SAN JOSE -- All eyes at SAP Center on Thursday night will be focused on No. 65 in teal.
Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson will play in his first preseason game for his new club, two weeks after San Jose acquired the two-time Norris Trophy winner in a blockbuster deal with the Ottawa Senators.
Karlsson skated Thursday morning alongside defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who also will play in his first game of the preseason. In fact, both the Sharks and their opponent, the Calgary Flames, are set to ice lineups that look pretty close to those that will play in their respective season openers next week.
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“It’s that time of year,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said. “We start in less than a week, so I think everyone’s ramping things up, and you want to get your group together and start making some of the final decisions.”
One of those final decisions likely will include center Rourke Chartier. While Karlsson will receive most of the attention from the home crowd, Chartier will continue to make his case for one of the roster spots that Karlsson’s acquisition opened up.
Chris Tierney, the third-line center last season, was included in the trade with the Senators, and fourth-line center Eric Fehr signed with the Minnesota Wild in free agency. Finnish rookie Antti Suomela has skated on the third line in camp so far, and did so again Thursday morning. Chartier centered the fourth.
“Maybe there will be less ice [than in previous preseason games] with the big boys out there,” Chartier said Thursday at the Sharks practice facility, “but that’s the role that’s available right now. I’m just trying to play hard and see what happens.”
San Jose Sharks
Chartier said Tierney’s departure didn’t change his mindset headed into camp, but he was aware of its effect on the depth chart. So far, the 22-year-old has played like it.
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Now healthy after missing significant time last season with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda because of the lingering effects of two concussions, Chartier has scored five points in four preseason games, second only to Barclay Goodrow. All but one of those points came during five-on-five, and Kevin Labanc and Joonas Donskoi are the only Sharks regulars who have shot at a higher rate than Chartier (9.18 five-on-five shots per 60 minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick) in the preseason.
Chartier won’t just be relied upon to contribute offensively if he wins the fourth-line center job, and he'll likely be tasked with plenty of defensive-zone faceoffs, as well as some time on the penalty kill. Two days after going 9-of-14 at the dot in Calgary, Chartier took draws with fellow rookie Dylan Gambrell as the morning skate was winding down. He said he’s also killed penalties dating to his time in junior hockey.
Still, the rookie wants to play a game based on puck possession.
“It’s important to get the puck, and be heavy on it down low,” Chartier said. “If it’s a harder couple minutes on their [defense and] their forwards, that’s kind of your job. At the same time, I think I do have a decent amount of skill where I can contribute offensively. … You can play hard, but you’ve got to contribute also.”
That style should fit alongside his linemates Thursday. Chartier will play with wingers Marcus Sorensen and Melker Karlsson, who attempted 57 percent of the five-on-five shots when playing with Fehr last season. That trio also was a key component of the Sharks’ first-round sweep of the Anaheim Ducks, against whon San Jose will open the season on Oct. 3.
But the Sharks still have two exhibition games to go until then. In their second-to-last, DeBoer said he isn’t looking for anything in particular from his group beyond getting up to game speed.
“If I tell you, ‘We have to win,’ and we don’t win, you’re gonna say, ‘It wasn’t a successful night,' " DeBoer said with a laugh. “These are all little steps getting ready for next week. We want to win obviously, but if we don’t, it could still be a successful night with some of things we’re trying to implement.”
Success for Chartier doesn’t necessarily mean he needs to get back on the scoresheet, but he will continue to try to make an impression on the coaching staff in his bid for a roster spot. Even then, he said he’ll try to get a glance at No. 65.
Just like everyone else in attendance.
“He’s a special player, and it’s going to be the Bay Area’s first look at him,” Chartier said. “It should be a pretty good crowd out there, I assume, and it’s exciting. It’s exciting I think for the guys in here, too, just to see him in person.”