The San Jose Sharks kicked off their preseason with a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Michael Misa, Jeff Skinner, John Klingberg, and other new Sharks made their unofficial debut at the SAP Center.
Here are the main takeaways from the victory:
The kids are alright: Misa, Dickinson, Musty shine in key moments
While Sam Dickinson and Quentin Musty had already made an appearance in a Sharks preseason game before, last night was Misa’s first experience.
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The No. 2 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft told reporters that he was just happy to be out on the ice with his team.
“After my first shift, it kind of clocked me. Like, this is happening. It was a great feeling out there. I’m happy to play today,” Misa said.
As for Dickinson and Musty, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said he was impressed with their performance.
“Sam played a really solid game. Was trying to be more in control. Again, another guy makes the play off of the face-off,” Warsofsky said. “I thought Musty had a really good first period. I thought the second was just okay, but he responded with a solid third period.”
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All three players were on the ice at the end of the game for a critical defensive zone draw with the Golden Knights’ net empty. Misa hadn’t been winning many face-offs, going 5-14, but he came up big at the end.
“Misa, I loved the face-off at the end of the game. I think that’s competitive. That’s a hockey play right there. That’s a guy who wants to win,” Warsofsky said. “I can tell you right now, this organization there’s some bright days ahead. Some really good young players coming.”
Sharks’ new vets look like a great fit
John Klingberg has dealt with multiple hip injuries, which almost ended his NHL career. Now healthy, the defenseman looks like he could be a strong contributor for the Sharks.
The former Edmonton Oilers defenseman was the quarterback for the Sharks’ top power play unit. After Tyler Toffoli supported Misa on a face-off, he fed Klingberg at the point. The Swedish d-man showcased what made him one of the NHL’s best puck-moving players by walking the blue line and firing a wrister for a goal.
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Skinner was teammates with Klingberg in Edmonton last season. The winger told reporters that Klingberg is the perfect player for the San Jose Sharks to add.
“I think any team wants a really good, skilled right-handed d-man. That’s probably at the top of the list of most GMs out there. Everyone saw he was really effective and impacted the game in a real positive way,” Skinner said. “Today, I thought he played well. You can see him on the power play. [He’s] dynamic. He’s got a lot of skill, makes a lot of plays. As a forward, that makes the game easier.”
Skinner also benefited from a strong game. Skinner finished with a goal off a great feed from Dickinson. Will Smith fed the Sharks’ top prospect with a smooth spinning pass before Dickinson showed his offensive talent to feed Skinner.
“I kind of got confused behind the net in our zone [because of the] penalty. The goalie was standing in a weird spot, so I didn’t know what was going on,” Dickinson said. “But once I saw that, I figured I’d get up in the rush. Then a really nice pass by Smitty. [The defender] went down, [so I just had to] get around him, and put the puck to the net.”
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Barring injury, Sharks’ goalies should be solid
Also making his unofficial San Jose Sharks debut, goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic played the whole game and pitched a 24-save shutout.
Warsofsky said the team had a pretty good idea that he would play the entire game going in. The game started sloppily for both sides. A sloppy start is to be expected due to both franchises not playing hockey for months.
Nedeljkovic had to be sharp early, as the Sharks were outshot 9-4 in the first period. He stopped a breakaway late in the third period to keep the score 2-0.
“Goalie was good. Ned was really good. [He was] tracking pucks well,” Warsofsky said. “There were some moments in the third period that we need to learn from. Some moments in our game management, which I don’t want to keep harping on last year, but those are things that we have to learn from and teach really quickly here.”
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Warsofsky knows it, but didn’t say it with his answer that Nedeljkovic bailed his team out from time to time on Sunday.
Both Nedeljkovic and Yaroslav Askarov handle the puck very well. The former showcased his ability to connect with the defense on multiple occasions, leading to a clean breakout or penalty kill clearance.
The pairing of Askarov and Nedeljkovic could be a potential top 10-15 goalie tandem in the NHL as long as both stay healthy. The Sharks’ goaltending depth is a little thin, as they lack a true NHL-caliber third-string goalie to stash in the AHL.
The Sharks host the Golden Knights again on Friday night in their second preseason tilt of the 2025-26 season.
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