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The San Jose Sharks play their second preseason game tonight against the Anaheim Ducks, following a 3-2 overtime win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday.
As players continue to battle for spots, below, we take a look at how the 23-man, opening night roster could look.
For starters, Kaapo Kahkonen and James Reimer are set as the team’s two goalies, after Adin Hill was dealt to the Vegas Golden Knights. On the back end, we know that with Nikolai Knyzhov injured, six spots will be taken by Matthew Benning, Mario Ferraro, Erik Karlsson, Markus Nutivaara, Radim Simek and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Jaycob Megna should end up back on the roster as well and while Ryan Merkley could possibly act as an eighth defenseman, it seems more likely that the Sharks will opt to go with 14 forwards and seven defensemen. Given Merkley is exempt from waivers, it may be easier to have him start in the AHL and call him up as soon as an opportunity presents itself.
Up front, Alexander Barabanov, Nick Bonino, Logan Couture, Noah Gregor, Tomas Hertl, Luke Kunin, Kevin Labanc, Steven Lorentz, Oskar Lindblom, Timo Meier, Matt Nieto and Nico Sturm should take 12 of the forward spots. However, then there are x-factors in the form of Thomas Bordeleau and William Eklund.
Each forward played some games with the Sharks last season and could possibly crack the opening night roster. While Bordeleau could possibly make an impact right away though, the fact that the Sharks already have four centers does create an interesting dilemma. For Eklund, he'll still have to win a spot from an established NHLer on the wing, which won't be easy either.
My bet would be that Bordeleau doesn't crack the roster, while Eklund may be able to sneak on. Eklund is still eligible for his entry-level contract to slide for another year, so he may possibly get another trial run.
So here’s a projected roster below, with the question marks really being in regards to whether one or both of Bordeleau and/or Eklund could make the team out of camp. For now, I have Eklund making the roster, at least initially, and Jonah Gadjovich cracking the roster as a spare (though other forwards like Scott Reedy, Evgeny Svechnikov and Jasper Weatherby could also still push for a spot). Again, should neither Bordeleau or Eklund make the roster, we could then see a 14th forward added in addition to Gadjovich, or Merkley as an eighth defenseman.
FORWARDS (14): Alexander Barabanov, Nick Bonino, Logan Couture, William Eklund, Jonah Gadjovich, Noah Gregor, Tomas Hertl, Luke Kunin, Kevin Labanc, Steven Lorentz, Oskar Lindblom, Timo Meier, Matt Nieto and Nico Sturm
DEFENSE (7): Matthew Benning, Mario Ferraro, Erik Karlsson, Jaycob Megna, Markus Nutivaara, Radim Simek and Marc Edouard-Vlasic
GOALIES (2): Kaapo Kahkonen and James Reimer
INJURED: Nikolai Knyzhov
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM SEPTEMBER
Analyzing the Adin Hill trade
Sharks sign Evgeny Svechnikov
Sharks sign Scott Harrington to PTO
Sharks unveil new uniforms
Analyzing Mario Ferraro’s new contract