San Jose Sharks: Which development camp players could make the team?

Now that the San Jose Sharks 2019 development camp is officially over, let’s take a look at some of the players who stood out and could make the roster come September.

The San Jose Sharks have gone through quite a lot of roster turnover this offseason. While most teams head into free agency with hopes and aspirations of landing a collection of free-agent targets, the Sharks goal was simple.

They just wanted to re-sign as many of their own players as possible.

Of course, fitting all of these players’ contracts under the salary cap was always going to be a difficult challenge. But now that the dust has settled, it’s safe to say that general manager Doug Wilson did a pretty good job given the resources he was handed.

Still, the likes of Joe Pavelski, Gustav Nyquist, and Joonas Donskoi are gone. The same goes for longtime defenseman Justin Braun who was shipped to Philadelphia last month.

With all those spots open, we’re sure to see some of the younger talents in the Sharks organization step up to try and fight for a roster spot.

While most of the development camp roster is typically reserved for players who will be spending a good portion of the season in the AHL or elsewhere, we’ve seen certain players on the summer roster make an impact with the Sharks later that year.

Take young center Dylan Gambrell who was recalled to the Sharks late in the season and even scored a crucial goal in one of his two playoff appearances. Now, the 22-year-old is in-line to earn a roster spot in training camp.

So which players stood out this year? And more importantly, who might we see up with the Sharks at some point this season?

There was perhaps no greater standout from the Sharks 2019 development camp than 20-year-old left-winger Ivan Chekhovich. Chekhovich has been given a look with the San Jose Barracuda in each of the last two seasons and has impressed in each stint.

The budding Russian star spent most of last season in the QMJHL putting up monstrous numbers totaling 105 points (43 goals, 62 assists) before joining the Barracuda’s roster for their playoff run.

Chekhovich is an innovative offensive-minded forward with a powerful shot and savvy skating ability. With a strong showing in training camp, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Chekhovich earn a spot with the Sharks from day one.

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At the very least, his development camp performance may have secured him an NHL stint at sone point this season.

Elsewhere, Huntington Beach native Sasha Chmelevski turned some heads this summer with his standout performance in development camp. Chmelevski is fresh off a seven-point showing for Team USA in the World Junior’s competition and could see time with the Sharks this season.

He’ll likely have more of an uphill battle to make the roster than Chekhovich, but don’t be surprised to see him split time between the two San Jose clubs.

Finally, there’s young blue-liner Mario Ferraro who will be looking to follow the trajectory of his UMass-Amherst teammate, Cale Makar, and jump straight from college to the NHL. And after a solid showing in development camp, he’s one step closer to achieving that goal.

Ferraro is a quick skater with a high motor and while he isn’t the biggest defenseman — he’s only 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds — he plays tougher and isn’t one to shy away from contact.

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While the likes of Tim Heed and Jacob Middleton seem most likely to earn the sixth defenseman job this summer, Ferraro could put his name in consideration with a strong training camp.

However, it’s more likely that Ferraro spends most of the year down with the Barracuda hopefully earning a late-season call-up before the postseason. If Ferraro could put himself in position to earn a top-six defenseman role next season, then that should be considered a win.

Ultimately, the player who put themselves in the best shape to make the Sharks roster out of the gate was undoubtedly Chekhovich. Still, it would be surprising to see any of the aforementioned players actually make it on the roster at least right away.

But we could feasibly see each of these players up with the Sharks at some point next season, with Chekhovich and Ferraro being the most likely.

The next generation of San Jose Sharks will soon be making their arrivals. And this year’s development camp gave us a glimpse of just how bright the future is.