The Sharks announced they’ve recalled winger Pavol Regenda from the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. They had an open roster spot after sending Ethan Cardwell down last week.
Regenda’s recall comes after center Adam Gaudette sustained a lower-body injury in last night’s win over the Ducks, Eric Stephens of The Athletic reports. It’s unclear if the 29-year-old, who had three points in his last three outings, re-aggravated the same lower-body injury that held him out for a game earlier this month.
The Sharks weren’t carrying an extra forward, so if Gaudette can’t go against the Wild tomorrow, Regenda will enter the lineup unless they opt to dress seven defensemen. The 26-year-old was added to the roster for a three-day stretch at the beginning of the month and was quite valuable in a bottom-six role, notching a pair of goals while averaging 12:43 of ice time across two contests.
Acquired from Anaheim last season, Regenda has been a well-established power forward in the AHL since signing with the Ducks as a free agent in 2022. The 6’4″, 212-lb winger arrived in North America on the heels of a strong showing at the Olympics and World Championship for his native Slovakia, and he’ll presumably be on his way to Milan in February to suit up for them again alongside a forward group led by young stars Dalibor Dvorsky and Juraj Slafkovsky.
In 28 games for the Barracuda this year, Regenda has four goals and eight assists for 12 points with a -3 rating. That’s his worst point-per-game output since arriving in the AHL, where he’s routinely paced at or above half a point per game.