3 days Ago By Sheng Peng, San Jose Hockey Now
LOS ANGELES — Luca Cagnoni has two roads this season, pro hockey or the WHL. According to a source, the San Jose Sharks’ plan for Cagnoni is for him to turn pro. At the end of Rookie Faceoff, both San Jose Barracuda head coach John McCarthy and Cagnoni were noncommittal about his immediate future.
But it looks like, unless Cagnoni blows the doors off the San Jose Sharks in training camp, that McCarthy will be his head coach with the Barracuda this fall. Cagnoni thinks he’s ready for pro hockey. “Had a big off-season, I got really strong, worked on my first three steps, it’s obviously a faster game,” the 5-foot-9 defender said.
“So I think I feel pretty ready.” McCarthy liked what he saw this week: “He played a lot, played a lot of minutes. Handled it well.
..I was encouraged by his play in this tournament.
” So it looks like good-bye to Portland, hello to San Jose for the offensive wizard. The San Jose Sharks had the option of assigning the 19-year-old December-born back to the Portland Winterhawks for his overage season. But instead, the Sharks’ 2023 fourth-round pick, who dropped 18 goals and 72 assists in just 65 games last season, will be tackling the next challenge of his career.
This article first appeared on San Jose Hockey Now and was syndicated with permission..
