Sharks' unusual Opening Night roster creates golden chances for some

Editor's note: Sheng Peng is a regular contributor to NBC Sports California’s Sharks coverage. You can read more of his coverage on San Jose Hockey Now, listen to him on the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast, and follow him on Twitter at @Sheng_Peng.

The Sharks’ Opening Night playing roster is unusual.

Typically, an official 23-man roster will have at least one extra forward, defenseman, and goalie. Not so with the Sharks, who submitted an official opening day playing roster to the NHL on Monday with 15 forwards, six defensemen, and two goalies.

So that’s three extra forwards, one extra goalie…and zero extra defenseman.

The Sharks do begin the regular season on Oct. 10 on a two-game homestand, so likely, they’re thinking that help is nearby if a defenseman gets hurt.

It’s not like these opening day playing rosters are locked. They’re mainly just to ensure cap compliance: Trades, demotions, and recalls all are possible.

Here’s my reaction to the Sharks’ official opening day playing roster.

Forwards (15)

Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea, William Eklund, Barclay Goodrow, Mikael Granlund, Carl Grundstrom, Danil Gushchin, Klim Kostin, Luke Kunin, Givani Smith, Will Smith, Nico Sturm, Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg, Fabian Zetterlund

“Gushchin has to be on this team.”

“Our pro scouts have been all over him, said they don’t know how they could send him down right now.”

That’s what two NHL scouts, not with San Jose, messaged San Jose Hockey Now, as Danil Gushchin was putting the finishing touches on a five-assist performance against the Vegas Golden Knights during Saturday’s preseason finale.

The Sharks made it work, shoehorning Gushchin in the rarely-seen 15-6-2.

But all the credit goes to waiver-exempt Gushchin, who forced San Jose's hand with a league-leading nine points in four preseason games.

There’s no doubt that general manager Mike Grier didn’t want to lose bubble forwards Klim Kostin and Givani Smith, neither waiver-exempt. Typically, these circumstances would push out Gushchin to the AHL, regardless of the internet criticism.

But now, the hard part begins for Gushchin.

Playing and power play time could be relatively scarce for Gushchin, judging by Monday’s practice lines, in advance of Thursday’s season opener.

Gushchin was on a fourth line with Ty Dellandrea, centered by Nico Sturm, and on the second power play unit with Henry Thrun, Will Smith, William Eklund, and Alex Wennberg.

The lines were, per the Hockey News:

Eklund-Celebrini-Toffoli

Granlund-W. Smith-Zetterlund

Kunin-Wennberg-Goodrow

Gushchin-Sturm-Dellandrea

G. Smith-Kostin-Grundstrom

If that holds for Thursday night, then it’s on the 5-foot-8 winger, like he did this preseason, to take advantage of whatever he’s given, little or not, and seize a job.

I wouldn’t count against him.

Other thoughts?

Celebrini, indeed, should start the season as the Sharks’ No. 1 center, but based on what we’ve seen this preseason, it’s deserved.

There will be a microscope on Will Smith, who had an up-and-down preseason. The offensive talent is there, and it looks like he’ll be given top-six minutes immediately, the Sharks’ other 1C Granlund supporting him. Smith had been getting better with each preseason game, so the Sharks hope that trend continues for the high-IQ super prospect.

“He’s a hockey player, right? He’s a competitor, he’s tough, mentally, physically, gives you everything he’s got, coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Kunin on Saturday. "Great teammate. I cannot say enough good things about Luke Kunin,”

You can say that about the lot of high-compete, less-offense forwards on the Sharks roster like Barclay Goodrow, Ty Dellandrea, Nico Sturm, and Carl Grundstrom that the internet likes to complain about from time to time.

Point is: This is how the Sharks, and a lot of the NHL, feel about these kind of players. They’re essential to winning too, you can’t field a team of all offense-first forwards.

Like it or not, they’re valued players.

Finally, credit to Givani Smith, who didn’t look like he quite belonged on an NHL roster last year, for an excellent all-around camp. In limited ice-time, he made his share of solid to high-end plays and opened eyes, and added his trademark toughness.

“One of the biggest surprises of camp,” Warsofsky said.

Defensemen (6)

Matt Benning, Cody Ceci, Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun, Jake Walman

Can this group play above expectations?

That answer might make or break the Sharks’ 2024-25 season, as they look to climb out of the cellar.

It’s fair to say that big questions surround each blueliner: What will the talented Walman do with the most responsibility, including PP1 duties, that he’s ever received in his career? Can the young Thrun elevate his game after an up-and-down rookie campaign on a terrible Sharks squad? Is Benning fully recovered from season-ending hip surgery? How will Ceci handle being on a possibly much-worse team than his Stanley Cup Final Edmonton Oilers last year?

For veterans Ferraro and Rutta, it’s a somewhat similar question. It wasn’t entirely their fault, of course, but they had trouble rising above the circumstances of an honestly awful team last year. They were overstrained, and it showed.

The Sharks are better all-around this year, especially at depth forward, and that might make all the difference for the defense. The Sharks leaned on offense-first forwards who didn’t score last year, putting a strain on their defense — this off-season, Grier smartly placed an emphasis on strong two-way or defense-first forwards like Goodrow and Wennberg and company.

That should float everybody’s boats.

Goalies (2)

Mackenzie Blackwood, Vitek Vanecek

Better two-way forwards should help the defense, and all in turn, that should help the goaltending, which was besieged last year.

Vanecek outplayed Blackwood in the preseason, but Blackwood is the Sharks’ incumbent (and didn’t play badly himself), so both have a solid claim to be opening night starter.

Throughout their careers, both goalies have mixed strong starting campaigns with not-so-great seasons.

The upside? The Sharks could have two very capable 1A goalies sharing the load.

The downside? It’s not much of a downside: Top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who appears to be close to NHL-ready, is waiting in the wings.

Download and follow the San Jose Hockey Now podcast