Sharks eye familiar veteran size and mobility as they sort out depth on the blue line

The San Jose Sharks’ next training camp will likely feature a familiar internal question for teams rebuilding their depth. The coaching staff will be trying to decide which young defensemen are ready for consistent NHL reps, especially for the bottom-pair role that often swings between reliability and development opportunities. Yahoo Sports’ preview frames that race as one expected to involve Luca Cagnoni, Nolan Allen, and Eric Pohlkamp competing for jobs on the blue line when camp opens next month.

In that framework, the Sharks would prefer not to force immediate NHL assignments on younger players who still benefit from sharper game reps in the American Hockey League. The idea, as described, is that one of the younger candidates who does not land the bottom-pairing opening could instead be used in a way that keeps their development on track, most plausibly by returning them to the AHL rather than compressing their ice time at the NHL level.

What happens after that matters. If San Jose keeps the younger group moving through the AHL-NHL rhythm, the organization would still need a player who can step in at different points of the season without disrupting defensive structure. Yahoo Sports points to that roster-function need, suggesting a better fit for an “out-and-in” option could be Nick Blankenburg, a veteran with experience in two NHL organizations identified in the preview: the Colorado Avalanche and the Nashville Predators.

Blankenburg is presented in this context as a depth-minded option rather than a projected cornerstone. The preview’s underlying logic is that a veteran capable of being plugged into the lineup as required can buy time for younger defenders to either secure a role or build their case in the minors. For the Sharks, that balance is particularly important in the later stages of camp and the early weeks of the regular season, when NHL teams typically sort out who can handle different kinds of minutes, including matches against harder opponents.

This also highlights how the Sharks’ offseason and training-camp planning can be read through lineup mechanics rather than through headline transactions alone. If the Sharks want to protect the development pathway for their younger defenders, they need a safety valve that does not carry the same long-term expectation as a regular-season fixture on the top four. In other words, the roster math described in the preview is less about “who is best on paper” and more about who can reliably keep defensive coverage intact while the younger group gets its turn.

At the same time, readers should treat the situation as a competition and a probability-based roster scenario, not a confirmed transaction. The Yahoo Sports item is written as a camp-target discussion, using language like potential roles and likely outcomes. What to watch next is whether San Jose’s camp invites or informal looks translate into an actual tryout, and how Cagnoni, Allen, and Pohlkamp separate themselves in practices and preseason games that test decision-making under pressure.

If the Sharks do add or evaluate Blankenburg in a depth capacity, it would report a preference for steady, organizational flexibility on the third and fourth defensive pair, even as younger players fight for their way up. If instead the Sharks lean harder into internal options, the early regular-season call-ups could shift toward a higher turnover approach, with more NHL time allocated to the developing defensemen and fewer “plug-in” veteran minutes. Either route will shape the team’s defensive identity long before the standings and playoff picture become the only story left.