Cagnoni To Make Season Debut As Sharks Visit Predators

Defenseman Luca Cagnoni will make his San Jose Sharks season debut for the 25-26 season on Monday against the Nashville Predators.

The 21-year-old has played six NHL games in his professional career, all coming last season. The Sharks were in a much worse state when he got the call for his debut than they are now. In his six games, Cagnoni has two assists.

Cagnoni’s insertion into the San Jose Sharks lineup comes before the team has been mathematically eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention. Although they can still technically get in, the odds of it happening are very slim. The move to play the prospect in a prominent role signals that the Sharks are starting to look ahead to next season.

Per Sheng Peng, Cagnoni will run the top power-play unit on Monday. Cagnoni’s calling card is his offensive production. In 67 games for the San Jose Barracuda this season, the lefty has eight goals and 37 assists.

“He distributes the puck really well. He reads penalty kills,” head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Peng about Cagnoni’s power play acumen. “One of his best attributes is to manipulate penalty kills.”

The San Jose Sharks have looked for a consistent, productive quarterback for power-play one for nearly the entire season. John Klingberg has had the lion’s share of the reps, but Dmitry Orlov has sparked more production as of late. Klingberg will be a healthy scratch for the 10th time in the past 11 games on Monday.

Orlov has done well on the power-play, but he’s never been considered a true option for a top unit at any point in his 14-year career. Cagnoni has done nothing but produce offense at every stop of his journey to the NHL, and now the Sharks are giving him a chance to prove it in the NHL.

After a taste in the NHL, Cagnoni is auditioning to become a permanent option on the Sharks’ blue line. He’s worked a lot on his defense since turning pro. If he can limit his mistakes and produce offense, there is no reason he can’t become a full-time NHLer.

Warsofsky declined to name defense pairings for Monday’s game, so it is unclear who Cagnoni will play with. Nick Leddy will be a healthy scratch to make room for Cagnoni.

The Sharks must win their final three games and have the Winnipeg Jets, Los Angeles Kings, and Predators lose out in regulation to make the postseason. Monday is also a chance for San Jose to snap a 15-game losing streak against Nashville dating back to 2019. Puck drop is at 5 p.m. PT.