get stronger and improve his defensive play. At 20 years old, though, he is still very much an intriguing prospect for the Sharks.
Goaltenders - 2
Alex Nedeljkovic
Yaroslav Askarov
The goaltending has been pretty straightforward. We all knew Nedeljkovic and Askarov would be the tandem this season; the only question was who would start?
After the preseason, I'm giving the edge to Nedeljkovic. He was excellent in the pre-season, and despite stellar moments from Askarov, he was inconsistent throughout the pre-season.
This is my opening night roster for the San Jose Sharks. It will be interesting to see how things unfold over the coming days.