By admin 
SAN JOSE – Twenty-five players are on the for this weekend’s Rookie Faceoff event at Tech CU Arena and Sharks Ice.
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Some are ticketed to return to their major junior teams soon after the event ends. Several others will, at some point this month, be assigned to the Barracuda of the AHL or Wichita of the ECHL. A select few should start the season with the Sharks in the NHL.
Still, the Sharks’ roster, with a combined eight first- or second-round draft picks, is expected to be the deepest of the five teams at the event, with several players ready to make an impact at the professional level, either this season or in the future.
The Sharks’ team plays the Los Angeles Kings’ rookie team on Saturday and the Utah Mammoth’s squad on Sunday, with both games at 5 p.m. at Tech CU Arena. The Anaheim Ducks, Colorado Avalanche, and Vegas Golden Knights are also sending teams.
Tickets, as of Thursday, were $34 for each game – compared to the roughly $25 it costs for an upper deck seat at the Sharks’ first preseason game on Sept. 22 at SAP Center against Vegas – or $54 for an all-game pass.
Here are the 10 most intriguing Sharks players competing this weekend.
FILIP BYSTEDT, center – Bystedt last season was on the verge of getting called up to the Sharks for the first time in his career. This month, Bystedt will have a tough time cracking the opening week roster, with Macklin Celebrini, Alexander Wennberg, Michael Misa and Zack Ostapchuk slated to start as the Sharks’ four centermen. While Bystedt might start the year in the AHL, his NHL debut feels closer now than ever before.
IGOR CHERNYSHOV, winger – Chernyshov remains waivers-exempt, so there’s a chance he could start the season in the AHL if he is drastically outshined by another young winger in training camp. That would be a big disappointment – and a surprise – considering how good Chernyshov looked last season with 19 points in 28 NHL games. Although the Sharks are deeper up front than last season, the Russian forward can start the year in the NHL if he plays well.
ANDRE GASSEAU, center – The Sharks liked Gasseau’s potential so much that they acquired his rights from the Boston Bruins in mid-June for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick. At 6-foot-4, 210 pounds, Gasseau is big and plays big, and should greatly benefit from a season in the AHL learning the pro game while improving his skill set.
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CAM LUND, winger – Lund was enjoying a strong season with the Barracuda and might have earned a call-up had his season not ended in February with an injury. He’ll likely start this season in the AHL, but he’s definitely on the Sharks’ radar, and figures to be one of the first in line for a recall if the big club has injuries and needs a top-nine winger.
MICHAEL MISA, center – Misa, in his second year as a professional, is one of the Sharks’ most intriguing players. Following February’s Olympic break, he showed steady improvement and was tied for third on the Sharks roster with seven goals in his final 27 games. He averaged 12:49 in ice time as a rookie, a number that will likely increase as a middle-six center in year two.
QUENTIN MUSTY, winger – This is a big year for Musty. While he’ll be hard-pressed to make the Sharks’ roster out of camp, he still needs to take a step forward in his development after a good but perhaps not great year with the Barracuda in his first season as a pro. If he does take steps, an NHL call-up isn’t out of the question.
IVAR STENBERG, winger – All eyes will be on Stenberg this weekend. Taken second overall at the NHL draft in June, Stenberg, who will turn 19 on Sept. 30, has the skill set and the intangibles needed to make the Sharks roster out of camp. He still has to play well, though, as the Sharks have the option of sending him to the Barracuda if they feel he’s not quite NHL-ready. If he starts the year in the NHL, the Sharks may, for health reasons, keep him out of the lineup in back-to-back games to begin the season.
ALEXANDER KARMANOV, defenseman – No one will stand out this weekend quite like Karmanov, the 7-foot-1, 275-pound rearguard drafted 201st overall by the Sharks in June. Will anyone try to hit him? Or get in his way on a rush up the ice? He could make a big impression – literally – before the Sharks return him to the OHL.
ERIC POHLKAMP, defenseman – There’s a lot of intrigue surrounding Pohlkamp, the NCAA’s top-scoring defenseman last season who became a Hobey Baker Award finalist. There are jobs to be won at camp for young Sharks defensemen, and starting this weekend, Pohlkamp will get his chance to stand out. Still, as a first-year pro, Pohlkamp would probably be best served long-term by starting the season with the Barracuda.
LEO SAHLIN-WALLENIUS, defenseman – Drafted 53rd overall by the Sharks in 2024, Sahlin-Wallenius is finally in San Jose after spending parts of the last two seasons in the Swedish Hockey League. He’s a tremendous skater with sound puck distribution skills, but he will obviously need time to adapt to the North American game, like fellow prospect defenseman Mattias Havelid did last season, by being harder to play against in his own zone. He’ll start the year in the AHL and get an opportunity to play significant minutes.
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This story was originally published September 11, 2026 at 5:36 AM.