As we head into the 2026-27 season, there are a lot of milestones to keep an eye on for the San Jose Sharks players, the young and the veteran alike. We expect a lot of points this season, which means players will hit those milestones. So, here are some of the markers to look out for as we head into the season.
First goal/First point as an NHL player
Let’s start out with the easy ones. We know who has made the team already, so with game one tonight, keep an eye on Ivar Stenberg and Luca Cagnoni. Stenberg is on the hunt for his first NHL goal and his first NHL point. Both of those can come tonight either on the power play or with his linemates. As for Cagnoni, he’s still looking for that elusive first career NHL goal. Now that he’s potentially getting top power play time, Cagnoni could net that goal tonight, especially against the penalty-prone Florida Panthers.
Other players to keep an eye on throughout the season. Eric Pohlkamp, Filip Bystedt, Quentin Musty and Andre Gasseau. If any of them get a call up during the season, they’ll be looking for their first NHL points and goals.
100 NHL games played
Okay, away from some of those more rookie stats and into a little more serious stuff. 100 NHL games played is a good milestone marker for the young guys on the team and closest to that mark is young Sam Dickinson. The kid is 72 games into his career, but it looks like he’s hit a bit of a stumbling block. He’s not expected to be in the opening night lineup, which means it’s likely to be a little bit longer for him to achieve the milestone. Still, with just 28 games to reach the marker, we suspect he’ll hit it by the end of the season.
Then there’s Michael Misa and Nolan Allan, who are both in the same ballpark of games played. Misa has 45 and Allan has 43. We’re certain that barring anything major happening, Misa will surpass 100 games this season. Allan has a shot, especially if he takes his opportunity on opening night and runs with it.
Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov needs 37 more starts to reach 100 games played. So far in his career, he has a 26-27-6 record. This season could make it look A LOT better.
Finally, we have Igor Chernyshov. The transition to an 84-game season gives Chernyshov a slightly better chance of making it to 100 games. He’s played 28 so far, so he’ll have to stay healthy and motivated if he wants to hit 100 this season. There are a lot of forwards chomping at the bit to get into the lineup and Chernyshov will have to stay ahead of them all if he’s going to hit the milestone.
200 NHL games played
The 200 NHL games played milestone has another handful of players nearing it. First up is defenseman Michael Kesselring, who could reach the 200 games played mark this month. Kesselring has played 190 games so far in his career and needs just 10 more.
Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini came into the league together, and they’re close to reaching the 200-game mark. Celebrini has 152 games played, so he needs 48 more. If all goes well, he should reach it on Jan. 8 at home against the Washington Capitals.
Smith’s injury last season put him a little bit behind Celebrini in games played, so Smith has just 143 games to his name. Just the same, he’s likely to reach 200 games played in January as well.
Then there are Collin Graf and Zack Ostapchuk, at 121 and 122 games played, respectively. If both stay healthy the whole season and stay in the lineup, they’ll just barely hit 200 games played.
300 & 400 NHL games played
We’re curious to see if he reaches this milestone and if he does, will it be with the Sharks, but Ty Dellandrea is on track to potentially hit 300 games played this season. Dellandrea has 265 games under his belt, but there are a lot of young players pushing their way into the lineup, and his contract makes him a potential trade target as the season wears on.
Then there’s the 400 games played milestone, where Mason Marchment and Adam Gaudette are both close. Marchment is slightly closer. He has 370 games played and is on the roster for opening night. Meanwhile, Gaudette has 367 games played and is day-to-day with an injury. Even when he was healthy, he wasn’t considered a staple in the Sharks’ lineup so 400 games is further away than it looks.
Finally, there’s Kiefer Sherwood, who has 337 games played. Provided he’s healthy, Sherwood should hit 400 games played toward the tail end of this season.
800 & 900 NHL games played
Now we’re getting into the big numbers. The first one being 800 games played. Darnell Nurse sits at 798 games played going into tonight’s game. If all goes well, he’ll play in game 800 on Saturday night against the Los Angeles Kings.
Barclay Goodrow has 731 career games to his name. We think he’ll hit 800 games this season…
As for the 900 games played marker, Alex Wennberg is 31 games out. He should be playing in game 900 in early December.
1,000 NHL games played
And these are the biggies. There are two players on the Sharks who are nearing 1,000 games played in the league. Tyler Toffoli and Dmitry Orlov are both expected to hit the milestone this season, with Toffoli possibly hitting it this December. Toffoli has 969 games played while Orlov has 949 games played. Provided they both stay healthy, the NHL veterans will give the kids something to look forward to.
100 NHL points
Graf currently sits at 59 points, but he had 46 last season and has a good shot at bettering that mark this season. Look for the third-year pro to put up better numbers and break the 100 NHL points plateau this season.
200 & 300 NHL points
Goodrow has 189 career NHL points and could, conceivably, break 200 points this year. That said, there’s some question about whether he’ll play the full 84-game season. Then there’s the fact that he only put up 12 points in 82 games last season. So, a lot will need to go right for Goodrow to achieve the milestone, but it’s possible.
Smith is another long shot to hit 200 points, but it’s also a possibility. The 21-year-old has 104 career points and registered 59 points in 69 games last season. That said, his game is still growing, and we suspect that he’s going to take another jump in development. He could very well put up 96 points this season. Is it unlikely? Yes. But we want you to be prepared, just in case it happens.
And then there’s young Celebrini who enters the season with 178 points. He’s a shoo-in to reach the 200-point milestone. With his more than a point-per-game pace, we’re guessing he’ll hit it in 18/19 games, which means sometime in early November. What’s crazy is, we’re not putting anything past Celebrini. If he takes a step forward in development and BETTERS his 115-point total from last season, then he could hit 300 points this season as well. He’d just need seven points more to reach the marker. With two more games this season than last, it’s doable.
400 NHL points
Finally, a tip of the bucket to Orlov, who is not only getting ready to skate in his 1,000th game this season, but could possibly score his 400th point. The defenseman has 364 career points, putting him 36 points away from the marker. And before you say that’s too many, Orlov had 37 points last season.
100 NHL goals
The player closest to the 100 career goals mark is Marchment, who has 95 career goals. He’s likely to hit 100 goals first; just five more and he’s there. We expect he’ll get to 100 before the year is done.
Then there’s young Celebrini. He has 70 career goals. He had 45 goals last season, so 30 this season is well within his reach. Expect him to reach 100 goals sometime in the winter.
Finally, there’s the maybe, just maybe it happens. Sherwood is sitting at 66 goals. He’s never had a 30-goal season, but given the right linemates, it could happen, right?
Nurse has 88 goals. The last time he scored 12 goals in a season was 2022-23. He could get a boost from that change of scenery people always talk about. If he does, he’ll hit 100 goals this season.
Then there’s Jacob Trouba. He’s currently at 84 goals. He’s never scored 16 goals in a season, but stranger things have happened.
100 wins
Goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic needs 8 more wins to reach 100 career wins, something the boys can definitely do for him this season. Even though Askarov is considered the Sharks’ starting netminder, look for Ned to get enough starts this season to make this possible.
Conclusion
Sharks fans are lucky in that they have more to cheer for this season than simple milestones. That said, the individual accomplishments of some players are still worth celebrating and it gives us another reason to look forward to each game.
