Sharks' opening Night roster offers some lucky prospects golden chances.

“San Jose Sharks’ Unique Opening Night Roster Creates Golden Opportunities” originally ran on NBC Sports Bay Area. Sheng Peng regularly contributes to California-based coverage of Sharks games on NBC Sports California. Stay tuned with Sheng Peng by following him on San Jose Hockey Now, listening to him on San Jose Hockey Now Podcast or Twitter: @Sheng_Peng The Sharks have brought in an unusual Opening Night playing roster: usually an official 23-man roster will contain at least an extra forward, defenseman or goaltender compared with this lineup of 22 men on Opening Night. Not so with the Sharks, who submitted an opening day playing roster to the NHL with 15 forwards, six defensemen, and two goalies on Monday; that represents three extra forwards, one extra goalie…and no extra defenseman! They start regular season action Oct 10 in two-game homestand format so likely are considering that additional help might be nearby should one of their defenseman get injured during play – after all these opening day playing rosters don’t seem fixed! At first glance, opening day rosters serve mainly to meet cap compliance: trades, demotions and recalls are possible. Here is my reaction to the Sharks’ opening day roster for their official opening game play on Oct 1. Forwards (15)Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea, William Eklund, Barclay Goodrow Mikael Granlund Carl Grundstrom Danil Gushchin Klim Kostin Luke Kunin Givani Smith Will Smith Nico Sturm Tyler Toffoli Alex Wennberg Zetterlund”Gushchin has to be on this team.” “Gushchin has to be on this roster.” Gushchin has to make his presence felt as well – his presence must not only ensures total team play but ensures their ability on an offensive attack level too. “”Our pro scouts have been all over him and can’t understand how they could send him down at this time.”” “San Jose Hockey Now was told this message from two NHL scouts who aren’t associated with San Jose when Danil Gushchin completed his five-assist performance against Vegas Golden Knights during Saturday’s preseason finale. While San Jose made do by fitting him into their rarely used 15-6-2 formation, all credit goes to Gushchin; who forced San Jose into it by amassing nine points over four preseason games; regardless, general manager Mike Grier would rather keep Klim Kostin and Givani Smith who were exempt.” Normal circumstances would dictate Gushchin to head back down to the AHL regardless of internet criticism, but now comes the hard part for him: playing and power play time could be limited when looking at Monday’s practice lines leading up to Thursday’s season opener; on this particular Monday he practiced with Ty Dellandrea center Nico Sturm before moving over onto Henry Thrun Will Smith William Eklund and Alex Wennberg (second power play unit) before ending up back with Henry Thrun Will Smith William Eklund Alex Wennberg among others (the line configurations per the Hockey News: Eklund-Celebrini-ToffoliGranlund-W. Smith-ZetterlundKunin-Wennberg-GoodrowGushchin-Sturm-DellandreaGushchin-Sturm-DellandreaGushchin-Sturm-DellandreaGushchin-Sturm-DellandreaG). Smith-Kostin-GrundstromIf that holds on Thursday night, then Smith will need to take full advantage of whatever opportunities present themselves to him, no matter how limited. I wouldn’t count against him.Other thoughts?Celebrini should begin his rookie campaign as one of their No.1 defenseman Will Smith has had an up and down preseason; with top six minutes coming his way quickly; along with teammate Markus Granlund providing backup. Will’s performance will come under great scrutiny. The Sharks seem content to let Granlund play top center but have taken steps to provide Will with support as needed. Smith had shown great improvement through each preseason game and is expected to continue that trend this season, so the Sharks hope this is true of Kunin as well. “He is definitely a hockey player; a competitor with toughness both mentally and physically who gives everything that he’s got”, stated coach Ryan Warsofsky of Kunin on Saturday. “Lisa was an exceptional teammate. “Luke Kunin deserves all of my appreciation”, is often heard on Sharks blogs and social media, much as you could say of other high-compete/less offense forwards like Barclay Goodrow, Ty Dellandrea, Nico Sturm or Carl Grundstrom whom the internet loves to criticise from time to time. However, this sentiment encapsulates how both their teammates and most NHL teams view these players. Wining requires balance; no team can field an lineup composed of all offensive-focused forwards alone. And Givani Smith, who seemingly didn’t belong on an NHL roster last season, had an exceptional all-around camp. He made solid to high-end plays during limited ice time, opening eyes while showing his trademark toughness. Warofsky described their defensemen, Matt Benning, Cody Ceci, Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta Henry Thrun and Jake Walman, as one of the biggest surprises at camp. To answer his query on these six players – all former NHLers themselves – who could potentially exceed expectations and help lead their squad out of their basement status this season – it remains unknown as yet; big questions surround each blueliner such as Walman. Especially regarding him when given more responsibility such as playing on Power Play One duties than ever before? Can the young Thrun elevate his game after an inconsistent rookie campaign with the Sharks, and is Benning fully recovered from season-ending hip surgery? How will Ceci manage being on what may be an inferior team compared to his Stanley Cup Final Edmonton Oilers last season? Ferraro and Rutta must also address similar challenges. Unfortunately, they had difficulty rising above last season’s difficult circumstances of playing an awful team; their strain showed. This year is different, however; with improvements across all positions on defense being apparent especially at depth forward where needed. That could make all of the difference for their defense unit. The Sharks could use two experienced 1A goaltenders as replacements. There shouldn’t be much of a negative ramification from doing so: top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov could soon be ready for NHL duty; also download and follow San Jose Hockey Now podcast for updates!