- The Sharks certainly weren’t expected to climb much higher out of last place this year, but few expected last season’s disastrous 19-54-9 record to not see any improvement. Unfortunately, a coaching change and significant roster turnover haven’t changed San Jose’s fortunes, at least so far. They’ve become the first team in NHL history to start back-to-back seasons with nine-game losing streaks, a stat first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky called “truly embarrassing” following a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the hands of the Golden Knights last night. “I don’t think anyone’s happy by any means,” Warsofsky said post-game (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). “There’s a lot of emotion in that locker room, frustration, anger, it’s tough right now.“
Sharks Rumors
Grier Hoping Musty Is Traded In OHL Soon
- Late last month, the Sharks assigned prospect Quentin Musty back to OHL Sudbury but he has yet to play since then. It’s not because of an injury, however, but rather a trade request. GM Mike Grier expressed some frustration about the situation to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (subscription link), indicating that he has been in contact with Musty’s agent to emphasize the need to find a suitable trade sooner rather than later. San Jose selected Musty with the 26th pick in 2023 and he averaged nearly two points per game last season with the Wolves, notching 43 goals and 59 assists in 53 games. Having him out this long certainly isn’t ideal from a development standpoint.
Sharks Reassign Thomas Bordeleau, Shakir Mukhamadullin
Sharks prospects Thomas Bordeleau and Shakir Mukhamadullin, who started the year on the injured non-roster list, have been cleared to return to play and were subsequently assigned to AHL San Jose, per a team announcement. The move opens up $323,975 in cap space, per PuckPedia.
Bordeleau is no stranger to the Barracuda. That’s where the 22-year-old has spent most of his time since turning pro out of Michigan in 2022. A second-round pick of the Sharks in 2020, he has worked his way into 43 NHL games over the past three seasons, a career-high 27 of which came last year. The center/winger has posted six goals and 12 assists for 18 points, an 11-goal, 34-point pace over 82 games. That’s decent production for a young forward in a middle-six role, especially on a rebuilding club without much support. His possession metrics last season were also exceptionally strong, logging a 5.9% relative Corsi share at even strength. He’s also been decent on the scoresheet in the AHL, posting 33 goals and 69 points in 102 appearances there.
Those numbers generated optimism that Bordeleau could crack the opening night roster this season, but instead, he sustained a lower-body injury early in training camp that knocked him out for most of the exhibition schedule. He’ll now get back up to game speed with the Barracuda before looking to challenge for a call-up in the coming weeks. The Sharks are down a forward with first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini out week-to-week with a lower-body injury, so there should be an opportunity for Bordeleau if he earns it with his play in the AHL.
Mukhamadullin, meanwhile, was dealing with a lower-body injury dating back to rookie camp. The defenseman was a first-round pick of the Devils in 2020 and headed to San Jose in the Timo Meier trade. He made his NHL debut last season, posting an assist with a whopping 11 blocks and five hits in just three games during a brief call-up to the Sharks. He didn’t look entirely out of place while averaging north of 20 minutes per game and, like Bordeleau, should be in line to get NHL action this year after getting his feet wet in the minors.
Morning Notes: Broberg, Holmberg, Walman
One of the league’s most eye-opening offseason acquisitions has been making a significant impact with his new club early on. When the Blues signed former Oilers Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway to successful offer sheets, most viewed their contracts as a bet on their upside rather than their current prowess. That was especially true in Broberg’s case, as the Blues inked him to a two-year deal with a $4.58MM cap hit despite the 2019 eighth overall pick spending most of last season in the minors.
But early on, Broberg’s been worth the cash and then some. He’s embarked on a six-game point streak to begin his tenure in St. Louis, tying for the team lead in scoring with six points (1 G, 5 A) and tying for the team lead with a +6 rating. What’s more – all of that production has come at even strength, and he’s averaging nearly 20 minutes per game. There’s more about Broberg’s early-season emergence in today’s video breakdown from Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (subscription required).
Here are a couple of more things from around the hockey world this morning:
- A successful offseason by most accounts from Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving means more forward depth for new head coach Craig Berube to play with. That’s led to a rotation of notable healthy scratches thus far, including late-offseason pickup Max Pacioretty. The next one might be Pontus Holmberg, who Berube said “has got to battle a little bit harder” after last weekend’s 4-1 loss to the Rangers (via Nick Barden of The Hockey News). He was potentially looking to lock down a spot as the team’s third-line center, and while he’s done well in the faceoff dot with a career-high 55.2 FOW%, he’s played mostly on the wing thus far and has an assist and a -1 rating through five appearances. Possession numbers have been extremely unkind to him in heavy defensive usage as well.
- Defender Jake Walman was a surprise mover this summer when the Red Wings attached a second-round pick to deal him to the Sharks. Most thought at least one Detroit defenseman would be on the move, but not one of the team’s best skaters who’d flourished in a top-pairing role alongside Moritz Seider over the past couple of seasons. Walman recently spoke to The Athletic’s Max Bultman about the move, which he said left him “shocked and heartbroken.” He’s off to a fresh start in San Jose, where he’s averaging over 23 minutes per game as their top blue-line option with two assists and a -2 rating through six appearances.
Celebrini Likely Out Another Couple Of Weeks
- The Sharks are likely to be without center Macklin Celebrini for at least a couple more weeks, reports Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli. The first-overall pick back in June, Celebrini played in San Jose’s opener and fared well, picking up a goal and an assist. However, he hasn’t suited up since with what’s believed to be a nagging hip issue that the team is opting to try to let him fully recover from over having it flare up at times throughout the year. It appears that a full recovery is still at least a couple of weeks away.
Upper-Body Injury For Eklund
- Sharks forward William Eklund missed tonight’s game due to an upper-body injury, relays Max Miller of The Hockey News. He had been listed as a game-time decision on Thursday but he managed two assists in the loss; head coach Ryan Warsofsky acknowledged postgame that the 22-year-old isn’t fully healthy. With that in mind, holding him out of a back-to-back certainly made sense.
Injury Notes: Celebrini, LaCombe, Zub
Reigning first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini won’t be joining the San Jose Sharks on their first road trip of the season shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Celebrini is still nursing a lower-body injury that landed him on injured reserve the morning after his NHL debut. He would be eligible to return before the final game of the road trip – Friday’s matchup against Winnipeg. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t rule out the possibility of Celebrini joining the team ahead of that matchup, though he added that the team is taking things day by day.
Everything clicked for Celebrini in his NHL debut, with his first goal coming just seven minutes into his career on a spin-o-rama pass deflected in; and his first assist coming just 10 minutes later on a connection with scoring-winger Tyler Toffoli. He’s taken well to the role of San Jose’s top centerman, a familiar statement for anyone who watched Celebrini immediately step into Boston Univeristy’s top center role last year. That season ended in BU pushing into the NCAA Championship Frozen Four semi-finals and Celebrini becoming the youngest Hobey Baker ’MVP’ Award winner ever. The Sharks are far away from those levels of success in the NHL – but the precedent that Celebrini brings gives all the more reason to handle his first career injury with extra care. He’ll face the task of getting healthy before the week ends, to join the Sharks against the presently-undefeated Winnipeg Jets.
Other injury updates:
- Anaheim Ducks defender Jackson LaCombe missed his second consecutive game with illness on Sunday night, shares Derek Lee of The Hockey News. LaCombe was a late scratch in Anaheim’s season opener – paving way for Olen Zellweger to make his season debut, though Urho Vaakanainen who got the start on Sunday. Neither defender scored in their spot start. They’ll continue battling for ice time while LaCombe returns to form and – pending a breakout performance from Zellweger or Vaakanainen – an everyday lineup role.
- Ottawa Senators defenseman Artem Zub left the team’s Monday game with an upper-body injury after a heavy first-period hit from Los Angeles’ Tanner Jeannot. Zub has taken on the role of third defender for the Senators, averaging 19:38 in ice time through the team’s first two games. He’s yet to find his first point of the season, though Zub has managed four shots, one penalty, and a +1. He faced multiple injuries last season, ultimately limited to 69 games and 25 points. He’ll be a locked-in top option when healthy, while an absence would open space for Tyler Kleven or Nick Jensen to earn more minutes.
Pacific Injury Notes: Vlasic, Karlsson, Myers
Veteran San Jose Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic told media that he’s hoping to return to action in a few weeks, and described his injury as “upper-body-ish”, shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Vlasic has been facing the ailment since the start of training camp, missing the bulk of camp activities and getting placed on injured reserve on October 7th. That’s the same day that he returned to the team’s practices, though he’s made it clear that he’s still a ways out.
Vlasic fell out of the Sharks lineup last season, missing time to both injury and routine healthy scratches. That includes an upper-body injury suffered in February that held Vlasic out for two weeks, though he was able to play in 24 more games before the season ended. He’s popping up on the injury report more and more in his golden years, with multi-week absences in every season since 2019. Once a core fixture of the Sharks blue-line, the 37-year-old Vlasic now sits on the outskirts of the lineup – even when healthy. He’ll first focus on getting back to full health, and then faces a battle with youngsters Jack Thompson and Henry Thrun for depth minutes.
Other notes from out West:
- Vegas Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy told reporters that centerman William Karlsson won’t travel with the team on their upcoming three-game road trip, shares Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. His next chance to return will most likely come when the Golden Knights return home on October 22nd, though Cassidy didn’t rule out the possibility of Karlsson joining the team midway through the trip. He was placed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury on October 8th. He started training camp healthy, but was quickly bumped out of the lineup by injury and now hasn’t skated since September 26th. Karlsson recorded 60 points, split evenly, in 70 games with the Golden Knights last season. He’ll stand as a pivotal piece of the lineup when he’s back to full health, especially after Chandler Stephenson moved to Seattle and Jonathan Marchessault moved to Nashville this summer.
- Vancouver Canucks defender Tyler Myers seems to have avoided the worst of things after having his ankle landed on awkwardly in Friday night’s matchup with Philadelphia. Myers needed helped off the ice. Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet designated the defender as day-to-day and shared that he will travel with the team on their upcoming four-game road trip, shares Canucks Army’s Jeff Paterson. Vancouver dodges a blow to their shallowest position group with this news, though Canucks Army’s Clarke Corsan lists Mark Friedman and Erik Brannstrom as potential fill-ins while Myers nurses his ankle.
Sharks Recall Jack Thompson, Place Macklin Celebrini On IR
After a strong NHL debut, Sharks center Macklin Celebrini will have to wait a week for his second appearance. The team announced today (Twitter link) that he has been placed on injured reserve; defenseman Jack Thompson was recalled from AHL San Jose to take his place on the roster.
Celebrini was the top pick in the draft back in June and after taking some time to think about his plans for this season, decided to forego the rest of his college eligibility and turn pro. He didn’t see much preseason action playing just twice out of six games but that didn’t stop him from having a strong debut, one that saw him record two points.
Part of the reason he didn’t see much action in the exhibition season was that he was dealing with a nagging lower-body issue during training camp. He’s now once again dealing with a lower-body injury, one that might be related to what he was going through in recent weeks. With how early it is in the season, it makes sense to give Celebrini some rest now to try to eliminate the problem completely over having him play at less than full health.
As for Thompson, the 22-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level contract and is in his first full year with the Sharks after he was acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline. He got into three NHL appearances between the two squads last season and added 41 points in 62 AHL appearances.
While it might seem strange that a defenseman was brought up to replace a forward, San Jose had only been carrying six healthy blueliners on their active roster with Shakir Mukhamadullin and Marc-Edouard Vlasic both injured. Thompson will now give them a bit of insurance on the back end while the Sharks still have 14 available forwards on their roster.
Sharks’ Macklin Celebrini Questionable With Lower-Body Injury
Macklin Celebrini missed the San Jose Sharks’ Friday practice with a lower-body injury and is questionable for the team’s Saturday game shares Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. Celebrini struggled with nagging, minor lower-body injuries throughout training camp, though it’s not clear if the two injuries are connected. The latest first-overall pick recorded his first NHL goal and assist in his debut on Thursday, sharing statlines with winger Tyler Toffoli. Celebrini didn’t seem limited in the game, playing through overtime and totaling 17:35 in ice time.
Injury news is the worst thing to hear after Celebrini’s electric debut. At the age of 18 years and 119 days, Celebrini became the youngest Shark to score in their debut. He also became the third-youngest player to record multiple points in his debut, behind Nathan MacKinnon (18 years and 31 days) and Bobby Carpenter (18 years and 86 days). Age-related accolades are far from unfamiliar for Celebrini, who also became the youngest player to win the NCAA’s Hobey Baker ’MVP’ Award last season.
Celebrini made his debut alongside William Smith, who recorded 13:41 in ice time on San Jose’s third line. He failed to score in his debut, despite two shots. Regardless, Smith could stand as the go-to replacement for Celebrini’s top-line role if needed, as the Sharks kick off a season of heavily leaning into their prospect pool.