What will the San Jose Sharks’ opening night roster look like?
That’s a tough thing to guess in late July, but here are some of my ideas.
Macklin Celebrini, Michael Misa, Zack Ostapchuk, and Alex Wennberg lead the way at center.
Igor Chernyshov, Ty Dellandrea, Adam Gaudette, Barclay Goodrow, Collin Graf, Mason Marchment, Kiefer Sherwood, Will Smith, 2026 No. 2 pick Ivar Stenberg, and Tyler Toffoli are on the wing.
Barring injuries or a trade, that looks like a solid group of 14 forwards to start the season. It’ll be a challenge for any other Sharks’ forward prospects to crack this line-up.
On the blueline, Sam Dickinson, Michael Kesselring, Darnell Nurse, Dmitry Orlov, and Jacob Trouba project as opening night shoo-in’s.
Prospects Nolan Allan, Luca Cagnoni, and Eric Pohlkamp appear to be competing for, at the moment, two roster spots. Veteran Libor Hajek shouldn’t be ruled out either.
In goal, Yaroslav Askarov and Alex Nedeljkovic figures to be the tandem.
So what will the San Jose Sharks look like on opening night? I discuss with Jack Han, author of Hockey Tactics 2026.
Chernyshov-Celebrini-Smith
What will Celebrini do next?
The hockey world waits with bated breath. The sky is the limit for the 20-year-old Hart Trophy candidate, who dominated the NHL, Olympics, and World Championships last season.
The bigger question for the San Jose Sharks: Who’s their next star up front? Celebrini needs help.