The San Jose Barracuda are getting ready to celebrate the team’s 10-year anniversary, which means that ten years ago, the team had to officially move from Worcester, Mass. to San Jose to help form the Pacific Division of the AHL. To create the first ever Barracuda roster 10 years ago, on July 2, 2015, the Sharks signed players like, then player now current Barracuda head coach John McCarthy, Patrick McNally, Mark Cundari, Michael Haley and Bryan Lerg, who would be named captain of the team in that inaugural season.
Those players were added to the mix of Sharks prospects already within the Sharks’ system. The Sharks moved players like Daniil Tarasov and Aaron Dell to San Jose along with former first-round pick Nikolay Goldobin, Joonas Donskoi, who went on to score the most important Stanley Cup Final goal in Sharks history, Ryan Carpenter, Joakim Ryan, Dylan DeMelo and Troy Grosenick.
Former Fear the Fin writer Derek Tanabe sketched out the Barracuda lineup as something like this:
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| Nikolay Goldobin | Bryan Lerg | Joonas Donskoi |
| Daniil Tarasov | Jeremy Langlois | Nikita Jevpalovs |
| Michael Haley | John McCarthy | Ryan Carpenter |
| Petter Emanuelsson |
| Left Defense | Right Defense |
| Karl Stollery | Dylan DeMelo |
| Mark Cundari | Patrick McNally |
| Joakim Ryan | Julius Bergman |
| Goaltenders |
| Troy Grosenick |
| Aaron Dell |
Tanabe also suggested that then-22-year-old Barclay Goodrow could get a full season in the AHL and that then-20-year-old and former 18th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Mirco Mueller, could also get a look with the Barracuda. With hindsight, we know how things turned out with both of those players.
The San Jose Barracuda shared SAP Center with the Sharks for the team’s inaugural season and were sponsored by Barracuda Networks, a match that appeared to be meant to be. Head Coach Roy Sommer moved from Worcester to San Jose and transitioned with the team.
It was during that inaugural season that Sommer broke the record for most wins by an AHL coach, winning his 637th game on Feb. 10, 2016, against the Ontario Reign. The Barracuda finished the 2015-16 season with a 31-26-8-3 record and made the Pacific Division semifinals, but ultimately lost to the aforementioned Reign.
