The San Jose Sharks are starting to shape this season’s team and that starts with sending players back to their junior clubs. This is the third round of cuts for the team. Many of the moves coincide with the beginning of the San Jose Barracuda training camp, which is likely a sign that management is looking for the Barracuda to compete for a playoff spot this season. Allowing the players to get together from the very start of camp gives Head Coach John McCarthy a chance to build his team from the very beginning.
Of the players cut, two had to clear waivers. Justin Bailey and Jimmy Schuldt. While Bailey played 59 games for the Sharks last season, with the addition of two first-round draft picks (Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith) as well as the signings of Tyler Toffoli and Alex Wennberg among others made for a crowded forward group. Look for Bailey to be veteran forward insurance if the injury bug strikes midseason.
Meantime, 2023 first-round draft pick Quentin Musty was sent back to his junior team, the Sudbury Wolves. While Musty had an excellent season in the OHL, scoring 102 points, his game did not seem to translate to the professional level. He was given ample chance to take over games during the preseason but never made the kind of impact that forces coaches to make a choice. Since he’s just 19 and has not played four seasons in the CHL, it was NHL or bust for Musty. The forward will not get to join the Barracuda to start the season.
Eight players sent to the Barracuda
The rest of the players were sent to the other side of Sharks Ice to start practice with the Barracuda. That includes forwards Filip Bystedt, Brandon Coe, Kasper Halttunen and Tristen Robins. Defensemen include Ethan Frisch and Jake Furlong, while the goaltenders include Gabriel Carrier and Georgi Romanov.
Halttunen is a transfer from Europe, which allows him to move from the OHL, where he played last season, to the AHL without a problem. As we reported in our Top 25 Sharks Under 25, fans can expect him to continue to be a threat on the power play. Hopefully, we’ll hear his name called frequently. He’ll also be working on rounding out the rest of his game, particularly at five-on-five play.
As for Bystedt, he likely needs more time with the ‘Cuda before the Sharks are ready to call him up. When it comes to Coe and Robins, it’s telling that Ethan Cardwell and Danil Gushchin are still on the Sharks roster, while Coe and Robins were sent down. It gives you a bit of an idea where the forward prospects rank in terms of call-up odds.
On defense, Frisch is pretty deep on the depth chart so it’s no surprise that he was sent down. Furlong is getting back from a spring surgery and has yet to play pro hockey, so time with the Barracuda will do him some good.
In net, Carrier and Romanov are likely the tandem for the Barracuda unless Yaroslav Askarov gets sent down to the AHL until the Sharks can work out the team’s goaltending situation.
Who’s left in Sharks camp?
With 38 players still in camp, 15 more will have to be cut before the start of the regular season.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Askarov, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Thomas Bordeleau, Igor Chernyshov, Logan Couture and Lucas Carlsson are all injured. Still, that leaves eight more with the possibility of being cut.
I don’t expect Luca Cagnoni and Sam Dickinson to make the team out of camp. This is an experience for them and its not their time. Andrew Poturalski, Colin White and Scott Sabourin are also still with the team, but with all the competition at the forward position, it’s tough to believe the older veteran players will beat out some of the younger ones.
We talked about the fact that Gushchin and Cardwell are still in the group. We can add Collin Graf’s name to that mix, too. With Bordeleau out with an injury, there might be a spot for one of them on the roster. However, given that the Sharks will want to have heavy-hitting players who aren’t afraid to drop the gloves to protect Celebrini and Will Smith, don’t be surprised if the Sharks opt for Givani Smith or even Sabourin first.
On defense, Jack Thompson is probably the name to watch. He’s the only player aside from Mukhamadullin that could make the jump to the NHL to start camp.