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Jake Walman Made A Healthy Scratch

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In an interesting decision for San Jose Sharks head coach, Ryan Warsofsky, defenseman Jake Walman will be a healthy scratch in the team’s game tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets (X Link). Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now theorized that it could be linked to an apparent injury Walman suffered in the team’s most recent loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

Walman is leading all Sharks’ defensemen in scoring with one goal and nine points in 13 games including seven points in the last four games. However, he struggled in the team’s loss to Vancouver producing a -2 rating over 20:35 of ice time including being on the ice for the deciding goal. The Sharks have played better recently with three wins in their last five games but Warsofsky may just be sending a stark message to keep his team on the right track.

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Sharks Activate Macklin Celebrini, Ty Dellandrea From IR

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Nov. 5: As expected, Cardwell and Gushchin have been sent down to make way for Celebrini’s and Dellandrea’s activations, head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Pashelka. The Sharks organization later confirmed that Celebrini and Dellandrea have been activated for tonight’s contest.

Nov. 4: Sharks forwards Macklin Celebrini and Ty Dellandrea will make their returns to the lineup tomorrow against the Blue Jackets, they each told reporters today, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. They’ll need to come off injured reserve, meaning the Sharks will have to open up a pair of roster spots in short order.

Celebrini, the first overall pick in this year’s draft, has missed all but San Jose’s season opener with a lower-body injury. The 18-year-old told Pashelka that he sustained it on his first shift, but he still managed to record a goal and an assist in 17:35 of ice time against the Blues. After a 12-game absence, he’ll likely be back centering their first line between William Eklund and Tyler Toffoli. That would leave Mikael Granlund and his team-leading 14 points in 13 games in a second-line role, greatly improving the Sharks’ scoring depth.

After an initial bleak stretch without Celebrini, the Sharks have turned things around – somewhat. They still sit last in the league with a 3-8-2 record, but they’ve won three out of their last four games and have outscored opponents 14-11 during that stretch. It’s certainly a step in the right direction for a club that recently became the first in NHL history to start back-to-back seasons with nine-game losing streaks.

They’ll also have Dellandrea available against Columbus. The 24-year-old had a goal in nine games after being acquired from the Stars over the offseason but sustained a hand injury against the Golden Knights over a week ago. He’s back after missing four contests with the injury, and he’ll almost surely slot back in after playing a season-high 15:13 against the Kings on Oct. 24, his last fully healthy game.

The Sharks have three likely candidates who are waiver-exempt to head to the minors to make room for the duo – forwards Ethan Cardwell, Daniil Gushchin, and defenseman Jack Thompson. San Jose has carried 15 forwards and six defenders at points this season, so they may opt to send down Thompson to get back to that formation, although that’s unlikely given he’s currently ninth on the team in scoring with three assists in six games. Gushchin has just one assist in 10 appearances after cracking the opening night roster, while Cardwell has no points and a -2 rating in three appearances since being called up to replace Dellandrea.

Injury Updates: Blues, Vlasic, McKegg

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Blues winger Kasperi Kapanen skated before practice today after missing Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury, notes Lou Korac of The Hockey News.  Head coach Drew Bannister labeled the 28-year-old as out day-to-day.  Kapanen has a goal in eight games so far this season while averaging just under 12 minutes per game and has been the subject of speculation that he could be a waiver candidate when everyone up front is healthy.

Meanwhile, Korac added that winger Mathieu Joseph and defenseman Nick Leddy also skated before practice as they work their way back from lower-body injuries that cost them the last two and seven games respectively; they are also listed as out day-to-day.  However, neither of them nor Kapanen is expected to play against Toronto on Saturday.

Other injury news from around the hockey world:

  • Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic has resumed skating on his own as he works his way back from a back injury, relays Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. The 37-year-old was only hoping to miss part of training camp with the issue but instead, he has yet to play this season.  Vlasic has seen his role drop sharply in recent years as he’s no longer the high-end shutdown defender he was in his prime but is rather more of a depth piece now and is likely to be in a sixth or seventh role when he returns; head coach Ryan Warsofsky didn’t have a timeline for when Vlasic could start to skate with the team.
  • After spending the last two seasons in the minors, veteran forward Greg McKegg decided to sign in the Czech Extraliga this summer. However, he won’t play for BK Mlada Boleslav after all as the team announced that he is dealing with a significant knee injury, one that appears to have been pre-existing before he came to the team before it flared up in practice early in training camp.  The 32-year-old will now undergo surgery for the injury.  McKegg has 233 NHL appearances over nine seasons and 454 career AHL games under his belt and might look to try to sign with a North American team again next summer.

Ty Dellandrea Only Day-To-Day

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With a game tomorrow night against the San Jose Sharks, the Vancouver Canucks are continuing their tradition of an off-day paper transaction. Typical recipients Erik Brännström and Arshdeep Bains are back on the NHL roster for tomorrow’s action as announced by the organization.

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Macklin Celebrini Returns To Team Activities, Still Week-To-Week

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Sharks rookie center Macklin Celebrini returned to the ice today for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in the season opener, the team relayed to reporters, including Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News. He’s now missed 10 games with the ailment and will miss his 11th tonight when San Jose hosts the Blackhawks. There’s still no change in his status, the team stressed – he remains week-to-week, so it could be well into November before the 2024 first-overall pick hits the ice again.

The 18-year-old’s NHL debut against the Blues earlier this month was a mixed bag. He scored his first NHL goal and added an assist in a 5-4 overtime loss. But he went just 1-for-14 on faceoffs, and he was hemmed in at even strength. The Sharks were out-attempted 31-12 with Celebrini on the ice.

Unsurprisingly, it’s been a tough go for the Sharks with or without Celebrini in the lineup. They remain last in the league with a 2-7-2 record, although they have rattled off back-to-back wins against Utah and the Kings. Their 2.45 goals per game are up slightly from last year’s 2.20, and Celebrini should both help and stand to benefit from that offensive uptick under first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky.

Evening Notes: Senators, Rizzo, Musty

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The Ottawa Senators announced that they loaned forwards Adam Gaudette and Zack Ostapchuk to their American Hockey League affiliate the Belleville Senators. The move comes on the heels of a two-goal game for Gaudette last night against the St. Louis Blues. Gaudette has had an excellent start to the season with Ottawa, posting four goals and an assist in eight games this season.

Ostapchuk on the other hand had an assist in last night’s 8-1 win, in what was his first NHL game of the season. It was a special moment for the 21-year-old as the assist represented his first NHL point. Ostapchuk dressed in seven games last season for Ottawa, going pointless.

The move is likely to be a paper transaction as the Senators don’t play again until Friday against the New York Rangers and could very well recall either player in the next few days.

In other evening notes:

  • San Jose Sharks forward prospect Quentin Musty has returned to the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League and is expected to play this weekend (as per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News). San Jose re-assigned Musty back to the OHL in late September, but a week later, it was reported that the 2023 first-round pick (26th overall) had requested a trade. That same day, Sudbury released a statement talking about Musty’s trade request, saying that they would field trade offers but would also welcome Musty back if he changed his mind. Musty’s return will be a big boost for the Wolves, who have started the OHL season with a 7-5 record.
  • Philadelphia Flyers prospect Massimo Rizzo has reportedly suffered an appendicitis that required him to have surgery a few weeks ago to get his appendix removed (as per Flyers reporter Bill Meltzer). The early reports indicate that Rizzo will require a six to eight-week timeline to recover from the appendectomy. The 23-year-old is slated to play in the AHL for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms but has yet to dress in a game this season. Rizzo was originally drafted in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes but was dealt to the Flyers in August 2023, along with a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for forward David Kase.

Sharks Acquire Timothy Liljegren From Maple Leafs

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The San Jose Sharks have acquired defenseman Timothy Liljegren from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Matt Benning, a 2025 third-round and 2026 sixth-round draft pick. Toronto will get the better of the third-round picks that San Jose previously acquired from the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche.

The move ends a tumultuous seven-year run for the 17th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. The Maple Leafs were patient with the 25-year-old, waiting for him to realize the potential that made him a first-round pick. Unfortunately for Toronto, that untapped potential never translated to results, as Liljegren could not crack Toronto’s top four on defense.

Liljegren was re-signed to a two-year $6MM contract back in late June, but despite the new contract, Liljegren quickly lost the trust of new head coach Craig Berube and general manager Brad Treliving. Liljegren has only dressed in one regular season game thus far and struggled mightily, as the Maple Leafs were out-chanced 21-2 while he was on the ice for 12 minutes of even-strength hockey.

Coming back the other way is 30-year-old depth defenseman Matt Benning. The Edmonton Alberta native is in the third year of a four-year $5MM contract, meaning that Toronto will realize a cap savings of $1.75MM in the transaction for this season and next. Benning is a useful defenseman who is just two years removed from his best offensive season as a pro (one goal and 23 assists in 77 games). While Benning will serve as valuable depth for Toronto, he is unlikely to see the kind of ice time he was seeing in San Jose and will most likely be Toronto’s eighth defenseman.

San Jose Sharks Recall Ethan Cardwell, Place Ty Dellandrea On IR

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With the ninth-youngest roster in the league, the San Jose Sharks are adding more youth to their lineup. The organization announced they recalled forward prospect Ethan Cardwell from their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda while placing forward Ty Dellandrea on injured reserve.

The Sharks haven’t issued a formal update on Dellandrea’s injury status. Still, the current theory is that he’s dealing with an upper-body injury suffered in the team’s recent game against the Vegas Golden Knights on October 26th. Dellandrea managed 9:02 of ice time before leaving the contest and had previously been ruled out in the team’s win last night against the Utah Hockey Club.

Dellandrea skated in all nine games for San Jose before last night scoring one goal in total on the season. He’s kept his physicality up in his new stomping ground but his defensive play and possession metrics have declined with a weaker supporting cast compared to his time with the Dallas Stars.

On the other side of the roster move, Cardwell looks to make his NHL debut after one full season in the AHL. He scored 23 goals and 43 points in 71 games for the Barracuda in his rookie campaign and has gotten off to a solid start this year with one goal and five points through six contests.

The former 121st overall pick of the 2021 NHL Draft won’t crack many lists of top prospects in the Sharks system but could be a boon for the organization toward the bottom of the lineup. Cardwell is a 200-foot player with an aggressive tendency to jump into every battle on offense and defense.

Warsofsky: Sharks' Start "Truly Embarrassing"

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  • The Sharks certainly weren’t expected to climb much higher out of last place this year, but few expected last season’s disastrous 19-54-9 record to not see any improvement. Unfortunately, a coaching change and significant roster turnover haven’t changed San Jose’s fortunes, at least so far. They’ve become the first team in NHL history to start back-to-back seasons with nine-game losing streaks, a stat first-year head coach Ryan Warsofsky called “truly embarrassing” following a 7-3 defeat at the hands of the hands of the Golden Knights last night. “I don’t think anyone’s happy by any means,” Warsofsky said post-game (via San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng). “There’s a lot of emotion in that locker room, frustration, anger, it’s tough right now.“

Grier Hoping Musty Is Traded In OHL Soon

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  • Late last month, the Sharks assigned prospect Quentin Musty back to OHL Sudbury but he has yet to play since then. It’s not because of an injury, however, but rather a trade request.  GM Mike Grier expressed some frustration about the situation to Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (subscription link), indicating that he has been in contact with Musty’s agent to emphasize the need to find a suitable trade sooner rather than later.  San Jose selected Musty with the 26th pick in 2023 and he averaged nearly two points per game last season with the Wolves, notching 43 goals and 59 assists in 53 games.  Having him out this long certainly isn’t ideal from a development standpoint.

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