DeMelo out eight weeks with broken wrist

The San Jose Sharks’ defensive depth took another hit this morning, as defenseman Dylan DeMelo will miss eight weeks after undergoing surgery to fix his broken wrist, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson announced.

The second-year defenseman broke his wrist three days ago in a 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. He joins defenseman David Schlemko on the shelf, who is currently on injured reserve with an upper body injury.

DeMelo began the season seemingly entrenched as the Sharks’ seventh defenseman, and did not dress in the Sharks’ first 19 games. Since debuting on November 23rd against Chicago, DeMelo played in 13 of the Sharks’ next 21 games, including five in a row before injuring his wrist.

Paul Martin did not play in the Sharks’ 3-2 loss to Calgary on Wednesday, and if he is to miss any more time, the Sharks do have a little over $1.8 million in cap space as Tomas Hertl remains on long-term injured reserve.

The Sharks are currently carrying seven six defensemen on the roster, with 2013 first round pick Mirco Mueller and (UPDATE 12:27 PM PST: Mueller has been sent down) Tim Heed called up from the Barracuda.