SAN JOSE – During the 2025-26 season, second-year Sharks defenseman Sam Dickinson played nearly every game over the final four months, and forward Ty Dellandrea was almost always in the lineup when he was healthy.

That was then. With increased competition across the Sharks roster, things are a bit different for those two right now, at least to start.

Both Dickinson, 20, and Dellandrea, 26, were healthy scratches for the Sharks’ season-opening game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night at SAP Center, as San Jose’s revamped lineup featured five players — three defensemen and two forwards — who weren’t in the organization last season.

That improved depth, at least on paper, is a big reason why the Sharks are expected to compete for a playoff spot this season. But it’ll also mean some hard choices are ahead.

“There’s good depth, and there’s good competition,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “We’ve talked about it all camp from our back end to up front; there are tough decisions that we have to make as coaches, and we’ll continue to work with the players that aren’t playing.”

Dickinson, a left-shot defenseman drafted 11th overall in 2024, began training camp in a top-four role alongside veteran Jacob Trouba. But in the second half of camp, Nolan Allan, now entering his fourth pro season, took Dickinson’s spot, impressing with his steady play and a physical style.

With newcomers Darnell Nurse and Michael Kesselring forming one pair and veteran Dmitry Orlov and power-play quarterback Luca Cagnoni on the other, Dickinson is, for now, the seventh defenseman.

“I don’t worry about the lineup or anything like that. I just try to focus on myself and my game,” said Dickinson, who was last healthy scratched on Feb. 4 of last season when the Sharks played the Colorado Avalanche in Denver. “I want to play, and I want to play every game, and I want to play a lot of minutes.”

Warsofsky wouldn’t get into specifics about what Dickinson, who played 72 games as a rookie last season, needs to improve. Dickinson, though, was more forthright.

“Just trying to be active with my stick, close space quick, force turnovers and get going the other way,” he said. “Everybody knows you want the puck in the slot to score goals. So I think not just throwing it in there as much as possible, but find the right times, moving myself to create lanes for passes and just being good with those short, tricky passes where maybe you’ve got to go through a stick or through a pair of skates or over a stick.”

Dickinson also felt his decision-making has improved.

“I think a big thing for me was knowing the times to go and be aggressive and get the puck, and also when to stay back a little and be a little more patient and calm, and wait for opportunities to present themselves to go get the puck,” Dickinson said. “That was a big thing for me.”

Warsofsky felt, and Dickinson agreed, that the Sharks’ final preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights last Saturday was the best he looked during camp, as he moved his feet, defended hard and played well within the system.

“I felt it was steady growth from start to finish,” Dickinson said of his camp. “I’m here now and just kind of looking forward to the next little bit.”

Warsofsky said Dickinson has some areas “we want him to work on, and there’s some things that he does a really good job of, and (there are reasons) why he was drafted where he was, and the career that he had in junior. It takes a little bit of time to get up to speed in the National Hockey League.

“We always say the best players are the most confident players, so we’re going to continue to work on that.”

Dickinson could be back in the lineup soon, as the Sharks host the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday before they play Dallas and St. Louis early next week.

“I’m the last guy who needs to go out there and really find motivation,” Dickinson said of the increased competition for lineup spots. “I think it’s always there for me. I always want to be the best. I always want to be on the best teams.”

Dellandrea was signed to a two-year, $3.25 million contract extension on March 13, less than eight weeks before the Sharks unexpectedly won the No. 2 overall selection in the NHL draft lottery.

The Sharks in June took Ivar Stenberg with the pick, and the Swedish-born winger made his NHL debut Thursday in a middle-six role on a line with right wing Collin Graf and center Alexander Wennberg.

With Stenberg and Mason Marchment in top-nine roles, and a crash-and-bang fourth line with center Zack Ostapchuk and wingers Barclay Goodrow and Kiefer Sherwood, there isn’t room right now for the right-shot Dellandrea, who, when healthy last season, was solid on faceoffs and one of the team’s top penalty killers.

“(Dellandrea) had a good camp. He’s progressing nicely,” Warsofsky said. “Focus on today, that’s what I’ve told all the guys that aren’t playing. Just focus on today and don’t get too wrapped up in what’s a week away, two weeks away, the outside noise.”

GAUDETTE UPDATE

Forward Adam Gaudette, who was sixth on the Sharks last season with 17 goals, took another step toward a return Thursday after the morning skate, joining Dickinson, Dellandrea and Leason on the ice. Gaudette began the season on injured reserve with an upper body ailment and is eligible to be activated early next week.