Sharks 2023 goaltending pipeline at a glance

There are six key goaltenders on the San Jose Sharks’ roster for training camp this season.* Some of them are familiar names. They have been with the Sharks for a few years now. Others are new faces that Sharks fans will need to get to know as the season moves forward.

*Note: There’s one other goalie at camp in Mason Beaupit, but he’s still a few years from factoring into even the Barracuda roster.

Starting in net for the Sharks

The top two names on the list are not going to surprise anyone. There is no question that Kaapo Kahkonen and Mackenzie Blackwood will backstop team teal this season. The real question is, which one will start in net?

Kaapo Kahkonen

Current age: 27
2021-22 season: 36 GP, 2.87 GAA, .912 SV%, 5.2 GSAx (with Minnesota Wild, SJS)
Last season: 37 GP, 3.85 GAA, .883 SV%, -21.58 GSAx
Contract: 2 years, $2.75 million AAV, expires at end of 2023-24 season

To say that Kahkonen had a down year with the Sharks would be an understatement. He was the other half of one of the worst goaltending duos in the NHL. His goals saved above average (GSAA) was -24.96 last season. That was 78th among goaltenders who played 500 minutes or more and there were only 79 players on the list.

Even though Kahkonen played about the same number of games he did in 2021-22, his goals agaisnt average (GAA) went up by nearly a goal, while his goals saved above expected (GSAx) dropped a staggering 26 points. He went from a positive GSAx in 2021-22 to a negative GSAx in just a season.

What’s next?

Kahkonen has spent the past year or so tweaking his game. In his exit interview, he admitted that sometimes, “you have to take a step back to take two steps forward” and it was clear he believed last season was his step back. If he’s right, then this season should be two steps forward for the goaltender.

It was only a year ago that JD Young wrote on Fear the Fin that Kahkonen was in the position to prove he could be a number one goaltender in the NHL. That’s still the case. If Kahkonen’s game adjustments were really what he needed, then this is the time for him to take that next step forward.

The Sharks’ defense is considered a weakness by many pundits and fans, so Kahkonen is going to face a lot of shots this season. This is perhaps his best and last chance to show that he’s an NHL starter. If he gets out of the gate slow or does not put in a solid performance throughout the season, it’s hard to believe that another NHL club would take a shot at making him anything more than a backup.

Season outlook

Like last season, the net is Kahkonen’s to take. His only competition is Mackenzie Blackwood, who had limited playing time last season with the New Jersey Devils because of an injury. Unless Blackwood or Kahkonen come in and hit it out of the park in training camp, Head Coach David Quinn will likely do what he did last season and alternate the goalies in net to start things out. The player who performs the best will get the starting job.

I’m cheating just a little bit by going off the preseason, but it looks like the adjustments Kahkonen has made to his game have made a difference. While more tweaks may need to be made, his game looks better than it did last season. At this point, I think Kahkonen takes the starting job.

He won’t be phenomenal because of the defense in front of him, but maybe he can play a John Gibson role a la the Anaheim Ducks and keep the team in games.

Mackenzie Blackwood

Current age: 26
2021-22 season: 25 GP, 3.39 GAA, .892 SV%, -14.57 GSAx (with New Jersey Devils)
Last season: 22 GP, 3.20 GAA, .893 SV%, 0.44 GSAx (with New Jersey Devils)
Contract: 2 years, $2.35 million AAV, expires at end of 2024-25 season

Mackenzie Blackwood arrived in San Jose via a trade during the 2023 NHL Draft. The Sharks handed over a sixth round pick in the draft to the New Jersey Devils and received the rights to Blackwood, who was about to become a restricted free agent. Blackwood had dropped down New Jersey’s depth chart after an impressive debut in 2018-19, where he played 23 games and had a 2.61 GAA and .918 SV% as a rookie. His sophomore season was just as good and it looked like the Devils had found their man. However, COVID cut the season short and Blackwood never seemed to find his footing afterward.

The Devils traded for young goaltender Vitek Vanecek and prospect Akira Schmid forced his way onto the roster thanks to his exceptional play last season. Blackwood was the odd man out.

What’s next?

One of the reasons Blackwood lost the starting job was his health. Over the past few years, he’s dealt with an MCL and groin injury and both affected his game. The injuries placed him on the injured reserve for most of November and December last season, opening the door for Schmid.

As he recovers, Blackwood told Sharks media that he’s found new ways to stay in shape and maintain his flexibility. Yoga and Pilates have become mainstays in his workout routine.

If Blackwood has fully recovered from his injuries last season, he may be able to return to the play he exhibited when he first broke into the league.

Season outlook

All players are going to sound confident when they speak to the media, but it truly sounded like Blackwood felt healthy. That’s good news for Sharks fans.

Blackwood will get his starts. I think this is truly a 1A, 1B situation for the Sharks coaching staff and Blackwood should get a few starts in the first ten games unless Kahkonen does something exceptional.

Based on what we saw in the preseason, Blackwood still has some things to tune up, so I’m not sure he’s stealing the starting goaltender job just yet. This season, the goal is to see if he can return to the form he showed in the 2019-2020 season when he posted a 2.77 GAA ad .915 SV% in 47 games.

I think he starts the season poorly, but his game takes a turn. Toward the end of this season, he should be able to get things up to at least a .900 SV%.

Battling it out with the Barracuda

If you’re looking for a goaltending competition, look no further than the Barracuda. There are as many as four players that could arguably vie for the two spots that get to wear the Barracuda jersey.

Eetu Makiniemi

Current age: 24
2021-22 season: 14 GP, 2.06 GAA, .922 SV% (with San Jose Barracuda)
Last season: 22 GP, 2.96 GAA, .900 SV% (with San Jose Barracuda)
Last season: 2 GP, 2.13 GAA, .906 SV% (with San Jose Sharks)
Contract: 1 year, $775, 000 AAV, expires at end of 2023-24 season

We’ll start things out with the incumbent on our list, Eetu Makiniemi. The Sharks had high hopes that Makiniemi would get a year’s worth of development with the Barracuda last season, pushing him one season closer to his NHL debut. Sadly, that was not the case. Makiniemi suffered a hip injury halfway through the season and did not play for the remainder of 2022-23.

Until the injury, Makiniemi had performed well for a Barracuda team that was in the mix but did not make the playoffs. He also made two appearances with the Sharks, where he had an admirable 2.13 GAA and .906 SV%.

What’s next?

Makiniemi did not travel with the Sharks for the Rookie Faceoff tournament but he was on the ice for the first day of training camp with the Sharks.

Eetu Makiniemi is on the ice. pic.twitter.com/l5xUPy9RCS

— Fear the Fin (@fearthefin) September 21, 2023

Like last season, everything that happens to Makiniemi moving forward will depend on his health. He was battling a lower-body injury to start last season and it kept him out of preseason play. He has yet to play a game for the Sharks this preseason either. Until Makiniemi gets a game in, it will be hard to say whether he’s completely recovered from his injuries.

Season outlook

When Makiniemi is healthy, he’s expected to be the starter for the Barracuda. It’s believed that at the current development level of all the goaltenders in the Sharks’ pipeline, Makiniemi is the furthest along. However, the gap is getting smaller.

Last season, it was Strauss Mann and veteran goaltender Aaron Dell behind Makiniemi on the depth chart. With them, it was a what you see is what you get scenario. They had likely reached the peak of their development.

However, this season, players like Magnus Chrona and Georgi Romanov look like they still have further to develop. While Makiniemi has the Barracuda starting job currently, one more injury could quickly drop him down the depth chart.

Magnus Chrona

Current age: 23
2021-22 season: 37 GP, 2.11 GAA, .911 SV% (with University of Denver)
Last season: 32 GP, 2.19 GAA, .916 SV% (with University of Denver)
Contract: 2 year, $867,500 AAV, expires at end of 2024-25 season

Magnus Chrona is an exciting young prospect that Sharks fans will finally get to see in person by way of the Barracuda. San Jose acquired Chrona from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021 in a trade that saw Fredrik Claesson go the other way.

Nothing changed in Chrona’s development after the trade. He continued to play for the University of Denver and finished out his junior and senior seasons with the Pioneers. In 2021-22, he backstopped Denver to an NCAA Championship and was named to the NCAA Championship All-Tournament team.

The following season, Denver lost to Cornell 2-0 in the first round of the tournament. Chrona stopped 25 of 27 shots in that game but received zero help on the offensive end of things. Having played his four years of university hockey, Chrona turned pro in the summer. He signed a two-year contract with the Sharks in April.

What’s next?

Goaltenders, notoriously, take longer to develop than other NHL players, so consider this just the next page in Chrona’s development. He will hear a lot of different voices in the coming months, working with Sharks’ goaltending coach Thomas Speer, along with long-time NHLers Evgeni Nabokov and Ryan Miller.

As we described in his prospect report, Chrona’s game is still somewhat unrefined, so what he does with those messages will help shape what happens next in his development.

Season outlook

Chrona’s goal this season should be to adapt to the speed and skill of the AHL. It could take a few weeks for that to happen or it could take a few months. It’s anyone’s guess. Expect the Barracuda to ease him into his goaltending role slowly to start and then take it from there.

Makiniemi, if healthy, will start the season as the Barracuda’s number one, but Chrona will eventually get his starts as well. I don’t think he’ll steal the starting job from Makiniemi if both are healthy, but he could make it a very tight competition toward the end of the season.

Georgi Romanov

Current age: 23
2021-22 season: 39 GP, 2.47, .919 SV% (with Gornyak-UGMK of Russia’s VHL)
Last season: 31 GP, 2.81 GAA, .907 SV% (with Gornyak-UGMK of Russia’s VHL)
Contract: 2 year, $910,000 AAV, expires at end of 2024-25 season

Young Georgi Romanov seemingly came out of nowhere, but the Sharks saw something they liked in the young prospect. In May, the team signed Romanov to a two-year deal worth $910,000 per year.

He spent most of last season playing in Russia’s second-highest tier of hockey, the VHL. Romanov finished the season with an 8-13-5 record but had a .907 SV% over those games. He played on some of Russia’s junior teams when he was younger, but not recently.

What’s next?

It was clear from his single outing for the Sharks during training camp this season that Romanov will need some seasoning on North American ice before he gets a shot at playing professional hockey. While it was clear that Romanov had the skills during that game, his positioning had not adapted to the size of the ice or the speed of the game. There were times when he looked like he was behind the play or surprised by shots.

Season outlook

In an ideal world, the Sharks find a way to send Romanov to the Wichita Thunder in the ECHL. San Jose currently has a backlog of goaltenders between Makiniemi, Chrona and Beck Warm, who we’ll talk about in a second. Romanov needs playing time if he’s going to start adapting his game to a different playing surface.

Luckily for the Sharks, a quick look at the Thunder’s preseason roster shows the team has a spot open for Romanov. As of Oct. 4, there’s only one goalie listed on the team’s preseason roster.

Beck Warm

Current age: 24
2021-22 season: 1 GP, 5.00, .800 SV% (with Chicago Wolves of AHL)
2021-22 season: 18 GP, 3.00, .912 SV% (with Norfolk Admirals of ECHL)
Last season: 2 GP, 3.52 GAA, .881 SV% (with Rochester Americans of AHL)
Last season: 43 GP, 3.01 GAA, .899 SV% (with Cincinnati Cyclones of ECHL)
Contract: 1 year contract with the San Jose Barracuda (signed in August 2023)

Beck Warm was signed in August of this year to the Barracuda only. The addition of him even though the Sharks already have Makiniemi and Chrona seemingly locked into the two goaltending spots in the AHL and young Romanov signed to a two-year deal is a bit odd, but the Sharks seem to be gathering as many goaltending tickets as the team can to try and build out the goalie prospect pool.

Warm has spent a few seasons in the ECHL and performed admirably though not impressively. He had a quality rookie outing with the Chicago Wolves in the AHL in 2020-21, when he finished 14 games with a 2.74 GAA and .914 SV%, but never seemed to find his footing at the higher level again. Since then, he’s had just three AHL starts in the past two seasons.

What’s next?

Warm’s next goal is to prove that he belongs at the AHL level. There’s a strong goaltending competition between Makiniemi and Chrona. Warm will have to insert himself into that competition if he wants starting time.

Season outlook

Warm will probably find himself loaned to an ECHL team like the Thunder this season. He’s likely the first call up if someone gets hurt but unless his game suddenly skyrockets to another level, it’s unlikely he jumps any of the players currently on the Sharks’ goaltending depth chart.