The San Jose Sharks are just about down to their opening-night group, and a few of the names that survived the latest round of cuts tell the story of camp.
On Sunday, the team sent defenseman Eric Pohlkamp to the Barracuda, placed goalie Ilya Samsonov on waivers for the purpose of reassignment to the AHL, and kept winger Brett Leason on the roster for now. If Samsonov clears by 11 a.m.
(PST) on Monday, he’ll head to the Barracuda. NHL teams then have to turn in salary-cap compliant rosters of no more than 23 players by Monday at 2 p.m.
(PST).
That leaves the Sharks in position to open the season with a roster that is, barring something unexpected, basically set.
A big reason is the play of Luca Cagnoni and Nolan Allan, two defensemen who spent most of last season with the Barracuda. Both got real chances to make the club out of camp, and both made the most of them with strong stretches in practice and preseason action.
Cagnoni, 21, picked up one assist in two preseason games, but his impact went beyond the scoresheet. He handled quarterback duties on the Sharks’ top power-play unit for much of camp and looked comfortable in that role.
Allan, 23, started a little slower, then picked things up over the past week and ended up appearing in all four Sharks preseason games. He was moved into the top four and skated alongside veteran Jacob Trouba.
At times, Cagnoni was paired with Dmitry Orlov.
Pohlkamp also earned notice. The 22-year-old, a 2026 Hobey Baker Award finalist, adapted quickly to the pro game.
But unlike Allan, he did not need waivers to go down to the Barracuda. Allan, a fourth-year pro who signed a two-year contract extension with the Sharks in June, no longer has waiver exemption.
The rest of the blue line is filled out by NHL veterans Michael Kesselring, Darnell Nurse, Orlov and Trouba, plus second-year pro Sam Dickinson. In goal, the Sharks are carrying Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic.
Up front, the picture looks nearly complete as well. Leason staying on the roster points toward Adam Gaudette starting the season on injured reserve.
Gaudette has an upper body injury that showed up early in camp, and he did not practice with the Sharks this past week. He did skate with other injured players on Saturday, but coach Ryan Warsofsky said he is still day-to-day.
The Sharks’ next practice is Tuesday, and they open the regular season Thursday at home against the Florida Panthers.
Their healthy forward group includes centers Macklin Celebrini, Alexander Wennberg, Michael Misa, Ty Dellandrea and Zack Ostapchuk, along with wingers Will Smith, Mason Marchment, Tyler Toffoli, Collin Graf, Igor Chernyshov, Kiefer Sherwood, Barclay Goodrow and rookie Ivar Stenberg.
Stenberg, who turns 19 on Wednesday, has been one of the camp standouts. He finished second on the Sharks in preseason scoring with three goals and two assists in three games. In Saturday’s 4-2 road win over the Vegas Golden Knights, he lined up on the left side with Wennberg and Graf.
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