Rookie defenseman Eric Pohlkamp knows he may not get many opportunities to shine in a game environment as he goes through his first Sharks training camp.

But make no mistake: as long as Pohlkamp still has a chance to crack the lineup, he’ll play to his strengths.

That’s what he tried to do Sunday, as he had three shots on net and scored a first-period goal in the Sharks’ 6-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center in the preseason opener for both teams.

Center Jimmy Huntington also scored for San Jose, which dressed a lineup light on NHL experience against a Ducks team that featured several players expected to be on its opening-night roster.

After Huntington scored at the 11:05 mark of the second period to tie the game 2-2, the Ducks scored four unanswered goals. Forward Beckett Sennecke collected a natural hat trick, scoring three straight times from the 12:15 mark of the second period to the 8:10 mark of the third to give the Ducks the lead for good.

Splitting the game, Sharks goalies Eric Comrie and Matt Davis combined to stop 26 of 32 shots, with Comrie, expected to be the Barracuda’s No. 1 goalie this season, allowing two goals on 16 shots.

On his goal, Pohlkamp, 22, joined winger Ethan Cardwell on a rush and called for the puck as he came down the middle of the ice. Cardwell obliged, and an open Pohlkamp wired a shot through the legs of Ducks goalie Laurent Brossoit to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead just 97 seconds into the first period.

“Cardwell was flying on the wall, and I saw opportunity to jump in there,” Pohlkamp told the Sharks Audio Network during the first intermission. “Was lucky enough to slide that one five-hole.”

In helping the University of Denver win a national championship last season, Pohlkamp led the NCAA in points for a defenseman with 39 in 41 games. Playing through an injury, he also led college hockey with 188 shots on net as he became a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.

The Sharks dressed only three players: defenseman Sam Dickinson and forwards Ty Dellandrea and Zack Ostapchuk, expected to be on the team’s 23-man roster later this month. The Ducks, meanwhile, dressed No. 1 center Leo Carlsson and top defenseman Jackson LaCombe, each of whom had two points. Fellow forwards Mikael Granlund and Cutter Gauthier also played.

Pohlkamp, who may start the season in the AHL to gain experience, relished the chance to play against NHL regulars.

“I think it’s a blast playing them,” said Pohlkamp, a fifth-round pick by the Sharks in 2023. “This is why you play the preseason games to play against those guys, and obviously they’re very good at their job. Just trying to work on our defensive play and shut those guys down.”

The Sharks had over 40 players in camp this past week and will make some roster trims before their next preseason game on Tuesday at home against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Defenseman Alexander Karmanov, the 7-foot-1 defenseman the Sharks drafted in the seventh round in June, confirmed to this news organization that he will return to the OHL’s North Bay Battalion today.