Michael Misa and Sam Dickinson had good training camps, but not good enough.

That’s the truth of why San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky is choosing to sit them out on opening night, instead of giving them their NHL debuts.

That’s no knock on 2025 No. 2 pick Misa, just 18, or 2024 No. 11 Dickinson, who was leaps and bounds better than he was last camp.

But was Misa better in camp, including games, scrimmages, and practices than his center competition, Macklin Celebrini, Alex Wennberg, Ty Dellandrea, or Adam Gaudette?

Celebrini and Wennberg are established, while Warsofsky praised Ty Dellandrea’s camp and called Adam Gaudette’s line his most consistent.

Was Dickinson better in camp than his left defense competition, Nick Leddy, Mario Ferraro, or Dmitry Orlov?

I will say that’s a little more debatable than Misa better than his aforementioned center competition, but Leddy, Ferraro, and Orlov are also veteran NHL defensemen who have played top-four minutes consistently throughout their careers.

Misa and Dickinson did not take a veteran’s job, unlike say winger Collin Graf, who pushed out the likes of 27-year-old Carl Grundstrom, just dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Anyway, it’s just one game.

“Dicky and Mis are going to play. They’re not going to be out all season or for a long period of time,” Warsofsky said.

All this could be said about veteran Alex Nedeljkovic getting the opening night nod over starter-in-waiting Yaroslav Askarov. Nedeljkovic gave up one goal in two pre-season games; top prospect Askarov surrendered 11 in three appearances.

That’s not putting all the blame on Askarov in a team game, of course, but he certainly didn’t seize the net on opening night either.

“I actually love what he did in that Utah game. He battled. Besides the first goal [of six allowed], he probably doesn’t have a chance on some of those, he made some big saves,” Warsofsky said. “Just going with an experienced guy tonight, against a really experienced team. It’s not anything that Asky did wrong.”

And yes, all this applies to winger Ethan Cardwell, who was sent down in favor of Graf, Barclay Goodrow, and Ryan Reaves.

Collin Graf has emerged as a coach’s favorite, while Goodrow and Reaves (with Gaudette) were part of Warsofsky’s most regular line in camp, the only one that didn’t change from the first day of camp.

Some key lines in #SJSharks Black vs. White scrimmage.

Noteworthy to see Kurashev & Gaudette up the middle, Mukhamadullin with Orlov:

Graf-Kurashev-Afanasyev
Reaves-Gaudette-Goodrow
Cardwell-Ostapchuk-Olausson

Mukhamadullin-Orlov
Cagnoni-Clayton

Musty-Wennberg-Toffoli…

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) September 19, 2025

“He came up last year, and earned his spot, really,” Warsofsky said of Graf. “And through training camp, through the rookie tournament, he’s earned it every single day he’s here, and that’s why he’s here.”

Otherwise, Cardwell wasn’t likely to supplant any of the other top-nine San Jose Sharks wingers.

Realistically, considering the Sharks were always likely, in full health, to start the season with 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goalies — to keep from sending Misa and Dickinson back to the OHL — Cardwell would have to take Graf’s job.

Unpopular as this may be with the fans, the coaching staff values what Goodrow and Reaves bring on and off the ice to the team. They also provide distinct qualities that the rest of the line-up doesn’t have, especially Reaves — and they both had good camps.

“I love our fans, but we’re going to do what’s best for our team,” Warsofsky said. “We’re gonna put the line-up out there that prepares us to win a hockey game tonight.”

Again, it’s just one game. Relax.

Frankly, Dellandrea is 25, and has never shown enough offense to be an everyday third-line center. 30-something’s Orlov and Leddy were top players not so long ago, but their best years may be past them. Goodrow and Reaves had good camps, but they struggled at times last regular season. Nedelkjovic has been given opportunities to be a No. 1 guy in the past, and it’s never panned out for the 29-year-old.

All this is to say, if you’re all the Future is Teal, and are upset that Misa and Dickinson and Askarov and Cardwell aren’t getting their opportunity on opening night…well, chances are, they will all play soon.

“They’re going to help our team now and in the future,” Warsofsky said of Misa and Dickinson, but he could’ve been talking about any of the aforementioned prospects.

The Future is Teal, not now, which means that the 2025-26 San Jose Sharks aren’t exactly the 1976 Montreal Canadiens.

So barring a long winning streak to start the year — which would be great news! — you could see the future on the ice as soon as the very next game on Saturday.

San Jose Sharks (0-0-0)

Alex Nedeljkovic will start.

These are tonight’s lines:

Kurashev-Celebrini-Smith
Eklund-Wennberg-Toffoli
Skinner-Dellandrea-Graf
Goodrow-Gaudette-Reaves

Leddy-Klingberg
Ferraro-Liljegren
Orlov-Mukhamadullin

Nedeljkovic

Vegas Golden Knights (0-0-1)

This is how the Golden Knights dressed in Wednesday’s 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

Lineup as expected for VGK in the opener.

Barbashev-Eichel-Marner
Saad-Hertl-Dorofeyev
Smith-Karlsson-Stone
Howden-Sissons-Kolesar

McNabb-Theodore
Hanifin-Whitecloud
Lauzon-Korczak

Hill

— SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 9, 2025

Akira Schmid should draw the start.

For all your Vegas Golden Knights updates, go to Vegas Hockey Now!

Where To Watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights is at 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on ESPN+ and Hulu. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.