The San Jose Sharks will return to practice this Saturday after a nine-day layoff.
They went into the All-Star break on Jan. 31 very banged up, with forwards Mikael Granlund and Givani Smith, and defensemen Mario Ferraro and Henry Thrun on the shelf.
In response, the Sharks moved exciting young winger William Eklund to center and gave highly-touted defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin his NHL debut.
The Sharks were so banged up, even head coach David Quinn went into the break needing a hip replacement.
So how will the San Jose Sharks return to the ice tomorrow?
Quinn had his hip replaced on Feb. 2 and expects to be behind the bench by the Sharks’ next game on Feb. 14. We’ll see if he’s back on the ice tomorrow.
I’m told that Granlund, who missed six games after his Jan. 16 upper-body injury, should be back at practice tomorrow.
Ferraro, who has missed four games since his Jan. 22 lower-body injury, is feeling better, but at this time, San Jose Hockey Now isn’t sure if he’s going to practice tomorrow.
We don’t have any updates on Thrun or Smith right now.
Thrun appeared to suffer a shoulder injury on Jan. 23, and has missed three games since. The expectation is that his injury is short-term, so chances are, he’s back at practice tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Smith has been out since Dec. 21 with a knee injury. He’s raring to come back.
Quinn has said there’s a chance that all four will be available coming out of the break, we’ll find out tomorrow. A lot of dominos will fall if the Sharks are fully healthy.
Granlund’s return could move Eklund back to the wing, though the 21-year-old impressed at center. If Granlund is healthy, this also can be the first time this season that Quinn can showcase the San Jose Sharks’ four-headed monster up the middle, All-Star Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture, Granlund, and Nico Sturm. That’s in Game 52 of the season, on Wednesday at the Winnipeg Jets.
Meanwhile, the fate of left-handers Ferraro and Thrun are relevant to fellow lefty Mukhamadullin. Both Ferraro and Thrun are ahead of Mukhamadullin on the depth chart, so if they’re both back, the Sharks could argue that their star prospect is better served in a feature role in the AHL, as opposed to learning on the fly as a bit NHL part.
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