For Ryan Warsofsky, the Sharks’ 2025-26 NHL season is all about how they start — and the competition that ensues.

San Jose’s coach is focused on making sure the team doesn’t stumble early again, and is stressing the importance of a stronger start out of the gate.

“We have a really good plan in place for training camp and to start a season off the right way, which we all know is very important with the starts that we’ve had lately,” Warsofsky said in an interview with NBC Sports California’s Alan Hoshida. “So, again, just feeling more comfortable, I’d say it would be the biggest thing. And, hopefully that leads to, you know, get us up to a faster start.”

That urgency has shown up quickly, as the Sharks are coming off a 3-0 preseason win over the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday after their first four days of training camp.

Warsofsky, promoted to head coach in June last summer, became the youngest bench boss in the NHL at 36. He believes this group finally reflects the kind of competitive edge needed to turn the page.

“I talked to Mike [Grier] at the rookie tournament, this is probably the first year we have internal competition, and I think that’s what drives an organization,” Warsofsky explained. “You look around league teams that get better quickly because they have really internal competition. We have players that are fighting for spots, whether you’re a fourth-year player and in the National Hockey League or you’re a rookie coming out of the shell, you’re trying to make the hockey team and there’s spots to be made.”

That conversation stemmed from the Golden State Rookie Faceoff in Irvine, CA, where Sharks prospects faced Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings prospects. Their performance offered an early glimpse of San Jose’s young talent and set the tone for the training camp that closed Sunday, with Warsofsky stressing the fight for starting spots that he believes can push the Sharks ahead.

“I think that’s a big step where this organization is going is now that we have that internal competition, we expect our training camp to be, intense, and it’s going to be and it’s going to be hard.” Warsofsky added. “But, we believe that the competition is going to kind of rise to the top.”

That climb continues with one more preseason matchup against Vegas before the Sharks host the Golden Knights again in their Oct. 9 regular-season opener.

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