David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News has the Sharks season-opening roster on his blog without any real surprises on the list. Rookie forwards Tomas Hertl (1st round 2012), Matthew Nieto (2nd round 2011) and Freddie Hamilton (5th round 2010) made the squad.
Hertl and Nieto were expected additions given the Raffi Torres injury and their strong showing in preseason. Hamilton is a bit more surprising, but with Adam Burish and Brad Stuart out for opening night it’s not completely out of left field.
Alex Stalock will be the back-up for Antti Niemi, ending the least interesting goaltender battle of all time.
Assuming these rookies get playing time, it will be the first time a Sharks player will play for the team while being younger than the franchise. The Sharks start their 23rd season on Thursday. (Hat tip to Twitter person @FirstHeart42 for that nugget)
NHL regular season play gets going tomorrow night, but the Sharks will have to wait a couple of days to open their season at home against the Vancouver Canucks.
As many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our