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Henry Thrun

Sharks’ Nikolai Kovalenko To Return, Henry Thrun Questionable

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The San Jose Sharks will have to shake up their lineup a bit in tonight’s matchup against the Nashville Predators. Forward Nikolai Kovalenko is expected to return from injury, while defenseman Henry Thrun is questionable to play due to a lower-body injury (per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now). Peng adds that if Thrun is unavailable, veteran Marc-Edouard Vlasic will step back into the lineup. Vlasic was held out of San Jose’s Monday night game due to illness.

With this news, Kovalenko will return to the lineup after missing San Jose’s last six games with an upper-body injury. The Russian rookie has been an interesting addition for the Sharks, who acquired him in the December trade that sent goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood to the Colorado Avalanche. Kovalenko has recorded six points, five blocked shots, 26 hits, and no penalties in 12 games with the Sharks since the move, bringing his season totals up to 14 points in 40 games. He’s managed those totals while serving in a third-line role, with limited special teams use. That depth assignment should make reincorporating Kovalenko a seamless process. He’s expected to step in for Carl Grundström, who only has one point in his last 15 games.

Thrun played yesterday against Boston, logging 15:51 of ice time in the Sharks 6-3 loss. The 23-year-old has eight assists in 40 games this year and has posted 33 hits and 44 blocked shots while averaging 16:56 of ice time per game. The Southborough, Massachusetts native signed a two-year $2MM extension with the Sharks last July and has been a regular for most of the season, other than a handful of healthy scratches.

PHR’s Josh Cybulski contributed to this article.

San Jose Sharks Sign Henry Thrun

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The San Jose Sharks have shored up the left side of their defense as the team announced they have signed defenseman Henry Thrun to a two-year, $2MM contract. The deal will keep the young defenseman in San Jose for the next two years after the team acquired him towards the end of the 2022-23 NHL season.

General manager of the Sharks, Mike Grier, sang high praises for Thrun by saying, “Henry has been a reliable addition to our defense corps since he joined the organization. We are encouraged by his development since he came to San Jose and look forward to seeing him continue to grow his game with our club“.

San Jose acquired Thrun in February of 2023 from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a third-round selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. Thrun was selected with the 101st overall pick by the Ducks organization in the 2019 NHL Draft but may have indicated he was unwilling to sign with Anaheim.

The Southborough, MA native spent three years with Harvard University in the NCAA and was named team captain ahead of the 2022-23 season. In his last two years with the Crimson, Thrun scored 14 goals and 63 points in 68 games before eventually signing his entry-level deal with the Sharks after his junior campaign.

In his first full season in San Jose, Thrun scored three goals and 11 points in 51 games while posting a -22 rating. He held an expected +/- of -16 according to HockeyReference which indicates he was disadvantaged by playing in a poor Sharks defense. The young defenseman finished tied for eighth on the team in blocked shots in limited action with 71.

Now that San Jose has decided to keep defenseman Mario Ferraro after some trade chatter and has added to the left side of their defense with the offseason acquisition of Jake Walman, Thrun should slot in on the team’s bottom pairing. Being one of the better puck movers on the team’s blue line, Thrun should also slot in one of the team’s two powerplay units.

San Jose Sharks Activate Henry Thrun, Place Logan Couture On IR

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Missing the last six games due to a shoulder injury, San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun was officially activated off injury reserve by the team after he successfully took part in warm-ups before this afternoon’s game. In a corresponding move, the team has placed captain Logan Couture on injured reserve for the second time this season.

Not much of an offensive weapon on the blue line, Thrun has played adequately in his first full season with the Sharks. Only playing on a unit with veteran defenseman Jan Rutta, the two have combined for 2.19 Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes according to MoneyPuck, the second-best mark on the team.

Now activated off of injured reserve, Thrun joins eight more defensemen on the active roster for San Jose, a team that has had a difficult time maintaining any sort of health over the regular season. In a position to give multiple different players their first shot in the NHL, the team has awarded Thrun’s efforts with nearly 20 minutes of ice time per night.

On the opposite side of the transaction, Couture has been out of the lineup since January 31st after reaggravating the groin injury that prohibited him from playing in the first 45 games of the season. Being one of the few offensive talents on the Sharks’ roster, Couture was only able to manage one assist in six games upon his return.

Snapshots: Newpower, Husso, Amadio, Emberson, Thrun

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The Detroit Red Wings have recalled defenseman Wyatt Newpower and goaltender Ville Husso. This marks the first recall of Newpower’s career, while Husso is returning from a conditioning stint in the minor leagues.

While Husso sat out on Saturday, he is poised to make his first appearance in the lineup since December 18th, when he suffered a knee injury 17 minutes into Detroit’s eventual 3-4 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. Husso appeared in 18 games before his injury, recording nine wins and a .893 save percentage. It’s a slight step down from the .896 save percentage he posted in 56 games last season – his first with the Red Wings. He may face significant challenges regaining the team’s starting role, with Alex Lyon posting 12 wins and a .923 save percentage in 19 games this year. That includes the 30-save shutout Lyon posted in his last game.

Newpower has appeared in 20 games with the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins this season, recording six points, 39 penalty minutes, and a +7. He’s in his third season with Grand Rapids and his fourth professional season. His professional career kicked off with the Cleveland Monsters in the 2020-21 season, after four seasons at the University of Connecticut, where he totaled 114 games and 47 points.

Other notes from around the league:

  • Vegas Golden Knights forward Michael Amadio made his return from injury on Saturday, getting activated off injured reserve before the matchup with the Detroit Red Wings. Amadio has appeared in 42 games with Vegas this season, scoring six goals and 17 points. The campaign has brought Amadio’s career totals to 338 games and 102 points.
  • The San Jose Sharks have activated defenseman Ty Emberson off of injured reserve, moving counterpart Henry Thrun to IR. Emberson has played in 21 games this season, just a few shy of officially marking it as his rookie season. He has seven points on the year, tied for third among the team’s defenders. Fellow rookie Thrun has yet to pass Emberson’s scoring totals, netting just three points through 23 games of his own this season.

Pacific Notes: Kraken, Greer, Thrun

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The Seattle Kraken have activated Matthew Beniers off of injured reserve. The former second-overall pick is expected to make his return to the Kraken lineup on Friday, after missing the team’s last five games. Jaden Schwartz and Eeli Tolvanen are expected to be game-time decisions, per Mike Benton of Kraken Audio Network.

Getting this trio of players back will be substantial for Seattle, as each ranks inside the team’s top seven scorers. Tolvanen leads the pack with 12 goals and 29 points through 47 games, while Schwartz has managed 20 points, split evenly, in 31 games, and Beniers has 19 points in 42. The former Calder Trophy-winning Beniers was in a bit of a lull before his injury, with just one goal through his last seven games. He’ll look to catch up to Tolvanen and Schwartz in the scoring column with a return against the St. Louis Blues on Friday.

Other notes from the Pacific Division:

  • The Calgary Flames are not yet sure if A.J. Greer will require surgery after his ankle went awkwardly into the boards in the team’s Thursday night game. The forward is expected to miss, “considerable time”, though, per Sportsnet’s Eric Francis. Francis speculated that Greer’s injury could lead to Clark Bishop getting recalled from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers, though former first-round pick Jakob Pelletier is making his AHL season debut this weekend and could also be considered for a recall soon.
  • San Jose Sharks defenseman Henry Thrun will be out until after the All-Star Break, per team reporter Curtis Pashelka. The 22-year-old is working his way back from a shoulder injury, with Pashelka adding that nothing seemed structurally wrong, insinuating that Thrun might have dodged the worst outcome. With Thrun out, San Jose will give top defensive prospect Shakir Mukhamadullin his first NHL game. Mukhamadullin has managed 26 points in 39 games with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda this season.

Sharks Reassign Henry Thrun

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Dec. 11: The Sharks reassigned Thrun to AHL San Jose on Monday, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports. Thrun logged a -1 rating, two penalty minutes and two shots on goal in 16:16 of ice time against the Golden Knights in last night’s shootout loss.

Dec. 9: One of San Jose’s top defensive prospects is set to get another look at the NHL level as the Sharks announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled blueliner Henry Thrun from AHL San Jose.

The 22-year-old was originally drafted by Anaheim but after he indicated to them that he wouldn’t sign with them, the Ducks then turned around and traded Thrun’s rights to San Jose.  He quickly signed with his season at Harvard having ended and got into eight games down the stretch where he didn’t look out of place, notching two assists while logging just shy of 20 minutes a night.

That gave Thrun seemingly an inside edge on a roster spot going into training camp and while he did open up the season with the Sharks, it was short-lived as he was sent down a week into the season despite picking up a pair of assists in his two appearances.  Since then, he has been with the Barracuda where he has played in 18 games, collecting a goal with five helpers.

With the recall, San Jose now has a full 23-player roster.  Notably, nine of those are blueliners although Jacob MacDonald has been lining up as a winger more recently.  Even so, Thrun might have to bide his time before getting back into the Sharks lineup.

Sharks Assign Henry Thrun To Minors

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CapFriendly relays that San Jose Sharks defender Henry Thrun has been assigned to the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda.

Thrun, 22, cracked the Sharks’ opening night roster after joining the team on an entry-level contract to end the 2022-23 season. After recording 31 points in 33 contests as a junior at Harvard, Thrun was ready to turn pro but informed the team that drafted him 101st overall in 2019 – the Anaheim Ducks – that he wasn’t willing to sign with them. Thus, the Ducks sent Thrun’s signing rights to the Sharks in exchange for a third-round pick at the end of February, and he put pen to paper with the Sharks after his collegiate season ended in March.

Across ten appearances thus far between this season and last, Thrun has notched four assists and has posted a relative Corsi share of 4.9% at even strength, meaning he’s managed to stand out as a positive possession force on a paper-thin Sharks blue line. Averaging 19:36 per game, the young Thrun has flashed the potential to end up in the Sharks’ top four long-term – certainly worth the price of admission they paid to the Ducks.

The Sharks, however, likely have some other depth blue-liners they’d like to give a look – namely, 23-year-old Ty Emberson, a shutdown defense prospect they claimed off waivers from the Rangers before the season. Emberson has served as a healthy scratch for the Sharks’ first three games, but with Thrun now set to play top minutes with the Barracuda for the time being, Emberson is likely to enter the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Bruins.

Thrun will be a restricted free agent at season’s end and is due a qualifying offer of $874,125, per CapFriendly.

USA Hockey Announces First 22 Players For 2023 Worlds

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The first 22 players that will compete for Team USA at the upcoming IIHF World Hockey Championship have been named, with an interesting mix of NHL experience and college excitement.

Lane Hutson is the youngest player in the group at just 19 years old, and he’ll be sharing the ice with 35-year-old Nick Bonino, the oldest. General manager Chris Clark released the following:

The depth of our player pool is reflected with our team and we’re excited about the group we have to represent our country at the world championship. We’ve got a great mix of experience and youth and most of our players have represented the U.S. before and know what it takes to be successful at a world championship.

The team will start training on Saturday in Munich, before a pre-tournament game on Tuesday. The tournament schedule for the U.S. begins next Friday, against Finland.

Here’s a look at the 22 players that have made the team so far:

G Casey DeSmith
G Drew Commesso
G Cal Petersen

D Henry Thrun
D Connor Mackey
D Ronnie Attard
D Dylan Samberg
D Scott Perunovich
D Lane Hutson
D Nick Perbix

F Samuel Walker
F Drew O’Connor
F Luke Tuch
F Nick Bonino
F T.J. Tynan
F Cutter Gauthier
F Sean Farrell
F Anders Bjork
F Matthew Coronato
F Conor Garland
F Alex Tuch
F Carter Mazur

West Notes: Blues, Sharks, Predators

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When the New York Rangers clinched the playoffs last night, thanks to losses by the Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers, there must have been some smiles on a Western Conference club, too. The St. Louis Blues will now receive a 2024 third-round pick as part of the Vladimir Tarasenko trade, instead of the conditional fourth that was initially announced.

The Blues now have ten picks in the first three rounds over the next two years, thanks to their trades of Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly. That gives them a chance to retool quickly, with considerable draft capital to flip this summer if they are trying to contend in 2023-24.

Sharks Sign Henry Thrun

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The Sharks have reached an agreement with a promising defensive prospect, announcing the signing of Henry Thrun to a two-year, entry-level contract.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but it does begin this season.

The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick by Anaheim back in 2019 (101st overall) but has certainly outperformed his draft stock.  This season, Thrun was the captain at Harvard and led their blueliners in scoring for the second straight year, tallying seven goals along with 24 assists in just 35 games.  Those numbers were nearly identical to 2021-22 when he potted seven goals with 25 helpers in 35 contests.  That helped him earn several honors, including ECAC Defensive Defenseman of the Year, First Team All-ECAC, and First Team All-Ivy.

Earlier this season, Thrun informed the Ducks that he would not be signing with them and instead would opt for free agency in mid-August.  However, San Jose decided to jump the queue on trying to work out a deal with Thrun, flipping a 2024 third-rounder to Anaheim to get his rights earlier this month.  That has proven to be a wise decision as it certainly didn’t take long for a deal to get done considering Harvard was just eliminated from the NCAA tournament on Friday.

While the Sharks will have to burn half of the contract now for the stretch run, they’ve secured themselves a promising young blueliner to add to a prospect pool that is starting to improve considerably under GM Mike Grier.  They’ll likely give Thrun a chance to get his feet wet with a few games down the stretch to assess whether he might be ready for full-time duty next season or if some time at the AHL level will be acquired.

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