According to a team announcement, the San Jose Sharks have reassigned forward Igor Chernyshov to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda. The transaction proactively opens a roster spot with Shakir Mukhamadullin or the recent acquisition, Kiefer Sherwood, expected to return from injury soon.
Chernyshov, 20, will wrap up his first stint in the NHL. The native of Penza, Russia, was selected by the Sharks with the 33rd overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. At the time, Chernyshov’s draft selection received high marks for being projected as a mid-to-low first-round talent.
He’s proven that since coming to North America last season. Chernyshov spent the 2024-25 campaign with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit (with fellow rookie Michael Misa), scoring 19 goals and 55 points in only 23 games. Unfortunately, despite the high scoring totals, there was some cause for concern with Chernyshov missing a significant amount of the season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Chernyshov quickly put those concerns to bed this season. Through his first 25 games of the year with AHL San Jose, Chernyshov scored 11 goals and 23 points with a +5 rating. Despite being in the NHL for the last month, he remains fourth on the team in scoring.
Once the Sharks ran into injury trouble with their forward core, the team recalled Chernyshov for his NHL debut in mid-December. In an impressive start to his career, he scored in more games than he didn’t, finishing his first stint with three goals and 11 points in 15 games, averaging 15:47 of ice time per game.
Still, Chernyshov was relatively sheltered next to phenom Macklin Celebrini throughout his debut. Of his 11 points, Celebrini either assisted or scored in seven of them. Regardless, given the quick chemistry the two developed, San Jose must feel confident that Chernyshov will have a long-term home with the club.
I don’t get it. He’s been great.
he has, but the alternative is waiving someone like regenda, and he’d almost certainly be claimed. or a trade of skinner or something, which seems a bit more likely I suppose
Yeah, it surprised me too. Maybe they just didn’t have many options to clear a place for Sherwood etc. I wonder if they make another move and bring Chernyshov back up sooner rather than later.
I’m guessing Skinner gets shipped out but I guess, per his contract that can’t happen until 1/31.
Yeah this is dumb. Let Regenda get claimed. He’s a solid 3rd liner at best. Let Chernyshov develop in the best league in the world. Clearly he’s excelling.
Regenda’s playing well too. I’d send Skinner or Goodrow down, honestly. Neither of them have much left in the tank, and if San Jose’s going for it, you want the hot hands in the lineup.
No matter how hard they try to convince us otherwise, Barclay Goodrow is not a thing. I’m bewildered by their refusal to move past hi.
Maybe he’s good in the room, but I’ve got a strong prejudice in favor of people who can play hockey over guys with “good attitudes,” and it sure isn’t that the Sharks lack impact veterans in the lineup. Orlov, Klingberg, Toffoli, Wennberg, they’re all on the high side of thirty and have a couple of Cup rings between them, even if one pitches the chaff like Goodrow and Reaves off of the bus.
(Huh, there’s an interesting trivia bit. I was just looking to see which of their vets had Cup rings, and until last year, Jeff Skinner was the only guy in league history to have played over a thousand games without ever appearing in a playoff game. Go figure.)
Chernyshov is not good defensively. His oiSV% of .863 is the 2nd worst on the team. He has no takeaways thru 15 games.
This is normal for rookies. Misa is the only other player with no takeaways (10+ GP).
His offensive numbers are mostly due to playing with Celebrini.
Hence the demotion. But the prospects are good.