Team: 2019-20 San Jose Sharks

Initial Creation Date: Sep. 18, 2019

Published: Sep. 18, 2019

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

TC has been interesting this year as expected. So far this is my opening night lineup.
Brodzinski has looked really good, he’s been at Thorntons right all camp and last night had a goal and almost another against Anaheim.

Another rookie who has stood out in a big way is Danil Yurtaikin. He has nearly elite level hockey sense and that makes up for his average skating. He was creating chances all over the ice last night against the Ducks and has received praise from development staff all summer long, he played in the KHL last year and is 22 so he can handle playing in the NHL this year.

Lastly another standout for me is Ryan Merkley. He made a couple mistakes last night in the game but made up for them with some fantastic plays. He oozes elite offensive skill and with the right partner (Dillon or Vlasic) I think he is the better option over Tim Heed he also gives SJ another creative dman on the second PP unit. Boughner will shape him into a top 4, maybe even top pairing dman in the coming seasons.

I am giving True the edge over Gambrell for 4RW but they would definitely swap each other out throughout the season.

Unsure: Radil and Dell. Radil has some serious competition for his spot and needs to have a Marcus Sorensen level TC to keep his spot. Sorensen dominated camp last year enroute to holding down the 3LW spot by Jumbo and he hasnt let up since. Radil needs to do the same if he wants to keep his spot.

I havent seen or heard much from Chmelevski and Chekhovich, two guys I thought would cement a spot on the sharks roster, seems theyre being overshadowed by Yurtaikin and Brodzinski. This could all change of course and regardless of opening night, I think we will see both of them at some point this year and also Barracuda will certainly be better with these guys especially after Dahlens departure to Sweden.

Back to Dell. He looked pretty solid last night and made some calming saves. He was obviously more composed and experienced than Korenar. If Dell does return to the player he was 2 years ago and Jones improves his regular season numbers then goaltending worries will end. Hedberg is now only the goaltending coach instead of also being the “eye in the sky” so he can now focus entirely on Jones and Dell. Boughner will get the defense back to where it needs to be so I am a bit less concerned about GA this year.