Biggest Training Camp Battles
With the San Jose Sharks Training Camp underway this week, what are some of the biggest training camp battles and roster spots I'm watching for?
Can Thomas Bordeleau Crack The Opening Night Roster?
The former second-round pick of the 2020 NHL Draft is the bubbliest of bubble players regarding the opening night roster. Bordeleau is still waivers exempt, so he can freely move between the Sharks and the San Jose Barracuda this season.
With the additions Mike Grier made to the top 9, Thomas Bordeleau has his work cut out for him this training camp. Bordeleau did have a solid end to the season last year when playing with the Sharks. He scored six goals and five assists in 27 NHL games and was a mainstay on a potent power play down the stretch. All of this while playing on the third line.
With the additions of Tyler Toffoli, Will Smith, and Macklin Celebrini, Bordeleau will not have the same opportunities as he did last season. Bordeleau should still make the second power play team, but he isn't going to soak up the considerable man advantage minutes that helped his production (four of his six goals were on the power play).
The big question for players like Thomas Bordeleau is, 'What can you do if you aren't scoring?' Bordeleau has shown improvements in his defensive game and a willingness to try and be physical despite his 5'10" frame. Bordeleau will never be a shutdown defensive forward, but he is good in the dot (52.8% last season) and has a high hockey IQ.
Thomas Bordeleau's pathway to making the team is to continue to show a competitive motor on every shift and take advantage of any opportunity he earns.
Pre-Training Camp Prediction: Bordeleau starts with the Barracuda and earns a permanent call-up after Christmas.
Where Does Macklin Celebrini Play?
We all want to see our shiny new toy, like kids peeking at Christmas presents! After a terrible season, Celebrini was the reward and a new hope for Sharks fans. Where Celebrini fits in the lineup and who he plays with are some of the biggest questions San Jose will have when heading into camp.
The assumption is that Celebrini will start at the center because that is his natural position, and he has already shown elite traits at Boston University. The easiest person to slide next to Celebrini is Tyler Toffoli. Toffoli's finishing ability will get plenty of opportunities with Celebrini's transition game. Toffoli has already discussed being a mentor to Celebrini, and it would make sense to pair the two together.
Conversely, do the Sharks break up the Lund Line of Michael Granlund, Fabian Zetterlund, and William Eklund? They were very successful at the end of the season when playing together. Toffoli is a right-handed shot, and having Eklund play on the left wing would help to balance it out. Eklund showed growth and development in his first full NHL season, and his playmaking would take the pressure off of Celebrini to do it all.
Other options include Will Smith, but pairing two teenagers together is a recipe for disaster. If Logan Couture is healthy, Alex Wennberg would provide a defensive element to the line and offer Celebrini two veterans to lean on. Klim Kostin is also a dark horse here if he continues to play, as he did to close the season for San Jose with his blend of physicality and scoring touch.
Pre-Training Camp Prediction:
Smith-Granlund-Zetterlund
Eklund-Celebrini-Toffoli
Sorting Out The Bottom Six
Mike Grier made it a point to go out and get more depth between the top six and the Barracuda players. He claimed fan favorite Barclay Goodrow from the New York Rangers and traded for Carl Grundström and Ty Dellandrea. Grier also re-signed Luke Kunin and Justin Bailey as well. There is much more depth between the top six of the Sharks and the top of the Cuda roster than in previous years.
Heading into camp, the Sharks have 11 players vying for the final eight roster spots (assuming the Sharks keep seven defensemen and two goalies).
Justin Bailey
Thomas Bordeleau
Logan Couture (pending health)
Ty Dellandrea
Barclay Goodrow
Collin Graf
Carl Grundström
Klim Kostin
Givani Smith
Nico Sturm
Alex Wennberg
While some players are likelier to head to the Barracuda this season, many are fighting for the final spots. Assuming Couture isn't healthy enough to play, Goodrow, Sturm, and Wennberg are locks to make the roster based on salary and their roles on the team. Dellandrea and Grundström will probably be the next tier of players, as Grier went out of his way to acquire them this offseason.
Bailey, Bordeleau, Graf, Kostin, and Smith are fighting for the last three spots. Who gets the first crack at a spot in training camp and preseason is one of the more intriguing camp stories.
Pre-Training Camp Prediction:
Kostin-Wennberg-Grundström
Goodrow-Sturm-Kunin
Extra: Bailey, Dellandrea
Can Shakir Mukhamadullin Make The Team?
After his first season in North America, Shakir Mukhamadullin is poised to jump to the NHL. The former first-round pick in the 2020 draft established himself as a two-way defenseman on the Barracuda. He was named to the AHL All-Star game and posted 34 points in 55 games for the Barracuda. Mukhamadullin also made his NHL debut, posting an assist in three games.
Mukhamadullin was one of the main stories of last year's training camp and barely missed the team. After a year in San Jose, can he be a full-time NHLer starting on night one?
Several veteran players are in front of Mukhamadullin, including Jake Walman, Cody Ceci, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Matt Benning, Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta, and Henry Thrun. Thrun is the only waivers exempt player of the bunch. Can Mukhamadullin beat out one of the veterans?
Walman is expected to be the power-play one quarterback, but the second-unit job is open. Thrun has experience on the PP, and Ferraro has played in a pinch. This is Mukhamadullin's opportunity to make the team. If he can play well defensively and command the second power-play unit, it could be his pathway to being on the roster opening night.
Pre-Training Camp Prediction: Mukhamadullin makes the roster on opening night.