Emberson increases Sharks’ roster competition

Ty Emberson arrived at San Jose Sharks training camp after a whirlwind of a few days. On Saturday morning, he was getting ready to practice with the New York Rangers, the team that traded for him in July 2022. A few hours later, he received the call that the Sharks had selected him off of waivers and he was headed off to the West Coast.

“I found out Saturday at two o’clock. So, then I had the night to pack and then I got a flight yesterday [Sunday] at 10,” said Emberson.

He arrived at his hotel that evening, got some sleep and then got up early to get to the rink and get his gear. Already decked out in teal, Emberson joined the Sharks meetings and 11 a.m. skate.

“It was good. It was a good up pace practice. I thought we worked on some things that they needed to work on throughout preseason. I thought it was an up pace practice. It was good. It was good attitudes and everybody was excited for the season to start,” said Emberson from his locker afterwards.

While maybe not expecting the recent chain of events that brought him to San Jose, Emberson says he understands why it happened and he’s ready to compete for a spot on the Sharks’ roster.

“The Rangers have a really good D corps. If you look at their right side, they got some good players back there with [Adam] Fox, with Toubs [Jacob Trouba], with [Braden] Schneider,” said Emberson. “So, I was going there just trying to make a name for myself, obviously, trying to make the team but I think there are setbacks with anything. This is just a new opportunity for me. I’m really excited for it.”

When asked what Sharks fans can expect to see from him, Emberson had this to say: “Just a simple defenseman. I like to be able to make a good first pass. Be good defensive and being reliable for my teammates, and just be able to go out there and support people when I can and jump in there when I can. But more of a two-way defenseman that likes to take care of his own end.”

The 23-year-old’s two-way game has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. Emberson had 11 points in 58 games with the Tuscon Roadrunners in 2021-22 and a minus-25 plus/minus. He more than doubled those numbers the next season with the Hartford Wolfpack, scoring 27 points (7 G, 20 A) in 69 games and ending the season with a plus-17. He added 5 more points (2 G, 3 A) in 9 games during the Wolfpack’s 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs run.

Also on last year’s Wolfpack team was current Shark Ryan Carpenter. Emberson says Carpenter reached out to him almost immediately after he was claimed off of waivers.

“Carpy [Carpenter] reached out to me right away and said, ‘If you need anything, let me know. If you have any questions about anything. If you want to come over for dinner,'” said Emberson. “I know he’s got a couple of kids and a wife so I knew them a little bit from last year. He’s been really welcoming to me and just making sure if I need anything, there’s someone I can talk to.”

Emberson adds to Sharks’ competition on defense

The addition of Emberson muddies the waters a bit on defense for the Sharks. As of this morning, San Jose has 14 defensemen on the roster, and that’s after the most recent cuts that sent Shakir Mukhamadullin down to the Barracuda.

Head Coach David Quinn believes that Emberson will be one of the players competing for an opening night spot.

“He’s a right shot D who can play in this league. We think with the other three right shot D that are physical, hard defensemen, that you need depth, right? And he gives us that right shot D that can play in this league and he’s still young,” said Quinn.

A typical 23-man NHL roster only carries seven defensemen, so Emberson has a lot of competition for one of those roster spots.

A few of the players are injured. Radim Simek is still recovering from an injury in a preseason game and he likely won’t be ready to go for the regular season. Given his history, it’s another unfortunate setback for the defenseman.

The Sharks’ free agent signee Valtteri Pulli has not played a preseason game with the Sharks so far. Pulli skated Monday morning but then met with the trainers after the skate. Head Coach David Quinn called it “a little bit of a setback.” No word on when Pulli will be ready to go.

Along with Emberson, other right shot defensemen on the roster include Matt Benning, Kyle Burroughs, Leon Gawanke and Jan Rutta. When asked whether the newest addition would make his job harder, Quinn wasn’t worried.

“It’s always a little hard, but at the end of the day, the players do end up making the decisions for us,” said Quinn. “Their play certainly will dictate guys that make it, the amount of ice time they get. Things like that.”

According to the Sharks, the following defensemen are still at camp:

• Matt Benning
• Kyle Burroughs
• Ty Emberson
• Mario Ferraro
• Leon Gawanke
• Artem Guryev
• Nikolai Knyzhov
• Jacob MacDonald
• Nikita Okhotiuk
• Valtteri Pulli
• Jan Rutta
• Radim Simek
• Henry Thrun
• Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Other training camp notes

The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka noted that midway through the practice, Quinn called all the guys together for a huddle.

Quinn said the Sharks had a good practice and the message was, "We talked about reliability & being a good teammate. I've got to know if you're gonna be where you're supposed to be. When five guys are playing with that type of mindset, you have a chance to have success." https://t.co/EkmuT1pKbO

— Curtis Pashelka (@CurtisPashelka) October 2, 2023

Asked by Pashelka after the practice, Quinn elaborated.

“That was our number one problem last year and it can’t be a problem again this year. It’s such a balancing game of when to try to make a play and when not,” said Quinn. “That’s a skill. It’s a skill. I thought I could have made that play. Well, you can’t think you’re gonna make that play. You gotta know you can make that play. There’s a big difference.”

• Quinn has liked what he’s seen from Fabian Zetterlund. He says Zetterlund is in great shape and he’s working hard, but he would like to see the young forward be better with his puck management.
• Quentin Musty might play in a game before he’s sent back to Sudbury.
• With two goalies left at camp, it’s just a matter of who starts which game. Quinn is leaning toward Blackwood starting tonight with Kahkonen starting on Thursday.
• Sharks are still slow playing Logan Couture. Quinn says Couture wants to go, but the team is being more cautious, trying to make sure that when “he’s in, he’s in.”