2023 San Jose Sharks opening night roster announced

The time for speculation is over. The San Jose Sharks have announced who will be on the opening night roster.

Injuries have impacted what the team will look like to start the season. What’s more, the team is carrying more defensemen than most, opting to go with two extra defensemen and one extra forward to reach the 23-man limit.

San Jose Sharks forwards for opening night

On the roster for opening night are the following players:
Alexander Barabanov
Thomas Bordeleau
Anthony Duclair
William Eklund
Mikael Granlund
Tomas Hertl
Mike Hoffman
Luke Kunin
Kevin Labanc
Givani Smith
Nico Sturm
Filip Zadina
Fabian Zetterlund

Logan Couture and Mitchell Russell are both considered injured non-roster players. According to San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng because Couture came into camp injured, he receives a different designation and so did not have to be placed on the injured reserve list as is customary for roster players.

Looking at the list provided by the Sharks, it’s doubtful that there would be much difference in the forward lines than what we saw against the Vegas Golden Knights last week.

If that’s the case, the lines should break down something like this:

Filip Zadina – Tomas Hertl – Mike Hoffman
Alexander Barabanov – Thomas Bordeleau – Anthony Duclair
William Eklund – Mikael Granlund – Luke Kunin
Fabian Zetterlund – Nico Sturm – Kevin Labanc

Zetterlund would be on Sturm’s wing instead of Peterson, who cleared waivers last week. However, it’s just as likely that Smith could slot into that fourth line for either Zetterlund or Labanc.

San Jose Sharks defensemen for opening night

Turning to the defensemen, the following players are on the roster for Oct. 12:
Matt Benning
Kyle Burroughs
Ty Emberson
Mario Ferraro
Nikolai Knyzhov
Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun
Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Meanwhile, Nikita Okhotiuk is considered a non-roster injured player because he hasn’t played a game for the Sharks yet. Jacob MacDonald and Radim Simek are on injured reserve, which means their injuries will last longer than a week.

It’s tough to guess who will be on the ice for the home opener. If you work off of the last preseason game of the season, it would be the following:

Mario Ferraro – Kyle Burroughs
Nikolai Knyzhov – Matt Benning
Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Ty Emberson

The trouble with that lineup is it negates the presence of Thrun. There’s no reason for the Sharks to keep Thrun up in the NHL if he’s not going to play. He’s still waiver exempt and ice time in the AHL is better than no ice time in the NHL.

Plus, there’s the little issue of the power play. Of the players on the above list, Thrun is the best puck moving defenseman the team has. San Jose cannot play two power play units consisting of a total of 10 forwards. It will need to put a defenseman in there somewhere and until someone else steps up, Thrun is the team’s best option.

So, Thrun will likely factor in as one of the Sharks’ six defensemen. The best guess is that Emberson sits so he can watch the Sharks’ systems from the press box. As for the second defenseman sitting, it’s probably Rutta. Rutta was injured during preseason and while he’s practicing with the team at the moment, the Sharks might want to make sure he’s truly ready to go before the coaches put him into the lineup.

San Jose Sharks goaltenders for opening night

There are no surprises in net for San Jose. The Sharks completed all of its roster moves in that regard early last week.

Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen will share the net for the Sharks this season. Given how Kahkonen played in his last game of the preseason, it’s his net to earn on opening night.

Other new additions to SAP Center

Speaking of the opening night lineup, it sounds like the Sharks have solidified the food lineup for the season.

Sharks’ President Jonathan Becher tweeted out a list of the new food options at SAP. On the list, Bibo’s New York pizza, a well known pizza place in Willow Glen. There’s also Voyager Craft Coffee, a small locally owned chain.

The Sharks will open the season against the Vegas Golden Knights at 7:30 p.m. at SAP Center.

Before the game, there will be a food festival on Barack Obama Blvd. that will include music, merchandise and more. All fans in attendance will receive a Sharks Schedule Apron. If you can’t attend the game, you can catch it live on NBC Sports Bay Area.