San Jose Sharks forward Quentin Musty took a pass from Will Smith, also a first-round pick in the 2023 draft, inside the offensive zone, drove toward the Anaheim Ducks net with the puck and fired a shot past goaltender Vyacheslav Buteyets.
The third-period shot completed a hat trick and a four-point night for Musty on Sunday as he and the Sharks cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Ducks in their second game of the Rookie Faceoff event in El Segundo.
Nolan Burke, Jeremie Bucheler, Kasper Halttunen and Colton Roberts also scored, while Collin Graf and Luca Cagnoni added two and three assists, respectively. The Sharks, even without Macklin Celebrini on Sunday, improved to 2-0 at the event, with the finale Monday at 11:30 a.m. against the Colorado Avalanche. Celebrini could return for that final game.
But against the Ducks, Musty took center stage. He started on the top line with Smith and Halttunen and contributed to four straight Sharks goals.
The question now is what the 19-year-old from Western New York can bring once the Sharks’ main training camp begins in San Jose on Thursday and whether he can be one of the 13 or 14 forwards on the 23-man NHL roster to start the regular season.
While Musty is one of the Sharks’ top prospects, the numbers aren’t in his favor this year.
The Sharks are already considering retaining Celebrini, 18, and Smith, 19, with Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Granlund, Alexander Wennberg, Barclay Goodrow, Luke Kunin, Nico Sturm, Ty Dellandrea, Carl Grundstrom, Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund considered either sure or close to being sure.
That would leave Musty, Klim Kostin, Collin Graf, Thomas Bordeleau, Justin Bailey and Givani Smith battling for one or two spots.
That list doesn’t even include Logan Couture, who will also be on the Sharks’ roster if he’s healthy. If he’s not, that frees up a roster spot for the start of the regular season.
To earn an NHL job, Musty will still have to give it his all in preseason games and daily practices. He’ll have to show that he’s ready to be a pro with his habits on and off the ice, and that the Sharks’ coaching staff can trust him, especially when he doesn’t have the puck on his stick.
“I want to see (the kids) compete in every drill, in the gym, on the ping-pong table,” coach Ryan Warsofsky told Sharks Audio Network on Sunday. “How competitive are they as human beings? I know Macklin is. I know Will is. Is anybody else going to jump out at us and say, ‘Oh my gosh, we’ve got to see him in another exhibition game,’ or ‘He’s close,’ or ‘He’s a guy we want on our opening night roster.’”
“There are jobs to be won.”
What works in Musty’s favor is his size. At 6’2″ and 200 pounds, Musty, who was selected 26th overall in last year’s NHL draft by Nashville, can play in the middle of the line or on a fourth line if needed.
In his first full season as a professional in 2016-17, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Timo Meier played just over 12 minutes per game and gradually gained ice time as he gained NHL experience.
But Meier was going to turn pro that year no matter what, since he turned 20 in October of that season. Musty doesn’t turn 20 until next July, and the Sharks probably won’t want to rush him to the NHL if they don’t have to.
Musty worked on his biggest weakness, his skating, this summer. He “slimmed down,” reducing his body fat percentage, but he remains strong and is about 15 pounds heavier than he was in his draft year.
Another year with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, with the opportunity to play for the United States at the upcoming World Junior Championship after being a sit-out last year, would likely be perfect for Musty’s development. Then, if Sudbury’s season ends before the Barracudas’, Musty could move to the AHL and gain more professional experience.
But a great camp in San Jose could change those plans somewhat.
Regardless, Musty will undoubtedly be one of the most interesting players to watch at the practice facility starting Thursday. If he shines from day one, there’s a chance, albeit a slim one, that he could start the season in the NHL and get a nine-game audition before the start of the first year of his entry-level contract.
Otherwise, there’s always next year; if Sunday is any indication, Musty’s time is coming soon.
DICKINSON’S GAME: The Sharks’ coaching staff and management likely liked what they saw from several prospects Sunday night, including defenseman Sam Dickinson.
Dickinson, the 6-foot-3 pick selected 11th overall by the Sharks in June, showed his skating ability but was also a physical presence in what turned out to be an aggressive game that featured several after-the-whistle scrums, a fight and 28 minutes of penalties.
In the second period, Dickinson, during a 2-on-1 by the Ducks and with the help of a solid defensive defense, neutralized the puck carrier and took away his chance to score. He also assisted on Colton Roberts’ goal in the third period, just before the end of regulation time.
SIZE DIFFERENCE: The Sharks have always had big guys at these events, but they’ve mostly been depth players. The difference now is that San Jose’s talented players are also big.
In addition to Musty and Dickinson, Kasper Halttunen and Filip Bystedt are both 6-3, and five of the six defensemen who played Sunday were also at least 6-3. That doesn’t include Shakir Mukhamadullin, another top prospect who is on the rookie roster but is sidelined for precautionary health reasons.
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