The San Jose Sharks’ first regular-season practice is complete, and clues to the opening-night lineup are taking shape.
While the forward lines looked no different on Tuesday than they did against the Vegas Golden Knights in the final preseason game, attention is on the defense. Luca Cagnoni earned a spot on the roster and will man the top power play unit on Thursday.
“Feels really good. It’s a pretty special moment,” Cagnoni said about making the opening night roster. “Got to celebrate a little bit. Called my parents and told them the news, so they’re obviously really happy too.”
But the big news still revolves around Sam Dickinson. The 2024 NHL Draft first-round pick was once again the extra defenseman in line rushes.
First regular season #SJSharks practice lines:
Marchment-Celebrini-Smith
Stenberg-Wennberg-Graf
Chernyshov-Misa-Toffoli
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Sherwood
Dellandrea-Leason
Nurse-Kesselring
Allan-Trouba
Orlov-Cagnoni
Dickinson
— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) September 29, 2026
After breaking camp with Jacob Trouba as his partner, Dickinson’s spot appears to be usurped by Nolan Allan. Allan has impressed head coach Ryan Warsofsky, and if these lines hold, he will be in the opening-night lineup over Dickinson on Thursday.
“It’d be super cool to be in the opening-night lineup,” Allan told SHD exclusively. “But at the same time, it’s a long year. Stuff changes every day, so you just got to take it day by day.”
Warsofsky told reporters that the San Jose Sharks lineup against the Florida Panthers isn’t set.
“Both have had really good camps. Again, nothing’s been decided on the lineup, so we’ll continue to progress forward,” Warsofsky said about the battle of defensemen. “I thought both of them played really well against Vegas.
“I talked to Sam today. He’s in a good spot. He’s going to compete every single day and get better every day. And he’s got a good high level of focus. So we’ll see what happens Thursday.”