With No. 33 in flux, Sharks backup Alex Nedeljkovic heads into his second season

San Jose’s opening-night spotlight will eventually drift, as it always does, toward starting jobs and lineup security. But one number carries a quieter kind of weight. The Sharks have worn No. 33 under nine different players across their history, and for now it belongs to backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic as he prepares to enter his second season in San Jose.

Nedeljkovic’s path to the NHL has not followed a straight line. He was selected 37th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, an early sign that evaluators believed he had an upside worth investing in even if the timeline to reach the league would take longer than many prospects imagine when drafted. The transition from prospect status to NHL consistency has been the central theme of his career, and the Sharks are now viewing him as a stabilizing option behind their primary goalie.

The reason his background stands out in a Sharks context is that Nedeljkovic once looked like he might become more than a back-up in Carolina’s system. The Yahoo Sports report frames his arrival in the NHL as a gradual climb that ultimately culminated in a major impact during the 2020-21 season, his final campaign with the Hurricanes. In that stretch, he earned consideration for the Calder Trophy, with Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson also in the mix for the award.

Kaprizov ultimately won the Calder, but the point for Nedeljkovic’s story is that he was still perceived, at that moment, as a goalie capable of changing outcomes at the highest level. That matters for a franchise building its own depth and competition at the position, because the gap between “capable” and “game-breaking” can be narrow for teams that manage goal-tending through a mix of workload planning and matchup awareness.

What does it mean for San Jose now? In practical terms, a backup’s job is often defined by reliability and readiness, not by headline-producing performances. Yet the selection of No. 33, and the focus that comes with it during opening-night preparations, highlights how teams use established numbers to mark roles. Nedeljkovic is not being presented as an unknown commodity. His history gives the Sharks a reason to believe he has already proved the ceiling that got him drafted and developed, even if his role in Carolina and his role in San Jose are not identical.

The context around No. 33 also adds a layer of team culture. The Yahoo Sports piece notes that nine players have worn the number in Sharks history before him, meaning the jersey has already served as a brief chapter for a variety of roles and eras. When a new player takes over that number, fans and staff naturally compare the current assignment to what the organization expects from that position at the time.

As the season approaches, the simplest question for Nedeljkovic is how he carries his past into the day-to-day structure of an NHL backup role. If he can translate the readiness that made him a serious prospect and a notable presence with the Hurricanes into steady performance in San Jose, No. 33 becomes more than a tradition. It becomes evidence that the Sharks can find comfort behind their starter without compromising their ability to compete in the moments where goal-tending swings a game.

For now, the information available centers on his draft pedigree, the NHL milestone of 2020-21 and Calder consideration, and his move into what would be his second season with San Jose. Any further details that fans may care about, such as who will start on opening night and how the Sharks plan to distribute workload, are not established in the reporting provided and should be confirmed through official team announcements closer to the season.