{"id":290321,"date":"2025-10-09T22:11:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T22:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/290321\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T22:11:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T22:11:10","slug":"preview-lines-1-misa-dickinson-wont-make-nhl-debut-on-opening-nightrelax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/290321\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview\/Lines #1: Misa, Dickinson Won\u2019t Make NHL Debut on Opening Night\u2026Relax"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Misa<\/a> and Sam Dickinson<\/a> had good training camps, but not good enough.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the truth of why San Jose Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky is choosing to sit them out on opening night, instead of giving them their NHL debuts.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s no knock on 2025 No. 2 pick Misa, just 18, or 2024 No. 11 Dickinson, who was leaps and bounds better than he was last camp.<\/p>\n

But was Misa better in camp, including games, scrimmages, and practices than his center competition, Macklin Celebrini, Alex Wennberg, Ty Dellandrea, or Adam Gaudette?<\/p>\n

Celebrini and Wennberg are established, while Warsofsky praised Ty Dellandrea<\/a>\u2019s camp and called Adam Gaudette\u2019s line his most consistent.<\/p>\n

Was Dickinson better in camp than his left defense competition, Nick Leddy, Mario Ferraro, or Dmitry Orlov?<\/p>\n

I will say that\u2019s a little more debatable than Misa better than his aforementioned center competition, but Leddy, Ferraro, and Orlov are also veteran NHL defensemen who have played top-four minutes consistently throughout their careers.<\/p>\n

Misa and Dickinson did not take a veteran\u2019s job, unlike say winger Collin Graf, who pushed out the likes of 27-year-old Carl Grundstrom, just dealt to the Philadelphia Flyers.<\/p>\n

Anyway, it\u2019s just one game.<\/p>\n

\u201cDicky and Mis are going to play. They\u2019re not going to be out all season or for a long period of time,\u201d Warsofsky said.<\/p>\n

All this could be said about veteran Alex Nedeljkovic getting the opening night nod over starter-in-waiting Yaroslav Askarov. Nedeljkovic gave up one goal in two pre-season games; top prospect Askarov surrendered 11 in three appearances.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not putting all the blame on Askarov in a team game, of course, but he certainly didn\u2019t seize the net on opening night either.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually love what he did in that Utah game. He battled. Besides the first goal [of six allowed], he probably doesn\u2019t have a chance on some of those, he made some big saves,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cJust going with an experienced guy tonight, against a really experienced team. It\u2019s not anything that Asky did wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yes, all this applies to winger Ethan Cardwell, who was sent down in favor of Graf, Barclay Goodrow<\/a>, and Ryan Reaves.<\/p>\n

Collin Graf<\/a> has emerged as a coach\u2019s favorite, while Goodrow and Reaves (with Gaudette) were part of Warsofsky\u2019s most regular line in camp, the only one that didn\u2019t change from the first day of camp.<\/p>\n

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Some key lines in #SJSharks<\/a> Black vs. White scrimmage.<\/p>\n

Noteworthy to see Kurashev & Gaudette up the middle, Mukhamadullin with Orlov:<\/p>\n

Graf-Kurashev-Afanasyev
Reaves-Gaudette-Goodrow
Cardwell-Ostapchuk-Olausson <\/p>\n

Mukhamadullin-Orlov
Cagnoni-Clayton<\/p>\n

Musty-Wennberg-Toffoli\u2026<\/p>\n

\u2014 Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) September 19, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cHe came up last year, and earned his spot, really,\u201d Warsofsky said of Graf. \u201cAnd through training camp, through the rookie tournament, he\u2019s earned it every single day he\u2019s here, and that\u2019s why he\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Otherwise, Cardwell wasn\u2019t likely to supplant any of the other top-nine San Jose Sharks wingers.<\/p>\n

Realistically, considering the Sharks were always likely, in full health, to start the season with 13 forwards, eight defensemen, and two goalies \u2014 to keep from sending Misa and Dickinson back to the OHL \u2014 Cardwell would have to take Graf\u2019s job.<\/p>\n

Unpopular as this may be with the fans, the coaching staff values what Goodrow and Reaves bring on and off the ice to the team. They also provide distinct qualities that the rest of the line-up doesn\u2019t have, especially Reaves \u2014 and they both had good camps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love our fans, but we\u2019re going to do what\u2019s best for our team,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna put the line-up out there that prepares us to win a hockey game tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Again, it\u2019s just one game. Relax.<\/p>\n

Frankly, Dellandrea is 25, and has never shown enough offense to be an everyday third-line center. 30-something\u2019s Orlov and Leddy were top players not so long ago, but their best years may be past them. Goodrow and Reaves had good camps, but they struggled at times last regular season. Nedelkjovic has been given opportunities to be a No. 1 guy in the past, and it\u2019s never panned out for the 29-year-old.<\/p>\n

All this is to say, if you\u2019re all the Future is Teal, and are upset that Misa and Dickinson and Askarov and Cardwell aren\u2019t getting their opportunity on opening night\u2026well, chances are, they will all play soon.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to help our team now and in the future,\u201d Warsofsky said of Misa and Dickinson, but he could\u2019ve been talking about any of the aforementioned prospects.<\/p>\n

The Future is Teal, not now, which means that the 2025-26 San Jose Sharks aren\u2019t exactly the 1976 Montreal Canadiens.<\/p>\n

So barring a long winning streak to start the year \u2014 which would be great news! \u2014 you could see the future on the ice as soon as the very next game on Saturday.<\/p>\n

San Jose Sharks (0-0-0)<\/p>\n

Alex Nedeljkovic will start.<\/p>\n

These are tonight\u2019s lines:<\/p>\n

Kurashev-Celebrini-Smith
Eklund-Wennberg-Toffoli
Skinner-Dellandrea-Graf
Goodrow-Gaudette-Reaves<\/p>\n

Leddy-Klingberg
Ferraro-Liljegren
Orlov-Mukhamadullin<\/p>\n

Nedeljkovic<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights (0-0-1)<\/p>\n

This is how the Golden Knights dressed in Wednesday\u2019s 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings.<\/p>\n

\n

Lineup as expected for VGK in the opener.<\/p>\n

Barbashev-Eichel-Marner
Saad-Hertl-Dorofeyev
Smith-Karlsson-Stone
Howden-Sissons-Kolesar<\/p>\n

McNabb-Theodore
Hanifin-Whitecloud
Lauzon-Korczak<\/p>\n

Hill<\/p>\n

\u2014 SinBin.vegas (@SinBinVegas) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Akira Schmid should draw the start.<\/p>\n

For all your Vegas Golden Knights<\/a> updates, go to Vegas Hockey Now!<\/p>\n

Where To Watch<\/p>\n

Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights is at 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on ESPN+ and Hulu. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.<\/p>\n

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