Goldobin will need to be more consistent to make Sharks’ roster
Winger finishes well but is inconsistent on his end of the ice
SAN JOSE — Nikolay Goldobin will likely get another good long look at Sharks training camp this season. In 2014, he was assigned to a professional team in Finland two days before the start of the season and last year he was among the final group demoted to the minors.
With his 21st birthday still two weeks away, there’s no rush to get Goldobin into a Sharks uniform for the Oct. 12 regular-season opener against the Los Angeles Kings. But Goldobin wants to show that he belongs, and the Sharks want to see if he’s completed the next stage of his development.
“(He’s) another guy that was in the right place last year,” Sharks coach Pete DeBoer said of Goldobin, who scored 44 points with the Barracuda in 60 games. “This year, (he’s) looking to move the needle a little bit.”
Goldobin has always been gifted offensively with soft hands and an ability to finish scoring chances, major reasons why he was picked 27th overall in the 2014 draft.
The issue has been the inconsistent play in his own end, something that cropped up a couple times in the Sharks’ intra-squad scrimmage Sunday, particularly with a giveaway on a backhand pass at his own blue line.
Goldobin realizes he’ll need to shore up that part of his game to stick around with the big club long term.
Last season, he was recalled from the Barracuda in October after the injury to Logan Couture in New Jersey and played nine games. He scored his first NHL goal in his second game Oct. 17 against the New York Islanders, redirecting a pass from Joe Thornton past Jaroslav Halak. He finished with 15:18 of ice time.
But the ice time began to dip as his NHL stint continued. He had a combined 34 shifts and averaged about eight minutes a night in his last three games with the Sharks before he was reassigned Nov. 24. He was recalled after the Barracuda’s season was over and was one of the Sharks’ practice players for their playoff run.
Goldobin is expected to be in the Sharks lineup Tuesday as they begin the exhibition season against the Vancouver Canucks at SAP Center.
“I just want show that I got better than last year and that I’m ready to play in the NHL,” Goldobin said.
Goldobin is part of a crowded field of wingers in camp. With Mikkel Boedker likely slotted for a top-nine forward role and prospects like Marcus Sorensen, Timo Meier and Barclay Goodrow also making a push, Goldobin realizes he has to play and practice well.
“There are a lot of players coming from other countries,” Goldobin said. “They’re good players, but I’ll try to be better than them.”
The Sharks began n to practice special teams Monday for the first time in camp. The Sharks had the third-best power play in the NHL last season but finished with the 20th-ranked penalty kill (80.5 percent) over 82 games. Their penalty kill was ranked eighth out of 16 teams at 79.7 percent in the playoffs.
“I felt our PK was better than that.” DeBoer said of the regular-season ranking. “We had some stretches where when it went bad, it went really bad and that affected our numbers. So we have to stop the bleeding a little quicker.”
It won’t hurt a prospect’s cause if they show in the exhibition season that they can be counted on to kill penalties.
“The whole identity of this team is being hardworking, hard to play against. The PK plays a big role in that,” Goodrow said. “It’s important to have guys that are willing to block shots. That’s just what I’m trying to do, make an impression that way.”
Timo Meier missed his n second straight day with an unspecified illness. DeBoer, though, thought Meier could be back at practice Tuesday, although the earliest he would play is Friday against Arizona.