SAN JOSE - Luca Cagnoni has spent the past two years pushing toward one clear target, and it sounds a lot bigger now than it did when he first signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks as a 19-year-old in 2024.
Back then, he wanted to launch his pro career immediately and avoid going back to the Western Hockey League. Now, the aim is the same in spirit, just higher on the ladder: opening night in the Sharks’ lineup against the Florida Panthers.
“That’s definitely the goal,” Cagnoni said. “It’s kind of that next step, right? You’ve got to go out there and show that you deserve it.”
He looked like a player making a strong case in Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center. Cagnoni logged 22:43, the most on the team, worked the first power-play unit and kept finding ways to create looks. He also continued his camp-long run on the right side next to Dmitry Orlov, even though he shoots left.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky liked what he saw, while also pointing to the parts of the game that still need polish.
“Cagnoni was really good, really good start,” Warsofsky said. “I’m seeing some things we have to clean up and some situations playing his offside that we (need to) work on and understand of where we are in certain situations throughout the game. But I thought he made plays.”
At this point, it would be a surprise if Cagnoni isn’t on the Sharks’ 23-man roster when the regular season opens. He still has two preseason games left, against the Anaheim Ducks at home Thursday and the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, but the path is getting clearer by the day. The Sharks open the regular season Oct. 1 at home against the Panthers.
The biggest question around Cagnoni has always been whether he can handle NHL players in his own end. At 5-foot-9 and 185 pounds, he’s not built to overwhelm people physically, and he knows it.
What he can do is stay in the right spots, use his stick, and keep plays moving. That part looked sharper Tuesday than it has in the past.
“Obviously I can’t go blow guys up,” Cagnoni said. “But I thought I was pretty good, stick on puck, I was in some good spots. A couple got past me; I just kind of have to learn from that.”
Michael Misa saw enough to come away impressed, especially with the way Cagnoni handled the puck on the man advantage.
“He was awesome, super skilled, easy to play with,” said center Michael Misa, who scored the Sharks’ line regulation time goal Tuesday. “It’s nice when you’ve got him quarterbacking the power play.
He moves the puck really well and is such a shifty player. He’s going to be good for us.”
Cagnoni said the summer work showed up in his game.
“Every summer is just always a big summer,” Cagnoni said. “There’s always opportunities out there, no matter where you are, so, kind of just had to work hard and come here and show it.”
Another young player who helped his case was Ivar Stenberg, who looked settled in his NHL preseason debut. The second line of Stenberg, Alexander Wennberg and Collin Graf kept creating, and there wasn’t much reason to break them up based on what they showed Tuesday.
In the first two periods, that trio combined for five shots on goal and three of the Sharks’ five high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. Stenberg played with poise in the offensive zone and handled his responsibilities well.
Warsofsky wasn’t ready to lock anything in, but he liked the look of the group.
“We’ll see how it plays out. We’ll get to watch some video of it, go through the games. Believe it or not, we watch all the practices as well and see what we’re seeing and kind of go through it as we get going here,” he said.
Stenberg said he had mixed feelings about his own game.
“Up and down. Some good stuff, but also some stuff I need to improve on,” Stenberg said, adding that he wants to find more time and space and “create a little bit more.”
In goal, Yaroslav Askarov turned in a steadier outing than the one he had during last year’s preseason, when he went 0-3-0 with an .855 save percentage. Tuesday didn’t end in a win, but it looked much more like the kind of performance the Sharks want to see.
Askarov made 22 saves and showed the calm Warsofsky has been looking for. His best moments came in the second period, when he robbed Jonas Rondbjerg with a glove save from close range and then stopped Jackson Hallum on a breakaway seconds later.
“I thought he was really good, sharp early, made some saves, got into it,” Warsofsky said. “He was a lot more calm than we’ve seen him with some puck touches. We’ve got to get the communication down with our defensemen, but I thought he was good.”
Askarov is likely to get at least one more preseason appearance, and Saturday in Las Vegas could be a major test for him and the Sharks.
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