The San Jose Sharks opened their 2026-27 season with a bang against the Florida Panthers and SAP Center brought the noise.
Many players who have played at least one season with the Sharks said Thursday’s crowd was the loudest they’ve ever heard. But the veteran players GM Mike Grier brought in over the offseason noticed a difference from when they were opponents.
100% there was a difference. Since I was a kid, that was the loudest I’ve heard it,” Mason Marchment said. “Growing up, people always said the Shark Tank was one of the hardest rinks to come in and play in. The fans are so loud, it feels like they’re right on top of you, and you definitely felt that last night. It was really nice to see.”
Right from warmups, San Jose Sharks fans were louder than they’ve been in recent years. While home openers are always sold out, the buzz inside the tank was noticeably different.
Head coach Ryan Warsofsky got a massive cheer from the crowd when he was introduced. Instead of a calm wave, the Sharks coach threw his fist in the air almost as if he was cheering with them. But that’s not why Warsofsky did that.
“We all want to reward our fans. This has been tough. [I’m] going into my fifth year. There were some tough years before we’ve gotten to this point, and they’ve stuck with us,” Warsofsky said. “You could feel the energy coming into the rink, and you could just feel the atmosphere before the players were announced. I thought that was great. That was the first time I’ve witnessed it that loud, and we want to keep that going. It was more thanks for being behind us, and we’re gonna keep putting a product on the ice that [fans] are proud of.”
Darnell Nurse played against the Sharks for years while he was with the Edmonton Oilers. He’s now had the crowd totally against him and now totally behind him. Like Marchment, Nurse has acknowledged that playing at the SAP Center at its peak was one of the hardest things to do.
“You could feel it from the start of the game. Hits, good checking, goals, chances, you feel the building and the crowd on top of you,” Nurse told SHD exclusively. “As the home team, it was a lot of fun. You could feel a lot of support. You fed off the energy, so hopefully [the fans] keep that going all year.”
Both Nurse and Marchment got to skate through the giant Shark head for the first time in the regular season last night. For Marchment, it was a full-circle moment after he grew up in San Jose.
“That was a cool, cool moment. One I’ll definitely remember for a long time,” Marchment said.
Nurse doesn’t have that sort of connection to San Jose like his new teammate, but the Shark head left an impression on his son.
“It was awesome. My kids love the shark head,” Nurse said. “When you’re coming out as a player, it’s kind of just a dome. The kids were all fired up about it. The jerseys were great too, so it was cool. It was just a cool experience all around.”
The San Jose Sharks will wear their Cali-Fin jerseys for the first time on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings.