The Sharks have made a round of front-office moves that touches several corners of hockey operations, adding four people and changing two roles as training camp draws closer.
San Jose hired two amateur scouts, Cameron Burt and Tyler Holske, along with a new head physical therapist, Scott Greenberg. Nathan Airey was also brought in as the team’s full-time emergency backup goalie.
The club also elevated Eric Pinsky to assistant video coach. Pinsky had been serving as video coach and manager of hockey operations for the Sharks’ AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Josh Woodard was promoted to the NHL level as head equipment manager after holding the same job with the Barracuda.
The most meaningful additions for the roster-building side of the operation are the two new scouts. Burt is 39 and spent his playing days in college hockey and the ECHL before wrapping up his pro career in 2018-19. He also has scouting experience in the NAHL with the Chippewa Steel.
Holske, 35, took a different route. He was a Division-III college goalie before moving into hockey operations.
His off-ice career started as goalie coach for the South Shore Kings, who now play in the NCDC, and he eventually rose to head coach and GM. He also worked as director of scouting and assistant GM for the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, giving him a look at one of the highest levels of junior hockey in the United States.
Now he’ll bring that background to San Jose’s draft work and broader amateur scouting efforts.
Elsewhere in the hockey world, Joseph Blandisi has been released by Salavat Yulaev Ufa. The longtime AHL scorer had been traded to Ufa earlier this month after signing a two-year KHL contract with SKA St.
Petersburg last summer. Blandisi made his European pro debut with St.
Petersburg last season and put up 12 goals and 29 points in 62 games, but his time there ended after one year.
That leaves the former AHL All-Star looking for his next stop. He could end up back in the AHL, where he has 321 points in 448 career games.
In Switzerland, Leonardo Genoni signed a three-year extension with EV Zug earlier this week. The new deal begins after his current contract expires next summer, keeping him with the club through the end of the decade.
Genoni, 39, has built one of the most decorated careers in Swiss hockey. His resume includes seven National League titles, four IIHF World Championship silver medals, two Spengler Cups and a National League MVP award.
He started in the National League with HC Davos in 2008 and has since played nearly 800 games in the league, plus 67 in the Champions Hockey League and 55 at IIHF Worlds. With the extension in place, those totals still have room to climb as he keeps going into his 40s.
In Other News...
Macklin Celebrini Just Made The Sharks Captaincy Debate Even Bigger
Macklin Celebrini already looked like a natural next voice in the San Jose locker room before the contract talk even entered the picture. After serving as an alternate captain last season, the young center has emerged as the leading candidate to eventually succeed Logan Couture as captain, giving the Sharks a rare sort of decision: whether to formally hand the job to a player who has already started acting like it matters less than the presence he brings every day.
Celebrinis new five-year extension only adds to the weight of the conversation, because it is the kind of commitment that underscores how central he is to the organizations future. The bigger question now is not whether he belongs at the front of the room, but how the Sharks choose to define that role as they move into a new era without Couture. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Prospect Now Has A Clearer Development Path After Latest Move
Adam Goljers next step is now set, and for a player trying to carve out a real development track, that matters. The Kings prospect has signed with the OHLs Kingston team for the upcoming season, giving him a defined place to play and work on his game as he continues climbing through the pipeline.
For San Jose, it also fits into a broader picture of prospects and young forwards getting their own resets after injury interruptions and roster churn. Cameron Lund and Ethan Cardwell are working back toward full health, and with training camp approaching, the Sharks will be watching closely to see how much of their young depth can arrive on time and ready to push for larger roles. [Read more 🡒]
Sharks Make Quiet Behind The Scenes Changes Ahead Of Next Season
With the new NHL collective bargaining agreement changing how teams have to handle game-night goaltending insurance, the Sharks have already moved to sort out one small but important piece of next seasons puzzle. The club signed Nathan Airey as its emergency backup goalie for 2026-27, a behind-the-scenes step that fits the leagues updated requirement for a full-time traveling EBUG.
San Jose also continued to reshape its hockey operations staff around the same time, adding Eric Pinsky, Josh Woodard, Cameron Burt, Tyler Holske and Scott Greenberg in roles across video, equipment, scouting and medical support. It is the kind of quiet housekeeping that rarely draws much attention in the moment, but for a team trying to build a smoother operation around the roster, these are the sorts of decisions that tend to matter later. [Read more 🡒]