San Jose Sharks camp: Who’s left, and are these young bucks ready for the NHL?

SAN JOSE – Are five or more rookies really going to make the Sharks’ roster out of training camp?

It seems to be a certainty at this point. The only question is who those players will be.

The competition for spots on the Sharks’ 23-man roster to open the season came into sharper focus Tuesday after the team reassigned forward Sasha Chmelevski and defenseman Ryan Merkley to the Barracuda.

The Sharks now have 29 players in training camp – three goalies, 17 forwards, and nine defensemen. Included in that group are forward Evander Kane, who, per agreement with the team, has yet to participate, and injured defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov.

Goalie Alexei Melnichuk is also still in camp. Melnichuk was recalled Monday after Adin Hill suffered a wrist injury in practice Sunday. If and when Hill is healthy again, Melnichuk will be reassigned.

Now it’s a matter of whether the younger players who are vying for NHL jobs — and are waivers-exempt — can push out one or more experienced players.

Still in camp are rookie forwards William Eklund, Adam Raska, Jeffrey Viel, and Jasper Weatherby and defenseman Santeri Hatakka. Lane Pederson and Jonathan Dahlen are also considered NHL rookies, although both are experienced pros.

The Sharks still have one more preseason game – on Saturday at home against Vegas – but Eklund and Weatherby appear to be safe bets to make the initial 23-man roster, which has to be submitted to the NHL by 2 p.m. (PT) on Oct. 11. Dahlen, a top-six winger throughout camp, will also likely be a part of that group.

“The decisions are becoming harder and harder,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said after the Sharks’ 3-2 shootout loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night. “And good for them. That’s what we’ve asked them to do. They’re all doing everything they can to try to make this team.”

The Sharks have had multiple rookies crack the NHL roster in each of the last two years. That wasn’t necessarily a great thing for the team, but some guys in this year’s crop just can’t be ignored.

“It’s good to see,” Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson said. “Obviously, last year was what it was. I think this year, you can tell that few other guys have really matured and they’ve made an impact here, and that’s exactly what we need.

“You’ve just got to hope that they continue to (play well).”

Boughner indicated recently that the Sharks would likely keep 14 forwards for the start of the regular season. It is not known whether Kane will be counted among that group or if he’ll be placed on leave by the team as the NHL continues its two investigations into the winger.

If Kane is not counted toward that 14-forward group, two players still have to go. One might be Viel, who suffered an upper-body injury in a fight Monday and could be placed on injured reserve to start the year or simply reassigned to the AHL.

But that still leaves one more roster decision to be made, and it might come down to keeping Raska, who has been a buzzsaw in practice and preseason games, or placing Pederson or Dylan Gambrell on waivers and risk losing them for nothing.

It’s a tough call. Both Pederson and Gambrell are responsible two-way forwards, and the Sharks traded a 2024 fourth-round pick in July to acquire Pederson. But neither he nor Gambrell play the agitating style that’s favored by Raska, and one the Sharks seem to appreciate.

Boughner indicated after Monday’s game, though, that contract status won’t figure into the final decision on who to keep.

“We’re coming down to the last couple of decisions and we can’t let that sort of get in the way,” Boughner said. “For me, anyway, and the coaching staff, we’re looking at putting the best 20 guys out for Saturday the 16th against Winnipeg, and to me, nothing can sort of stand in the way of that. That’s our job.”

Boughner said he’ll likely dress a lineup Saturday against Vegas similar to the one he’ll have for the Oct. 16 season-opener. That will likely help finalize their decision on who to keep as their sixth and seventh defensemen, with Hatakka and Jake Middleton squarely in the mix for those jobs.

Knyzhov, who was impressive as a rookie last season and is out for unspecified reasons, has to be considered doubtful to be available Oct. 16 at this stage considering he has yet to practice in camp. The Sharks were hopeful, though, that he could start to skate on his own by the end of this week, but being on IR on Oct. 11 seems more likely than not at this point.

The 20-year-old Hatakka is a good skater who plays a simple, steady game that belies his age. Middleton, 25, adds a physical dimension that Boughner appreciates. Nicolas Meloche is also in camp, but only recently started skating with the group and has yet to play in a preseason game, and might have to go through waivers.

Where Hatakka and Middleton fit if they do make the team is still unknown. Both have played games alongside Karlsson in the preseason in the spot that would have otherwise belonged to Knyzhov.

“I’m hoping to play a lot of minutes and I’m going to play with a lot of different guys,” Karlsson said. “I think that we have eight or 10 guys in there … that can play with everybody.”

Who’s left on the Sharks’ camp roster

FORWARDS (17): Rudolfs Balcers, Alexander Barabanov, Nick Bonino, Andrew Cogliano, Logan Couture, Jonathan Dahlen, William Eklund, Dylan Gambrell, Tomas Hertl, Evander Kane, Kevin Labanc, Timo Meier, Matt Nieto, Lane Pederson, Adam Raska, Jeffrey Viel, Jasper Weatherby.

DEFENSEMEN (9): Brent Burns, Mario Ferraro, Santeri Hatakka, Erik Karlsson, Nikolai Knyzhov, Nicolas Meloche, Jacob Middleton, Radim Simek, Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

GOALTENDERS (3): Adin Hill, Alexei Melnichuk, James Reimer.