Antti Niemi is making progress in his recovery from surgery to remove a cyst. He is wearing full gear and blocking pucks before practice. Although the Sharks are not guaranteeing Niemi will be ready to start the regular season on time, San Jose coach Todd McLellan is hopeful. "Put it this way," McLellan said. "He was in pads, taking shots yesterday. He was on the ice, he was roaming around, there were pucks off the pads. In my opinion, he's seven days behind everybody." That might be enough for Niemi to be good to go October 6th.