San Jose Sharks
Preseason Preview/Lines #5: What Does Warsofsky Want From Gushchin?
Danil Gushchin is joining the top-six.
It’s just preseason, but it’s a good shot for Gushchin to show that he deserves to break camp with the San Jose Sharks.
Gushchin and Fabian Zetterlund will flank Will Smith on Friday against the Anaheim Ducks.
The highly-skilled 22-year-old winger leads the Sharks with four points in two exhibition games.
“He’s had a really good camp,” Warsofsky said. “Looks quicker, looks faster, picking up the concepts.”
It’s not just about the offense for the 5-foot-8 Russian though.
“His details are getting there. He’s still got a little bit ways to go in that regard,” Warsofsky admitted.
The 2020 San Jose Sharks’ third-round pick, who’s waiver-exempt this year, is running out of time to establish himself as a full-time NHL’er, at least while on his entry-level contract. That ELC expires after this season.
So what’s Warsofsky looking for from the 2024 AHL All-Star?
“Just play away from the puck, making sure you’re playing within the structure, little things that are winning habits, late in games,” Warsofsky said. “Having good details, good awareness, good urgency within our structure, winning the wall game, understanding when he’s in a D-zone shift of what his responsibilities are, all those things that young players are trying to develop.”
That said?
“He’s done a really good job of picking them up.”
San Jose Sharks (1-3-0)
Vitek Vanecek will start.
#SJSharks lines in warm-ups, Gushchin on the 2nd line:
Eklund-Wennberg-Toffoli
Gushchin-W. Smith-Zetterlund
Kostin-Dellandrea-Grundstrom
G. Smith-Sturm-CardwellWalman-Ceci
Ferraro-Rutta
Thrun-Benning— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 4, 2024
#SJSharks power play lines this morning:
PP1: Walman-Smith-Eklund-Zetterlund-Kostin
PP2: Thrun-Gushchin-Cardwell-Toffoli-Wennberg— Sheng Peng (@Sheng_Peng) October 4, 2024
Anaheim Ducks (2-2-1)
The Ducks’ final preseason game is tonight in San Jose and they’re deploying close to what should be the lineup come opening night.
Projected lineups and quotes from Troy Terry and head coach Greg Cronin ⤵️#FlyTogether @TheHockeyNews https://t.co/SVJyZ0sXmc
— Derek Lee (@Derek_Lee27) October 4, 2024
Where to Watch
Puck drop between the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks is 7 PM PT at SAP Center. Watch it live on SJSharks.com, keep in mind that the stream is geo-locked to the San Jose Sharks‘ broadcast area. Also watch it on the Sharks + SAPC app. Listen to it on the Sharks Audio Network.
