dpSAN JOSE – During Alex Nedeljkovic’s first season with the San Jose Sharks last year, he and fellow goalie Yaroslav Askarov, then a rookie, mostly split the team’s first 15 games as the group recovered from a 0-4-2 start and returned to a 6-6-3 record after one month.
Things are a little bit different for the Sharks this season, at least so far. Not only are they off to a better start, but with a less hectic schedule, they’ve leaned more on one goalie.
With the Sharks hopeful he can become a bona fide No. 1 goalie in the NHL as he gains experience, Askarov is making his fifth start in six games over 13 days on Tuesday night when San Jose faces the Boston Bruins at SAP Center to finish a two-game homestand.
“The way the schedule has played out, as we get through tonight, it gets a little bit busier. There’s a back-to-back coming, so you need two goalies,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said before Tuesday’s game. “(Askarov’s) played some good hockey, too. He’s given us a chance each night, and that’s all you can ask.”
Nedeljkovic, who has appeared in 220 NHL games over nine-plus seasons, including 40 with the Sharks last season, wants to play. But he said he understood the situation and knew where the Sharks might be headed with Askarov even before he signed his two-year, $6 million contract extension in March.
“He’s 24 years old, a first-round pick, a lot of potential, and we’ve seen him play at a high level,” Nedeljkovic, 30, said of Askarov, the 11th overall pick in the 2020 NHL draft, before Tuesday’s game. “It’s not really surprising. He’s the future of the franchise, so you’re going to give him opportunities to play.
“He’s played well to start the year, too. It’s not like he’s played bad.”
In four starts this season before Tuesday, Askarov was 2-2-0 with an .860 save percentage and 3.71 goals-against average. Per moneypuck.com, Askarov’s goals saved above expected per 60 mark of -0.074 ranks 19th out of 25 NHL goalies who had played in at least four games before Tuesday.
To be sure, the Sharks were also a little loose defensively at the start of the season, allowing 35 high-danger chances through Askarov’s first three starts, according to Natural Stat Trick. Askarov has also given the Sharks chances to win in three of his four starts, including Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Edmonton, when teammates’ miscues contributed to all three Oilers goals.
“(Askarov’s) playing well, he’s going to get the net, and he’s going to get opportunities to keep showing why he was acquired and why he was drafted where he was,” said Nedeljkovic, who the Sharks got from the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2025.
“I knew that coming in last year. I knew that when we signed and extended in the spring that this was a possibility, and that’s what you signed up for. I went through the same thing coming up. I maybe (wasn’t drafted as high), but I felt like I was given opportunities to play, so now it’s about making the most of it and trying to help (Askarov) be the best he can be.”
Nedeljkovic’s one start this year turned out well, as he stopped 24 of 26 shots in the Sharks’ 3-2 overtime win over the St. Louis Blues last Thursday. It was his first start since Sept. 24, when he made 20 saves in the Sharks’ 10-0 preseason win over the Anaheim Ducks.
“It was just nice to feel the puck,” Nedeljkovic said of the St. Louis start, in which he made 10 saves in the first period and 12 more in the second to keep his team in it. “We didn’t have a great first period, but it was nice to feel some pucks, get some shots, get some traffic looks, a few rushes.”
The Sharks begin a six-game road trip in Nashville on Thursday. That’s followed by five games over eight days, including the Sharks’ first back-to-back situation of the season as they play Toronto on Monday and Montreal on Tuesday.
The Sharks want to see Askarov take a step forward this season after he finished last year with a 21-20-4 record and a so-so .884 save percentage. But if he struggles, the Sharks likely won’t hesitate to turn to Nedeljkovic more often.
“He’s a true pro, works extremely hard,” Warsofsky said. “He’s going to play here going forward. We know that, and when his number’s called, he’s ready to go. We’ve seen that for two years now.”
Nedeljkovic is expected to play at least one or two games on the trip, and perhaps more, depending on how it goes.
“I don’t think you’ve seen a really good, complete 60 minutes from us yet,” Nedeljkovic said before Tuesday’s game. “We’ve seen good things on both sides of the puck, and we’ve got to figure out a way to put it all together. That’s a really encouraging sign for us, honestly, is just what we can be as a team when we figure it out, and we put it together for a full 60.
“Then we’ve got to do it for four, five, six games in a row. Can’t just be a one-and-done kind of thing.”
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