SAN JOSE — Cam Lund has known for some time that he was probably going to leave Northeastern after this season, sign with the San Jose Sharks, and start his professional career.
But Lund was still in awe Monday morning when he arrived at Sharks Ice, stepped into the team’s dressing room, and – nervously, he admitted – took part in his first full NHL practice.
“It’s a dream come true for me,” said Lund, who signed his three-year entry-level contract with the Sharks on Friday. “My whole life (I’ve been) dreaming of this opportunity to play in the NHL and being able to come out here, it’s such an honor.”
One week after his college career ended with Northeastern’s loss to Maine in the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament, Lund could make his NHL debut Thursday when the Sharks face the Toronto Maple Leafs at SAP Center.
Lund, a 2022 second-round draft pick by the Sharks, had discussed with the team during last summer’s development camp that the 2024-25 season would be his final one at the NCAA level. While the Huskies finished 14-20-3, Lund, as an assistant captain, had a team-high 18 goals and 22 assists and was named a Hockey East Third Team All-Star.
“I knew it was a big year for me,” Lund said. “I was kind of planning on turning pro after the year, and then obviously had a good year and ultimately signed.
“I didn’t really like talking about it too much. I just wanted to focus on the year I had.”
Lund, who will turn 21 in June, will start his pro career on the wing, coach Ryan Warsofsky said, and become the latest 21-and-under player to join the Sharks this season. That list includes Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Zack Ostapchuk, and Luca Cagnoni.
Lund is also the latest Massachusetts native to come to San Jose.
Lund played against Celebrini (Boston University) and Smith (Boston College) in Hockey East, was teammates with Collin Graf with the Boston Jr. Bruins in 2020-21, and attended Boston’s Cushing Academy, which also counts Warsofsky among its alumni. He and defenseman Henry Thrun have also spent time training together in the offseason, and Lund’s parents own a summer home in Falmouth, Mass., where they live next to Warsofsky’s brother.
“A lot of connections there. Small world,” Warsofsky said. “Happy to get him. Another New England boy.”
More pertinent to Warsofsky and the Sharks is how Lund can help the organization. Already at 6-foot-2, Lund will likely add more muscle to his now 195-pound frame in the offseason and can use this experience as an NHL player to further his development as he heads into his first summer as a professional.
Warsofsky pointed to Graf as someone who had a big offseason in 2024 after he signed with the Sharks as a college free agent.
Graf played seven games with the Sharks at the end of last season and began this year with the Barracuda, where he had 32 points in 35 games before his latest call-up in mid-February. Graf has nine points in 26 games with the Sharks this season.
Lund could follow that same path. He said Jack Eichel was his favorite player and mentioned that the Sharks development staff asked him to look at clips of Troy Terry.
“He can make plays in tight areas. He’s got the skill to score,” Warsofsky said of Lund. “He’s coming off playing some emotional hockey, which is a good experience for him. But I think the size and the skill set, the tools that he has, is something good to see.”
Lund said he’ll have about 20 friends and family members here for what is shaping up to be his pro debut on Thursday as he takes the massive step from NCAA hockey to the NHL. As he competes against the world’s best players, Lund will have to get used to the pace and physicality of the pro game.
“You’re talking about playing, if you’re 19, 20 or 21, playing against a guy that’s 35, and (Anaheim’s Radko) Gudas is coming across the middle of the ice,” said Warsofsky, noting one of the NHL’s most notorious hitters.
“Everyone’s bigger, faster, stronger, so getting adjusted to that could take some time,” said Sharks center Patrick Giles, who finished the 2021-2022 season in the AHL after his senior year at Boston College. “Being able to get used to that is a big thing.”
VLASIC UPDATE: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, is now considered day-to-day, and Warsofsky said there is a possibility the defenseman could return before the end of the regular season.
According to Warsofsky, Vlasic had been bothered by the injury for some time and felt unfit to continue playing after last Wednesday’s practice. The Sharks have 12 games left and finish the regular season on April 16 at home against the Edmonton Oilers.
NOTABLE: Sharks defenseman Vincent Desharnais did not practice Monday and is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury that he’s had for “a little bit,” Warsofsky said. The Sharks are hopeful Desharnais can play Thursday, but that’s still unclear. … Thrun (upper body) and fellow defenseman Jan Rutta (lower body) both skated Monday but are still considered week-to-week.