San Jose Sharks ahead prospect Quentin Musty took a move from fellow 2023 first-round draft alternative Will Smith contained in the offensive zone, streaked in on the Anaheim Geese web with the puck, and fired a shot previous goalie Vyacheslav Buteyets.
The third-period snipe accomplished a hat-trick and a four-point night time on Sunday for Musty, as he and the Sharks earned a 7-2 victory over the Geese of their second recreation of the Rookie Faceoff occasion in El Segundo.
Nolan Burke, Jeremie Bucheler, Kasper Halttunen, and Colton Roberts additionally scored, and Collin Graf and Luca Cagnoni added two and three assists, respectively. The Sharks, even with out Macklin Celebrini’s companies Sunday, improved to 2-0 on the occasion, with the finale on Monday at 11:30 a.m. towards the Colorado Avalanche. Celebrini may return for that final recreation.
However towards the Geese, Musty took heart stage. He began on the highest line with Smith and Halttunen and contributed to 4 straight Sharks objectives.
Now it’s a matter of what the 19-year-old from Western New York can deliver as soon as the Sharks’ primary coaching camp begins in San Jose on Thursday and whether or not he could be one of many 13 or 14 forwards on the 23-man NHL roster to start out the common season.
Regardless of Musty being one of many Sharks’ high prospects, the numbers will not be in his favor this 12 months.
The Sharks already determine to maintain 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 thought of locks or near it.
That would go away Musty, Klim Kostin, Collin Graf, Thomas Bordeleau, Justin Bailey, and Givani Smith battling for one or two spots.
That record doesn’t even embody Logan Couture, who may also be on the Sharks roster if he’s wholesome. If he’s not, that opens up a roster spot for the beginning of the common season.
Nonetheless, to get an NHL job proper now, Musty should compete like loopy in preseason video games and every day in observe. He’ll have to point out he’s able to be a professional together with his habits on and off the ice, and that the Sharks teaching workers can belief him, particularly when he doesn’t have the puck on his stick.
“I want to see them competing in every drill, in the gym, on the ping pong table,” coach Ryan Warsofsky advised Sharks Audio Community on Sunday. “How competitive are they as human beings? I know Macklin is. I know Will is. Is someone else going to jump out to us where (we say), ‘Man, we’ve got to see him in another exhibition game,’ or ‘he’s close,’ or, ‘This is a guy that we want in our lineup on opening night.’
“There’s jobs to be won.”
What works in Musty’s favor is his dimension. At a listed 6-foot-2 and 205 kilos, Musty, who was chosen twenty sixth general on the NHL Draft final 12 months in Nashville, can play within the center six or a fourth-line position if want be.
In his first full season as a professional in 2016-17, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Timo Meier performed simply over 12 minutes a recreation and progressively earned extra ice time as he gained extra expertise.
However Meier was going professional that 12 months it doesn’t matter what, as he turned 20 in October. Musty gained’t be 20 till subsequent July, and the Sharks probably won’t wish to rush him into the NHL in the event that they don’t need to.
Musty labored on his greatest weak spot, his skating, this summer season. He “leaned out,” decreasing his physique fats proportion, however he stays stout and is about 15 kilos heavier now than throughout his draft 12 months.
One other 12 months with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves — with an opportunity to play for the U.S. on the upcoming World Junior Championships after he was left off the roster final 12 months – would probably be simply tremendous for Musty’s growth. Then, if Sudbury’s season ends earlier than the Barracuda’s, Musty may come to the AHL and get extra professional expertise.
Regardless, Musty will undoubtedly be one of many extra intriguing gamers to look at as soon as the Sharks start camp at their observe facility on Thursday. If he shines from day one, there’s an opportunity, nonetheless distant, that he may begin the season within the NHL and get a nine-game audition earlier than the primary 12 months of his entry-level contract kicks in.
If not, there’s all the time subsequent 12 months; if Sunday is any indication, Musty’s time is coming quickly.
DICKINSON’S GAME: The Sharks teaching workers and entrance workplace most likely preferred what they noticed from a number of prospects Sunday night time, together with defenseman Sam Dickinson.
The 6-3 Dickinson, who was chosen eleventh general by the Sharks in June, confirmed off his skating potential however was additionally a bodily presence in what ended up as a chippy recreation with a number of after-the-whistle scrums, one battle and 28 minutes in penalties.
Within the second interval, Dickinson, on a Geese 2-on-1 and with the assistance of a powerful backcheck, nullified the puck provider and took away the scoring probability. He additionally assisted Colton Roberts’ purpose within the third interval simply as time expired.
SIZE DIFFERENCE: The Sharks have all the time had large our bodies at these occasions, however they’ve principally been depth gamers. The distinction now could be that San Jose’s expert gamers are additionally large.
Apart from Musty and Dickinson, Kasper Halttunen and Filip Bystedt are each 6-3, and 5 of the six defensemen who performed Sunday had been additionally no less than 6-3. That doesn’t embody the 6-4 Shakir Mukhamadullin, one other high prospect who’s on the rookie roster however is being held out for precautionary well being causes.
