San Jose Sharks top prospect Quentin Musty will miss the World Junior Championship this winter despite having a very good shot at making Team USA. According to Jeff Marek, the 19-year-old broke his hand during his team’s game against the Oshawa Generals on Sunday.
This is the play:
Quentin Musty broke his hand on this play. Looked like a nothing play with a normal hit from Beckett Sennecke against the boards but Musty threw his glove off and clearly something was wrong. No World Juniors for him this year #TheFutureIsTeal pic.twitter.com/y0cgXQAdZK
— Generals Live (@GeneralsUpdates) November 25, 2024
As you can see, the hit didn’t seem like much. However, Musty’s hand must have hit the board just the wrong way. It’s an unfortunate injury in a season that was shaping up to be another good one for the Sharks’ prospect.
Even though Musty sat out the first month of the OHL season and demanded a trade from the Wolves, he eventually returned to the ice. He was producing well for the Wolves with 20 points in 11 games and 8 goals.
According to Marek, this injury will take Musty past the OHL trade deadline, which means even if the Wolves were inclined to trade him, finding a willing trade partner might be difficult.
OHL news – Sudbury's Quentin Musty (SJ) broke his hand last night in a game against the Oshawa Generals which means no WJC. The injury will also take him past the OHL trade deadline.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) November 25, 2024
In August, FloHockey’s Chris Peters had Musty projected as a second line winger for Team USA. With Musty out, the Team USA management will have to hope the Sharks release another forward, Will Smith, to help USA fill an obvious hole in the lineup left by Musty’s injury. It is possible that given the Sharks’ current record and Smith’s so-so performance at the NHL level so far, the team will release him to gain some confidence.
Peters also projects Sharks prospect Brandon Svoboda as a potential fourth-line winger for Team USA.