Who will be vying for a roster spot with the San Jose Sharks?

It’s a final game audition tonight as the Sharks head to T-Mobile Arena for their preseason finale against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Sharks are due to submit opening night rosters on Monday. They also practice Monday through Wednesday, leading up to opening night on Thursday.

When asked about Jack Thompson and Luca Cagnoni, both battling for the No. 7 spot on opening night, head coach Ryan Warsofsky threw a few more names in the hat: “Both guys (Thompson and Cagnoni) are in. Cardwell is inside. Gushchin is back in. Kostin is in. All those guys who are not only fighting for a place here, but also to play important (parts) in our team, are playing tonight, I would say.

He didn’t mention enforcer Givani Smith, but Smith is on a journey, and it’s safe to say, with what he has to offer, he’s competing for one of, I think, two open spots up front.

Collin Graf is also in the mix.

At this point, I expect the Sharks to carry these 12 forwards Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea, William Eklund, Barclay Goodrow, Mikael Granlund, Carl Grundstrom, Luke Kunin, Will Smith, Nico Sturm, Tyler Toffoli, Alex Wennberg and Fabian Zetterlund. , and two from Givani Smith, Kostin, Gushchin, Cardwell or Graf.

Gushchin, Cardwell and Graf are exempt.

Honestly, it was surprising to hear that Kostin joined the undecided group. Although he was up and down, his highlights were, frankly, dominant, like how he planted himself in front of the Anaheim Ducks net on September 26 and slotted home the equalizer late off a Danil Gushchin. passage.

There are no sharks with that combination of size, strength and skill.

I would expect the Sharks to carry six defensemen Matt Benning, Cody Ceci, Mario Ferraro, Jan Rutta, Henry Thrun and Jake Walman, and one of Thompson, Cagnoni or Shakir Mukhamadullin, who returned to practice today.

Thompson, Cagnoni and Mukhamadullin are all exempt.

And who will be the opening night starter? It appears that with super prospect Yaroslav Askarov still regaining his form after an injury prior to camp with the San Jose Barracuda, either Mackenzie Blackwood or Vitek Vanecek will be between the pipes on October 10th.

Blackwood is the incumbent and he starts tonight, but Vanecek did well to get the call with a sparkling . 944 Save % so far this preseason.

That’s fourteen attackers, seven defenders and two goalkeepers for a 23-man squad.

San Jose Sharks (1-3-1)

Mackenzie Blackwood starts. I suspect Nolan Burke and Jeremy Bucheler are not playing.

Sharks lineup tonight pic.twitter.com/vaG7kZ3RNS

— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 5, 2024

Vegas Golden Knights (3-2-0)

Optional morning skate. Aston-Reese, Laczynski and Røndbjerg with Hutton and Korczak. Samsonov in the net.

It looks like the entire lineup is leaving tonight.

— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) October 5, 2024

This could be the selection the Knights choose from tonight, it seems pretty much a final selection.

Where to watch

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights is at 7:00 PM PT at T-Mobile Arena. Watch it on the NHL on ESPN+ package. Watch it live on SJSharks.com, note that the stream is geo-locked in the San Jose Sharks broadcast area. Also check it out on the Sharks + SAPC app. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.