The San Jose Sharks finished off their preseason with a 4-2 dress-rehearsal-type victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

Macklin Celebrini debuted the ‘C’ on his jersey and finished with a goal and an assist. A slow start left the Sharks heavily outshot through two periods, but in the third period the team took over.

Here are three takeaways from the final preseason game.

1. Askarov looks ready for a big season

The main reason the San Jose Sharks took until the third period to find their game was goaltender Yaroslav Askarov. The No. 1 goalie stopped 24 of 25 shots through the first two periods. While the number is certainly good to see, the way he stopped the pucks was also telling.

Askarov swallowed pucks, controlled rebounds, and made no mistakes while moving the puck. His ability to shut down plays and get a whistle when his team was tired in front of him is something he didn’t do last season.

“He just has a real focus about himself right now, and I think we saw that tonight, especially in the first period,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “Looked calm, made some huge saves, easily could have been [down big if not] for the first. Made big save after big save, and that’s what great goaltenders do.”

The netminder’s offseason changes have been evident through the eye test throughout the preseason. Now the real test begins on Oct. 1. Unlike last season, Askarov’s strong preseason should give him the nod to start on opening night.

2. Sam Dickinson overcomes pressure

The biggest headline heading into Saturday’s San Jose Sharks game was whether defenseman Sam Dickinson was in danger of being a healthy scratch on opening night.

Defenseman Nolan Allan has had a strong camp and caught many eyes. Both played well on Saturday, but Dickinson seemed to take over the second half. He blocked passes and jumped in on offense, missing a breakaway in the third period.

“I thought both were really good. I thought Al was blocking shots, composed, just plays, just competes. I really like what he’s done tonight and through camp,” Warsofsky said. “I thought Sam, [this] was probably his best game of the training camp exhibition games. He was more engaged. That there was a lot we can build off of.”

There is still a chance Dickinson doesn’t play on opening night, but based on last night, Dickinson deserves to be in there for now. The Sharks saw Dickinson all of last season, whereas Allan was with the Barracuda after he was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks. Allan had more ice time (18:18) than Dickinson (16:14) overall and significantly more on the PK.

3. Misa needs more ice time

Michael Misa closed the preseason with another really strong game for the San Jose Sharks. The centerman again showcased his speed and shot in the third period, scoring to make it 4-2.

The 2025 No. 2 pick played less than 10 minutes 9:42, the least on the team. Part of that low total was penalties. Misa does not play on the PK, and when the Sharks get into penalty trouble, Misa and the rest of his line often get the short end.

Warsofsky mentioned that the lack of a PK role affected his ice time, but he was still critical of the second-year center.

“I think it’s a little inconsistent, to be honest with you. I think we see it in spurts. There’s a long way to go, and we have to remember he’s still a young player,” Warsofsky said. “He’s still figuring it out. He’s going against, you know, some really tough centers tonight. William Karlsson and Hertl, those are experienced centers. There wasn’t a lot of ice out there, so he’ll get better, and he’ll improve, and we’ll keep helping him along.”

“We have to understand he’s still a young player, and it’s going to take him a little bit of time in certain situations during his season this year, and we’ll keep working with him.”

While Warsosky is correct, Misa appeared to have one of the best games of any Sharks forward while at even strength. Sure, he’s right that the offense comes in spurts, but he hasn’t had enough opportunity to do it consistently, partly out of Warsosky’s control.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Misa’s 61.25% xGF% was third on the team while at five-on-five. Misa only trailed Collin Graf and Ivar Stenberg.