The San Jose Sharks start training camp today, and the team will take the ice without Captain Logan Couture. The 35-year-old forward was hoping to start skating in the summer to prepare for the upcoming season, but so far, his injury won’t let him.
Couture talked about the injury with Sharks radio broadcaster Dan Rusanowsky yesterday.
The clip is brief but conveys a lot, much of which Sharks fans don’t want to hear.
”It’s difficult. I mean, I want to be playing hockey. It’s what I’ve done for almost all my life, so not being able to the last 15 months has been difficult,” Couture told Rusanowsky. “But the human body can only do so much at some point, but we’re trying to attack this thing with different types of rehab, and maybe something will click here.”
It’s clear that the Sharks will be starting the season without Couture and that his return to the ice is not imminent. The Sharks captain also missed last season’s training camp with this same injury. While he returned to the ice briefly mid-season and even played six games, he was soon back on the shelf.
Couture is dealing with osteitis pubis, a hip/groin injury that can’t be fixed with surgery. It’s the kind of injury that can only be fixed with rest. What’s worse, if a player starts working out too soon, they can reaggravate it and risk making it worse.
Who leads the Sharks this season?
With it clear that Couture is out for at least the start of this season, the Sharks have been working on who will be a part of the leadership core.
According to multiple people, including San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng, Tyler Toffoli and Barclay Goodrow are now wearing A’s for the Sharks.
Luke Kunin and Mikael Granlund were last season’s alternate captains and are still with the team. There is no word yet of whether they also have letters on their jerseys. If I were to posit a guess, and this is just a guess, I would imagine they do. The Sharks might be going with four alternate captains as they have in the past. This probably indicates the Sharks aren’t confident in Couture’s recovery timeline.
Training camp starts today
Training camp officially opens today (Sept. 19), and the Sharks will be split up into three groups, with veterans and rookies dispersed between the three. Sharks PR will update camp rosters and schedules daily via Twitter, so keep an eye on @SanJoseSharksPR on social media.
The skates are open to the public and happen at Sharks Ice in San Jose (1500 South 10th Street, San Jose, CA 95112). Practice starts at 9 a.m. today through Saturday, with a modified practice on Sunday because of the team’s first preseason game on Sunday night against the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Center.
The Sharks have six preseason games until the home and season opener on Oct. 10 against the St. Louis Blues.
