SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks made a handful of training camp selections Monday, including sending 2023 first-round pick Quentin Musty to Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League.
Musty, 19, shined during the rookie showdown in Los Angeles in mid-September, but the Sharks found him too inconsistent once main camp began. He went scoreless in two preseason games and took two hooking penalties in last Thursday’s game in Anaheim, one of which resulted in a Ducks power-play goal.
The Sharks’ move on Musty isn’t surprising, given their improved forward depth.
“As a young kid, he’s just learning the professional game, the style, the speed, the rhythm, the details, the habits that you need to play at that level, and (those details are) not there yet,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said about Musty. “He did some good things in camp. He did some good things returning to development camp. We just thought he probably wouldn’t be able to overcome the next obstacle.
“It’s the best thing for his development to go back and play in the OHL, do very well and accumulate some points. He has a list of things he needs to work on.
As a player who won’t turn 20 until next July, Musty is not eligible to play in the AHL at the start of this season. He could join the Barracudas in the spring if Sudbury’s season ends and the Sharks’ AHL affiliate is still playing.
In the meantime, the Sharks would like to see the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Musty dominate the OHL and make Team USA for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. Musty was cut from last year’s U.S. team, which won gold at the tournament in Sweden.
“You can’t go back to junior and go back to your old habits and think it’s going to be successful,” Warsofsky said. “You can probably get away with it sometimes.” Our development team will need to stay tuned to some things we see in his game that will translate to the professional level from now on.
“And it’s going to be difficult. It’s tough for all these guys going back to junior and being at this point.
Musty is one of six forwards no longer in the Sharks camp. Filip Bystedt, Brandon Coe, Kasper Halttunen and Tristen Robins were all assigned to the Barracuda and, perhaps surprisingly, at this point in camp, Justin Bailey was placed on waivers.
The well-traveled Bailey is now in his 10th professional season, and was considered a candidate for the Sharks’ 13th or 14th forward spot. But the Sharks faced him in just one preseason game, and he scored no points in 7:55 of ice time in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim on Sept. 24 at SAP Center.
After recording 14 points in 59 games with the Sharks last season, Bailey signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Sharks in late June. If he clears waivers, Bailey will be assigned to the Barracuda.
Bailey arrived at Sharks camp last year on a PTO and parlayed that into an AHL contract. Just weeks into the season, Bailey then signed a two-way deal with the Sharks and spent the remainder of the season in the NHL.
“Just a little inconsistent.” I thought last year was a lot of hunger, and he was a kid determined to make a team and be the first one called up, and I just didn’t see that as much this year.” Warsofsky said. “He’s done some good things…and we’re just a little deeper, right?” He’s going to have to take someone’s ice time, take someone’s place. Be more consistent.
The Sharks also placed defenseman Jimmy Schuldt on waivers and assigned defensemen Ethan Frisch and Jake Furlong as well as goalies Gabriel Carriere and Georgi Romanov to the AHL.
The Sharks now have 23 forwards, 11 defensemen and three goalies in camp.
Three of those forwards, Logan Couture, Thomas Bordeleau and Igor Chernyshov, are injured, and another, Colin White, is under contract with the AHL. That would appear to leave Collin Graf, Ethan Cardwell, Danil Gushchin, Andrew Poturalski, Scott Sabourin and Givani Smith competing for one of the final spots on the list.
Asked if Cardwell or Gushchin, both 22, still had a legitimate chance to start the year in the NHL, Warsofsky replied: “They’re there, right?” So every time you practice with us, you have a chance. And these guys were really good. You can just tell that they are getting better and more comfortable every day.
Among the Sharks defense, it is unclear when Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) and Shakir Mukhamadullin (lower body) will begin practicing with the team. The two skated alone Monday, Warsofsky said. Lucas Carlsson is also injured and did not skate in camp.
If Vlasic and Mukhamadullin cannot be ready for the start of the season, the competition for the seventh defense position would appear to be between Jack Thompson and Luca Cagnoni. Sam Dickinson, the 11th overall pick in this year’s draft, practiced with the Sharks Monday morning but was sent back to London in the OHL.
Yaroslav Askarov, Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek are the final three goalies on the roster. Askarov (lower body injury) skated Monday, but like Vlasic and Mukhamadullin, it remains unclear when he will be able to join a team practice.
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