Nearly five months after their season ended at the hands of the Grand Rapids Griffins, the San Jose Barracuda will host the defending Calder Cup Champions in their home opener at SAP Center on October 13, the AHL announced today.
9️⃣5️⃣ days until #SJBarracuda hockey is BACK 👏 P.S. You don’t want to miss this rematch pic.twitter.com/VrEMYzKUfJ
— San Jose Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) July 10, 2017
San Jose is coming off of its most successful season in franchise history, finishing the regular season as the Western Conference’s top seed and advancing out of the second round for the first time in Sharks AHL affiliate history. The Griffins eliminated the Barracuda in five games in the Western Conference Finals in May.
It’s not yet known how many players for San Jose, or Grand Rapids, will remain in the AHL for the rematch. Kevin Labanc, Tim Heed, Timo Meier, Danny O’Regan, and Joakim Ryan will be in the mix for roster spots with the Sharks this fall. Tomas Nosek, Grand Rapids’ leading playoff scorer, was claimed by Vegas in the Expansion Draft, while former linemates Tyler Bertuzzi and Martin Frk will have a chance to make the Detroit Red Wings out of training camp.
The Barracuda will open its home slate nine days after the Sharks do the same against the Philadelphia Flyers. The full AHL schedule will be released tomorrow.
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