Update: Sharks cut three ahead of pre-season matchups.
Curtis Pashelka …@CurtisPashelka 1m #SJSharks trim roster to 48 -- Bergman, Boudreau back to junior, Trupp to Worcester
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San Jose will take 43 of the 51 players still listed on their training camp roster to Stockton/Vancouver for the split squad games against the Canucks. Forwards Evan Trupp, Gabryel Boudreau and Peter Emanuelsson will be joined by defenceman Julius Bergman and goaltenders Aaron Dell and Ben Meisner as the camp attendees who won’t be in the lineup for either game. Injured forwards Raffi Torres and James Sheppard are on the active training camp roster and make up the other two players not attending the pre-season split squad games.
Judging by the list of names not playing in Stockton/Vancouver it’s a safe bet to assume a few of the names that will be on the cut-list come Wednesday. Head Coach Todd McLellan told the media today that he wants to get the roster trimmed down to a “workable number… as quickly as possible so there could be a significant amount of players packing their bags after the split squad games.
Here are the lineups for each of the games:
Stockton, CA
Forwards
Joe Pavelski Andrew Desjardins Joe Thornton John Scott Ryan Carpenter Bryan Lerg Tomas Hertl Chris Tierney Travis Oleksuk Daniil Tarasov Eriah Hayes Nikolay Goldobin Barclay Goodrow
Defense
Mirco Mueller Marc-Edouard Vlasic Konrad Abeltshauser Justin Braun Dylan DeMelo Matt Tennyson
Goalies
Antti Niemi Troy Grosenick
Vancouver, BC
Forwards
Patrick Marleau Mike Brown Tye McGinn Adam Burish Michael Haley Logan Couture Jimmy Bonneau Tommy Wingels Melker Karlsson Rylan Schwartz Freddie Hamilton Tyler Kennedy Matt Nieto
Defense
Jason Demers Brent Burns Matt Irwin Scott Hannan Taylor Fedun Gus Young Taylor Doherty
Goalies
Alex Stalock J.P. Anderson
The lineup heading to Vancouver is going to draw the Sedin Twins and Eddie Lack while the Stockton roster will face Markstrom, Kassian, Burrows and Sestito. It’s pretty clear why John Scott is going to Stockton. The only question for the sin bin guardian is who will he fight first? My money is on Sestito.
Four Players To Watch:
Taylor Doherty: Facing the more talented of the two squads in Vancouver can only help Doherty's case to make the team. If Doherty can establish a strong physical game and be sound in his own end it should bode well for him with Todd McLellan looking on from behind the bench.
Freddie Hamilton: Hamilton is a candidate to grab a third line position in San Jose and what a better way to increase your stock then checking against Henrik and Daniel in the pre-season opener?
Nikolay Goldobin: The young Russian forward has shown flashes of his skill during the early days of camp and fully intends to push for a roster spot with the Sharks. Playing against the weaker group of Canucks gives him a great opportunity to showcase his talents. It wouldn't shock me to see him get some ice-time with Joe Thornton.
Mirco Mueller: Although Doherty drew the more talented opposition this is a good opportunity for Mueller to settle himself down and show his defensive abilities against a Canucks roster filled with big, tough players that will be grinding in the corners and in front of the net.
The game in Vancouver starts at 6p.m. PDT (9p.m. EST) and will be broadcast on the NHL Network and Sportsnet 360. The Stockton tilt will begin at 7:30p.m. PDT (10:30p.m. EST).
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