Luca Cagnoni has signed a new contract with the San Jose Sharks.

Fantastic - so glad the deal got done.

One more year and then we can see what he’ll look like against pros.

This kid has real potential to be a star.

LFG. Dude is so damn good. I wish he could play in the AHL next year, he's too good for juniors but not ready for the NHL yet

If he hit another growth spurt his hype would explode.

Highly skilled guy, and he's improving his two-way game and with the success of guys like Quinn Hughes, Olen Zellweger, Lane Hutson, Jordan Spence, and other small defenders really helps teams to keep their minds open to someone like Cagnoni.

I'd like to see Cagnoni raise his game in the playoffs this next year. That is when Zellweger really raised his future NHL profile in his final WHL season.

He can play in the AHL in the upcoming season if he and the team want him to. If you turn 20 by December 31st of the season you can play in the AHL and his 20th birthday is December 21st.

Well now I'm VERY excited to see him in camp. There's so many small stipulations when it comes to the CHL / NHL agreement that it's hard to fully understand

Another Olen Zellweger type. I wish him and you guys all the best even though we're mortal rivals.


Pun intended?

Was so shocked when I saw Cagnonis name pop up in the 4th round of last year's draft. I know he's a smaller guy, but there is no denying his skill. Such a fantasy young defenseman who will no doubt be a solid NHLer at worst and a superstar at best.

Great stuff, nice to see an ELC signed

Such a good signing. Sure hope CF is wrong and he’s still not 5’9”. 2 more inches and he’s a monster. Good for him and the Sharks.

Yup, I think AHL may be where he ends up based on his latest comments (he said he wants to play professionally just an about an hour ago now).

Even more exciting. With the probably Shakir Mukhamadullin promotion to the AHL. There will be a hole opened up for PP, and OF-Zone draws.

Looks like a big summer ahead for Cagnoni and his future.

He's still listed as 5'9" on the WHL website as well, but he's around 183 lbs. I've seen him playing and he doesn't look all that small (granted he's playing in the CHL).

Part of me want's Pohlkamp paired with him as the physical shutdown guy when they get to the NHL to be the Short Kings pairing. Now that dude is a TANK

Between him, Halttunen's absurd playoff run, Musty's absurd season, and Smith's literally record breaking season, that 2023 draft is looking to be insane. Rimashevsky and Pohlkamp are sleepers as well

Agreed on everything there. Those 3 are bananas prospects to get in in one draft. I hope they all have successful and long careers.

I said prior I think the Sharks can try and treat Halttunen like a star shooter - don’t try and break him. Let him flex his strengths and if he’s a NHL shooter, like Ovi, work in the rest of the game throughout his career. He’s got the size and shot so I think it’s not a bad model to follow if he can lead our PP shooters.

Musty is fantastic and could literally be just as good as Meier if he keeps this up. So exicitng for him to see if he turns pro too.

And I’m so excited for Smith. I really hope he follows Celebrini and they grow together.

Rimashevsky is super interesting. Pros had some praise for the selection - especially with how late it was. And now there’s a lot of rumblings about him and excitement has been building slowly.

Sharks D pipeline is actually really interesting and their 2024-25 depth chart is probably harder to predict that the Stanley Cup Finals.

Ferraro, Thrun, Emberson, Benning, Addison, Mukhamadullin, Burroughs, Thompson, Vlasic (while under contact at least) and then Cagnoni and Havelid eventually too.

With all of the injuries last year it was hard to see who would have staying power outside of Ferraro. Nobody grabbed the reigns of the Power Play so it feels wide open next year.

Many of them have overlapping skillsets so it feels like a war of "king of the hill" to see who can make it to the NHL first and stake their claim.

What is the consensus depth chart and roles amongst Sharks faithful?

From my perspective:

S Tier: 1st Pair to Franchise Potential
—

A Tier: Top4 - Top Pair Potential
Mukhamadullin
Cagnoni
- Cagnoni would be in the S Tier but I’ll hold my tongue and see how he does outside the CHL first. He’s a less safe bet than Muk, but he has the highest ceiling. Mukhamadullin could be “our own Bouchard” in a sense, a shooter and I think Muk has some great awareness to be strong in his own zone. Whereas Cagnoni is that QHughes type OFD/ quarterback.

B Tier: 2nd Pair Ceiling - Top Pair if needed
Ferraro
Emberson
Thrun
Havelids

C Tier: Bottom Pair - 2nd Pair if needed
Burroughs
Rutta
Laroque
Addison (He really didn’t grab the reins with his chances)

D Tier: Bottom Pair
Benning
Vlasic


*Not sure at all where to place Thompson
I think some people may play him B or C

Based on last year's TOI when healthy:
Ferraro-Rutta
Thrun-Burroughs
Vlasic-Benning
Mukhamadullin-Emberson

NHL-AHL Tweeners
Knyzhov-Addison
Pulli-Frisch
Cagnoni-Thompson

AHL-ECHL Tweeners
Guryev-Laroque

Obviously the Head Coach hire will tell alot before training camp, but the Sharks seemed to use Burroughs a lot more than I expected; but that was likely due to injuries to Benning and Emberson. Going into this past year it seemed like Benning was really seen as a lock for good amount of ice time. I thought Emberson played effectively when he was healthy.

Calen Addison is definitely running out of chances at the NHL level.

If everyone is healthy the key seems to be Mukhamadullin and Emberson beating out those "above them" in the current depth chart, but there is some sense in shielding the young defenders from getting annihiliated against top matchups with vets like Vlasic-Rutta serving in that sense.

I expect :

Ferraro - Emberson
When healthy: the Sharks strongest pair

Thrun - Burroughs
Sharks definitely overused Burroughs: partially due to injuries, partially due to subjective favouring, and partially due to him having some good showings. Thrun wants to be a top pair defender so let’s see how he can improve, and if he can be that guy. Burroughs is a solid guy to put with him (like Karlsson + Methot).

Mukhamadullin - Rutta
Best guy to put with Muk, speak the same languages, an amazing vet to be glued to and learn from. Provide the Sharks a potentially exceptional 3rd pair, and doesn’t expose Muk to deadly matchups all the time.

Vlasic, Benning are backup.

AHL seems fair.

It’ll be super interesting to follow the draft too.
Some pros are predicting some wild selections inside the top 6 which could result in some interesting trade up potential.

He’ll Craig Button put Levshunov at 9; which is just a layup trade up for Grier id say. (And I don’t love Button but doesn’t mean it’s fun to discuss).

Good stuff thanks for the input.

As far as the draft goes; yeah the picks from #2 thru 15 all seem to be a rotation based on each expert with guys like Iginla going from #3 all the way to #9, Yakemchuk in the top 10 or even #16, or Helenius being #4 or #15 so the Sharks probably don't even need to trade up to get a really good player.

Really good player regardless - but I’m in the seemingly shrinking: minority to trade up for Buium or Parekh. It seemed louder a few weeks ago but as you just outlined the predictions are all over the map and the chance of the ladder working out for us. However, I always follow Bobby Margarita due to his historical accuracy and wealth of experience. His latest:

Celebrini
Demidov
Silayev
Lev
Lindstrom
—
Dickinson
Parekh
Buium
Helenius
Iginila
—
Catton
Yakemchuk
Eiserman
Sennecke
Connelly

In this situation I hope for a trade up as I think the Sharks need a gem added to their d core prospect pool.

I could see:

Celebrini
Demidov
Lev
Lindstrom
Iginla
—
Buium
Helenius
Silayev
- Sharks trade up to 9 to get Parekh

Totally agree, I can't believe how low Buium and Parekh are on some peoples lists. I guess that's mostly because they fit what Sharks need more than anything (outside of Celebrini of course) so maybe I'm overvaluing them. But honestly if Sharks fell to 3 instead of winning the lottery I would seriously consider one them at 3. if they're available at 9-12 I absolutely think MG should trade up to get one of them.

I think some people view Buium and Parekh both as boom or busts. The in-betweeners see some sorta version of TDA.

But I think if both guys add a little height and size they’re going to have their floors raise massively. And I believe in both of them.

Also I think people don’t like the pure lack of defensive commitment for Parekh - and the weak defence of Buium - so combined with their size I would bet a lot of money some scouts whisper “Ryan Merkley” into their GMs ear if they’re betting against Parekh and Buium.