By admin 
SAN JOSE – When defenseman Luca Cagnoni signed his entry-level contract with the Sharks as a 19-year-old in 2024, he was determined to start his professional career that year and avoid returning to the Western Hockey League.
Read more Dream of being a mayor? An entire Northern CA town’s up for sale for $4.75 million
Two years and a few months later, Cagnoni basically has the same mindset. But instead of focusing on making the Barracuda’s roster, he’s determined to be in the Sharks’ lineup on opening night against the Florida Panthers.
“That’s definitely the goal,” Cagnoni said. “It’s kind of that next step, right? You’ve got to go out there and show that you deserve it.”
Cagnoni seemed to take a big step in that direction during the Sharks’ 2-1 shootout loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday at SAP Center.
Cagnoni, who turns 22 in December, created a handful of scoring chances, quarterbacked the first power-play unit, and led the Sharks with 22:43 of ice time.
Cagnoni, a left-shot, has been paired with Dmitry Orlov as he’s played on the right side since the start of training camp.
“Cagnoni was really good, really good start,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said. “I’m seeing some things we have to clean up and some situations playing his offside that we (need to) work on and understand of where we are in certain situations throughout the game. But I thought he made plays.”
Although some stiffer tests are likely ahead this preseason for Cagnoni, it would be a surprise now not to see him on the Sharks’ 23-man roster at the start of the regular season.
“He was awesome, super skilled, easy to play with,” said center Michael Misa, who scored the Sharks’ line regulation time goal Tuesday. “It’s nice when you’ve got him quarterbacking the power play. He moves the puck really well and is such a shifty player. He’s going to be good for us.”
The question about the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Cagnoni has always been if he could hold his own against NHL players in the defensive end. He’s far from a finished product in that respect, but after a summer of training, he appears further along than he was last season.
“Obviously I can’t go blow guys up,” Cagnoni said. “But I thought I was pretty good, stick on puck, I was in some good spots. A couple got past me; I just kind of have to learn from that.”
The Sharks finish the preseason with games against the Anaheim Ducks at home on Thursday and against the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday. How he competes against those teams, if he plays, will be another gauge of how ready he is.
The Sharks’ regular season opener is Oct. 1 at home against the Panthers.
“Every summer is just always a big summer,” Cagnoni said. “There’s always opportunities out there, no matter where you are, so, kind of just had to work hard and come here and show it.”
Other takeaways from Tuesday’s game
STENBERG LOOKS COMFORTABLE
Warsofsky may have to decide whether to keep the forward lines he’s had through the first several days of training camp, or make adjustments and let those new trios build chemistry.
Read more Saints Power Rankings Roundup: New Orleans Make Sharp Jump After Victory Over Ravens Week 2
Judging by Tuesday’s game, there appears to be little reason to split up the second line of Ivar Stenberg, Alexander Wennberg and winger Collin Graf.
Stenberg appeared comfortable in his NHL preseason debut, looking poised in the offensive zone while playing a heady, responsible game.
In the first two periods, he, Wennberg and Graf combined for five shots on goal and, per Natural Stat Trick, three of the Sharks’ five high-danger chances.
Asked after Tuesday’s game about keeping that line together, Warsofsky said, “We’ll see how it plays out. We’ll get to watch some video of it, go through the games. Believe it or not, we watch all the practices as well and see what we’re seeing and kind of go through it as we get going here.”
It wasn’t the stiffest competition for Stenberg and the Sharks on Tuesday, as the Golden Knights left most of their NHL roster back in Las Vegas aside from starting goalie Carter Hart, who made 28 saves. Still, it was an encouraging sign for the Sharks that Stenberg is adapting to the smaller North American-sized ice.
“Up and down. Some good stuff, but also some stuff I need to improve on,” Stenberg said when asked to evaluate his game Tuesday, adding that he wants to find more time and space and “create a little bit more.”
ASKAROV APPEARS ‘CALM’
It’s easy to forget that during last year’s preseason, goalie Yaroslav Askarov went 0-3-0 with an .855 save percentage.
Askarov didn’t get the win Tuesday, but he looked a lot more comfortable than he did at any time during last year’s preseason
Askarov had 13 saves in the first two periods and finished with 22 for the game. There has never been much question about his reflexes or athleticism, but he struggled at times as a rookie in 2025-26 to make the saves expected of an NHL goalie.
Two of Askarov’s more notable saves came midway through the second period: he made a glove save on Jonas Rondbjerg’s close-range chance and a pad save on a Jackson Hallum breakaway a few seconds later, as he got behind the Sharks’ defense.
“I thought he was really good, sharp early, made some saves, got into it,” Warsofsky said. “He was a lot more calm than we’ve seen him with some puck touches. We’ve got to get the communication down with our defensemen, but I thought he was good.”
Askarov will likely play at least one more game this preseason, possibly in the preseason finale on Saturday in Las Vegas in what could be a tremendous test for him and the team.
Read more Final arguments begin in fatal crash case against Sacramento Kings minority owner
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published September 22, 2026 at 11:42 PM.