{"id":472992,"date":"2026-09-23T11:20:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:20:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/472992\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T11:20:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T11:20:10","slug":"san-jose-sharks-defenseman-luca-cagnoni-continues-push-for-nhl-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/472992\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks defenseman Luca Cagnoni continues push for NHL job"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013 When defenseman Luca Cagnoni signed his entry-level contract<\/a> with the Sharks as a 19-year-old in 2024, he was determined<\/a> to start his professional career that year and avoid returning to the Western Hockey League.<\/p>\n

Two years and a few months later, Cagnoni basically has the same mindset. But instead of focusing on making the Barracuda\u2019s roster,<\/a> he\u2019s determined to be in the Sharks\u2019 lineup on opening night against the Florida Panthers.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s definitely the goal,\u201d Cagnoni said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of that next step, right? You\u2019ve got to go out there and show that you deserve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cagnoni seemed to take a big step in that direction during the Sharks\u2019 2-1 shootout loss<\/a> to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at SAP Center.<\/p>\n

Cagnoni, who turns 22 in December, created a handful of scoring chances, quarterbacked the first power-play unit, and led the Sharks with 22:43 of ice time.<\/a><\/p>\n

Cagnoni, a left-shot, has been paired with Dmitry Orlov as he\u2019s played on the right side since the start of training camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cCagnoni was really good, really good start,\u201d Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. \u201cI\u2019m seeing some things we have to clean up and some situations playing his offside that we (need to) work on and understand of where we are in certain situations throughout the game. But I thought he made plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although some stiffer tests are likely ahead this preseason for Cagnoni, it would be a surprise now not to see him on the Sharks\u2019 23-man roster at the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was awesome, super skilled, easy to play with,\u201d said center Michael Misa, who scored the Sharks\u2019 line regulation time goal Tuesday. \u201cIt\u2019s nice when you\u2019ve got him quarterbacking the power play. He moves the puck really well and is such a shifty player. He\u2019s going to be good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The question about the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Cagnoni has always been if he could hold his own against NHL players in the defensive end. He\u2019s far from a finished product in that respect, but after a summer of training, he appears further along than he was last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously I can\u2019t go blow guys up,\u201d Cagnoni said. \u201cBut I thought I was pretty good, stick on puck, I was in some good spots. A couple got past me; I just kind of have to learn from that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Sharks finish the preseason with games against the Anaheim Ducks at home on Thursday and against the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. How he competes against those teams, if he plays, will be another gauge of how ready he is.<\/p>\n

The Sharks\u2019 regular season opener is Oct. 1 at home against the Panthers.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery summer is just always a big summer,\u201d Cagnoni said. \u201cThere\u2019s always opportunities out there, no matter where you are, so, kind of just had to work hard and come here and show it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other takeaways from Tuesday\u2019s game<\/p>\n

STENBERG LOOKS COMFORTABLE<\/p>\n

Warsofsky may have to decide whether to keep the forward lines he\u2019s had through the first several days of training camp, or make adjustments and let those new trios build chemistry.<\/p>\n

Judging by Tuesday\u2019s game, there appears to be little reason to split up the second line of Ivar Stenberg, Alexander Wennberg and winger Collin Graf.<\/p>\n

Stenberg appeared comfortable in his NHL preseason debut, looking poised in the offensive zone while playing a heady, responsible game.<\/p>\n

In the first two periods, he, Wennberg and Graf combined for five shots on goal and, per Natural Stat Trick<\/a>, three of the Sharks\u2019 five high-danger chances.<\/p>\n

Asked after Tuesday\u2019s game about keeping that line together, Warsofsky said, \u201cWe\u2019ll see how it plays out. We\u2019ll get to watch some video of it, go through the games. Believe it or not, we watch all the practices as well and see what we\u2019re seeing and kind of go through it as we get going here.\u201d<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t the stiffest competition for Stenberg and the Sharks on Tuesday, as the Golden Knights left most of their NHL roster back in Las Vegas aside from starting goalie Carter Hart, who made 28 saves. Still, it was an encouraging sign for the Sharks that Stenberg is adapting to the smaller North American-sized ice.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp and down. Some good stuff, but also some stuff I need to improve on,\u201d Stenberg said when asked to evaluate his game Tuesday, adding that he wants to find more time and space and \u201ccreate a little bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Igor Chernyshov (92) fights for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Jackson Hallum (59) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Luca Cagnoni (42) takes a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Nolan Allan (5) controls the puck against Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Marc Gatcomb (17) in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Patrick Giles (54) fight for the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Igor Chernyshov (92) controls the puck against Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Jeremy Davies (84) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Michael Misa (77) scores a goal against Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Jimmy Huntington (15) takes a shot against the Vegas Golden Knights in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Andre Gasseau (26) and Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Mitch McLain (75) fight for the puck in front of Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart (79) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"Vegas<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Ville Heinola (14) gets hit in the head with the puck in front of San Jose Sharks\u2019 Patrick Giles (54) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Jacob Trouba (65) pass the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights in the second period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Filip Bystedt (18) fights for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Marc Gatcomb (17) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Carson Wetsch (62) fights for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Joe Fleming (50) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"San<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Ivar Stenberg (41) is congratulated on his shootout goal against the Vegas Golden Knights at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

\"Vegas<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Jackson Hallum (59) is congratulated on their win against the San Jose Sharks after the shootout at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 14<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks\u2019 Igor Chernyshov (92) fights for the puck against Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Jackson Hallum (59) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026. (Nhat V. Meyer\/Bay Area News Group)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

ASKAROV APPEARS \u2018CALM\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to forget that during last year\u2019s preseason, goalie Yaroslav Askarov went 0-3-0 with an .855 save percentage.<\/p>\n

Askarov didn\u2019t get the win Tuesday, but he looked a lot more comfortable than he did at any time during last year\u2019s preseason<\/p>\n

Askarov had 13 saves in the first two periods and finished with 22 for the game. There has never been much question about his reflexes or athleticism, but he struggled at times as a rookie in 2025-26 to make the saves expected of an NHL goalie.<\/p>\n

Two of Askarov\u2019s more notable saves came midway through the second period: he made a glove save on Jonas Rondbjerg\u2019s close-range chance and a pad save on a Jackson Hallum breakaway a few seconds later, as he got behind the Sharks\u2019 defense.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was really good, sharp early, made some saves, got into it,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cHe was a lot more calm than we\u2019ve seen him with some puck touches. We\u2019ve got to get the communication down with our defensemen, but I thought he was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Askarov will likely play at least one more game this preseason, possibly in the preseason finale on Saturday in Las Vegas in what could be a tremendous test for him and the team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2013 When defenseman Luca Cagnoni signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks as a 19-year-old in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472993,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[7,404,2944,88,90,89,98,127],"class_list":["post-472992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-california","tag-nhl","tag-photos-and-videos","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472992","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=472992"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472992\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472993"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472992"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472992"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472992"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}