After three seasons at Northeastern University, San Jose Sharks forward Cam Lund signed his entry-level contract last Friday.
On Monday, the forward participated in his first practice and met with reporters afterward.
“It’s a dream come true for me. My whole life, [I’ve] been dreaming of this opportunity to play in the NHL,” Lund said. “Being able to come out here, it’s such an honor. I’m very excited.”
Sharks head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t confirm that Lund would make his NHL debut against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but he made it sound like that is the plan.
“We’ll get him in. We’ll see how these next couple days go,” Warsofsky said.
The Sharks are not holding practice on Tuesday, so the next chance at confirmation will be on Wednesday.
Lund told reporters he was nervous for his first San Jose Sharks practice but eventually settled in.
“It was good. I mean, definitely nervous to start with, but I’m happy to get that one under my belt,” Lund said. “It’s kind of like college. You have guys your age the whole time there, so having some guys that can make you feel comfortable. It’s gonna make it easier coming in.”
Lund’s Decision To Turn Pro Now
With a career season at Northeastern ending in heartbreaking double-overtime fashion, Lund quickly put a smile back on his face when he signed. The Sharks forward told reporters that signing this year has always been the plan.
“Coming into the year of college, I knew it was a big year for me. I was planning on turning pro after the year, and then obviously had a good year and ultimately signed,” Lund explained. “[It was] definitely talked about at [development] camp over summer. I didn’t like talking about it too much during the year. I just wanted to focus on the year I had.”
Listed at 6’2 “, 192 lbs, Lund has a long body type. Like Collin Graf when he signed last season, the Sharks expect him to put on more weight over the summer.
“We’ll sit down at the end of the year when we get through this. [We will] want to see what his body looks like. His weight. His strength. All those numbers, but he’s got a good frame,” Warsofsky said. “We saw that with Graf when he came in. It was a similar build, and then Graf had a really good summer. It’s going to be important for a lot of our guys to have big summers.”
Lund told reporters that the San Jose Sharks’ development staff had shown him videos of Anaheim Ducks winger Troy Terry as a player comparison. The forward said his favorite player to watch is Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel.
Sharks rookies Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini played against Lund in the NCAA last season in the Hockey East Conference. Smith has known Lund for an extended period and is excited to have him jump to the NHL.
“He’s grown a lot. He’s tall now, too. He was always growing there, too,” Smith said, “Besides that, I mean his shot, and he can fly out there. We had some good games in college.”
Lund told reporters he expects around 20 people in San Jose, including his parents, on Wednesday. He is hopeful they will all get to see him make his debut on Thursday.
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