William Eklund wore a newly designed San Jose Barracuda jersey in one of many staff’s on-line commercials earlier this month, resulting in some hypothesis on social media that the Sharks’ No. 1 prospect would possibly start this season within the AHL.
It’s not out of the query.
If the Sharks hold three goalies for the beginning of the common season in October, one thing common supervisor Mike Grier has not dominated out, they'd possible solely have room for 13 forwards on their 23-man roster.
Because the Sharks have already got 11 forwards who require waivers – excluding Tomas Hertl, who has a full no-move clause, and the unsigned Jonah Gadjovich – there won't be a roster spot out there for Eklund for the Oct. 7 opener towards Nashville in Prague.
Finally, every part can be determined throughout a compressed coaching camp subsequent month.
The Sharks have preseason video games on Sept. 25, 27, 28, and 30 earlier than they fly to Europe, the place they’ll have an exhibition sport in Germany with Eisbären Berlin on Oct. 4. San Jose then performs the Predators in back-to-back video games at O2 Area because it begins the 2022-23 common season.
Right here’s a breakdown of who's vying for spots on the Sharks’ 23-man roster for the season-opening video games.
FORWARDS
LOCKS (12): Alexander Barabanov, Nick Bonino, Logan Couture, Noah Gregor, Tomas Hertl, Luke Kunin, Kevin Labanc, Oskar Lindblom, Steven Lorentz, Timo Meier, Matt Nieto, Nico Sturm.
IN THE MIX (6): Thomas Bordeleau, William Eklund, Jonah Gadjovich, Scott Reedy, Jeffrey Viel, Jasper Weatherby.
LONGSHOTS (11): Andrew Agozzino, Brandon Coe, Danil Gushchin, Dillon Hamaliuk, Timur Ibragimov, Adam Raska, Tristen Robins, Mitchell Russell, C.J. Suess, Max Veronneau, Ozzy Wiesblatt.
ANALYSIS: If the Sharks hold three goalies for the beginning of the season, then the query is whether or not Bordeleau, Eklund, Reedy, et al, can play nicely sufficient to power the entrance workplace to put one other ahead on waivers or make a commerce to clear a roster spot.
Gadjovich stays unsigned, however assuming he’s at camp, might be pushed out of a fourth-line position if Reedy, Viel, or Weatherby shine within the preseason. By in giant, although, and barring accidents, most roster spots are spoken for, a departure from latest seasons when some rookies got NHL jobs earlier than they had been prepared.
DEFENSEMEN
LOCKS (6): Matthew Benning, Mario Ferraro, Erik Karlsson, Jaycob Megna, Markus Nutivaara, Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
IN THE MIX (3): Santeri Hataaka, Ryan Merkley, Radim Simek.
LONGSHOTS (3): Nick Cicek, Artemi Kniazev, Gannon Laroque.
ANALYSIS: The blue line is probably going the Sharks’ largest space of concern but when they’re protecting three goalies to start out the yr, that possible means they’ll have not more than seven defensemen. Though Simek shouldn't be presently listed right here as a lock, it could be a significant shock to see the Sharks place him on waivers.
It’s powerful to ascertain Benning or Nutivaara not making the roster after they had been simply signed as free brokers, and Sharks coach David Quinn has mentioned how a lot he preferred Megna after he coached him on the World Championships in Might.
The one manner Simek doesn’t make the membership is that if he’s traded or if Merkley or one other participant on an entry-level contract can crack the highest six. Barring accidents, that appears unlikely. So the largest thriller the Sharks may need to unravel in camp with their defensemen is determining who can play with Karlsson and what the second and third protection pairs will appear like for the Oct. 7 opener.
GOALTENDERS
LOCKS (3): Adin Hill, Kaapo Kahkonen, James Reimer.
LONGSHOTS (4): Aaron Dell, Zacharie Émond, Eetu Mäkiniemi, Strauss Mann.
ANALYSIS: Kahkonen, who was simply signed to a two-year contract extension, would possibly enter camp because the No. 1 goalie, so it could be a shock to see him get traded at this level. That leaves Hill and Reimer as candidates to get moved. However who, and when?
Grier would possibly wait till different groups — significantly ones which might be anticipated to contend — expertise goalie points (poor play, accidents) earlier than he decides to maneuver both Hill or Reimer, so he can maximize his leverage.
The Sharks gave up a second-round choose to amass Hill in July 2021, so they'd possible be in search of at the very least that form of return in any deal. The value tag could be larger if a division rival like Vegas, which has misplaced Robin Lehner for the yr, comes calling.
Dell has essentially the most expertise of the remaining goalies and would seem like a security valve for the Sharks if a commerce happens and one of many two remaining goalies is harm or in any other case unavailable. Mann seems to be like a promising prospect, whereas Mäkiniemi is a little bit of a thriller.