Phillip Sinn left Germany with a new team waiting for him in San Jose.
He left behind his family, friends and a hockey environment he had known his entire life. In their place was another chance to grow. For Sinn, the move was more about what he could learn next.
But the decision to come to San Jose was a no-brainer for him.
“Obviously the young core and the team they want to build … the coaching staff, like all those guys that played on the Sharks a couple years ago, legends, and they’re just around there helping us, and that’s why I [picked it].”
Sinn knew coming to San Jose meant leaving a lot behind. But the 22-year-old defenseman left Germany to start something new with the Barracuda. Even with experience on the German national team, Sinn still sees himself as a player learning the game and trying to improve. Now in San Jose, he is adjusting to a new style, getting to know his teammates and learning from some of the players he once watched from afar.
“So far everybody’s like real nice,” Sinn said. “Just guys who wanna be hockey players, win games and have fun. I like it so far.”
Sinn’s arrival gives San Jose a closer look at a player who is coming from a different hockey environment and learning how to fit into the Barracuda’s young core. His experience with the German national team gives him a background that few players his age have, but he is still entering San Jose looking to learn. That makes his adjustment worth watching as he gets his first chance to play in North America and learn from players and coaches he’s only known from a distance.
Sinn was born in Mannheim, Germany, where he began playing hockey with Mannheimer ERC. The 6-foot-2, 194-pound defenseman spent the 2025-2026 season with EHC München in Germany’s top league, the DEL, where he recorded one goal and two assists in 35 games. He also spent time with ESV Kaufbeuren in the DEL2 before representing Germany at the 2026 World Championship.
Sinn is still getting used to his new surroundings, both on and off the ice. The game in North America has been an adjustment from what he was used to in Germany, where he said the pace was a little different. In San Jose, there is less time with the puck and a more physical style of play, giving Sinn another part of his game to adjust to.
Even with his experience playing for Germany, he doesn’t see himself as someone who has already figured everything out. He sees the move as another chance to learn and find his game in a new environment.
“I’m new here,” Sinn said when asked if his experience with the German national team changed how he approaches the game. “A little different because it was smaller, you know, a little faster, a little more physical, less time. I don’t feel like I have that much experience at all.”
For Sinn, that adjustment is part of what brought him to San Jose. Rather than arriving expecting his previous experience to define him, he is starting over in a new league, with a new team and new players around him.
Sinn’s first days in San Jose have been about getting comfortable in a place that is still unfamiliar. He is learning a new style and adjusting to being away from the people he has known back home. For Sinn, the next step is to keep learning and find out what he can become in San Jose.
“I really don’t know what the situation is going to be like,” Sinn said. “But I definitely want to continue to grow my game, learn, and pick up new things.”
