The 2025-26 NHL season is set to kick off on Tuesday night with three games, while the rest of the league is going to follow suit with a bevy of games to come on Wednesday and Thursday.
One of those matchups is going to be the San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights in a Pacific Division battle that will see perennial contenders Vegas try and stave off the fresh-faced and rebuilding Sharks, who have quite the lineup put together.
Reason being, they have decided to debut two of their most highly-touted prospects as center Michael Misa and defenseman Sam Dickinson both made the NHL squad out of camp and will make their debut Thursday night.
Sharks Look To Implement Rookie Attack Right Away
Misa was drafted 2nd overall by the Sharks in 2025 behind Matthew Schaefer and enjoyed a stellar junior career with a blistering 265 points in 177 games for Saginaw (113 goals, 152 assists) and no doubt deserving of his 2nd overall pick selection.
According to PuckPedia, it seems that Misa will be tasked with already leading the Sharks, as he is penciled in as their second-line center.
Dickinson, a former London Knights prodigy, is a defenseman with numbers that make it seem as if he's playing as a a fourth forward half the time. In 185 games, Dickinson put up an astounding 184 points (56 goals, 128 assists) while anchoring London to back-to-back OHL Championships and a Memorial Cup alongside Easton Cowan.
The Sharks drafted Dickinson 11th overall in last year's draft, so it's clear the rebuild is fully in effect and GM Mike Grier wants to see how his prized rookies pan out.
While fans can't expect the Sharks to do anything but perhaps fight with Chicago, Anaheim, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh to stay out of the bottom of the basement, at least they have the chance to get a long, hard look at the fruits of their middling season's labor over the past few years.
And if there's one bright spot; actually two, it's that the team has their rookies ready to go and prepared to turn the Sharks from a disappointment into a dynasty.