The San Jose Sharks may not have many big-name prospects currently with the American Hockey League’s San Jose Barracuda. However, they have a few who are certainly exceeding expectations. Today, we’re going to look at how Danil Gushchin earned his opportunity in the NHL and three players who should get an opportunity with the Sharks at some point this season as well.
In order to make it interesting, players who have played in the NHL this season, such as Henry Thrun or the recently reassigned Thomas Bordeleau, will not be included.
Why Gushchin Deserved His Opportunity
Gushchin has been the Barracuda’s leading scorer. The Sharks’ third-round pick from 2020 is currently sitting 19th in points in the AHL. It’s safe to say that he’s had a strong start to the season, especially considering just a few weeks ago, he was top five in the league in that same category. Through 11 games, he has four goals and nine assists for a total of 13 points. In the Barracuda’s overtime loss to the Coachella Valley Firebirds on Oct. 29, he had a three-assist performance, and the night before, he scored both of their goals in an 8-2 loss. He did cool down significantly after that, as he only recorded a single goal in the next four games.
It’s also important to note that Gushchin’s a capable player in his own end. He’d be able to contribute in nearly all situations if allowed to do so in the NHL. During his first appearance of the season for the Sharks, he played nearly 16 and a half minutes while recording an assist in a 5-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Nov. 14. According to Sheng Peng of SJ Hockey Now, he has been skating on a line with Luke Kunin and Anthony Duclair in practice. While that line won’t allow him to put up elite-level numbers, it’s solid enough that he should create some scoring opportunities.
Brandon Coe Could Be Next
Speaking of the Sharks needing offense, there’s nobody on an NHL contract for the Barracuda who has found the back of the net more than Brandon Coe. The 6-foot-4 winger started off with four goals through seven games and is one away from tying his total from all of last season when he scored five. Since that game, though, he’s been struggling to get on the score sheet, as he hasn’t recorded a point in four games. He’s currently tied for second on the team in goals with Gushchin, behind only Justin Bailey, who is currently on an AHL contract. Coe, the Sharks’ fourth-round pick from the 2020 draft, has seemingly taken a major step forward in terms of his development and should be on the NHL team’s radar in the near future.
A Couple of Defensive Options
The Sharks traded for Leon Gawanke this past offseason, sending Artemi Knyazev to Winnipeg in return. The German defenseman is currently 24 years old and has yet to make his NHL debut. In terms of development, though, he’s continuously taken a step forward every season since joining the AHL during the 2019-20 season with the Manitoba Moose. He has a strong one-timer and brings some offense to the blue line, but he does need to work on the defensive side of his game a bit more.
Given the defensive nature of the Sharks’ current blue line, though, having a defenseman who joins the rush could be highly beneficial once in a while, even if it results in a few odd-man rushes the other way. They did recently add Calen Addison to fill that role, which hurts Gawanke’s chances, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him get called up later on down the road.
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One of the biggest names the Sharks have in their minor league system is Shakir Mukhamadullin. Mukhamadullin was selected in the first round of the 2020 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils before getting traded to San Jose as part of the blockbuster Timo Meier trade last season. He’s a big, smooth-skating defenseman who could’ve had an argument to make the NHL team out of training camp this season.
It would be surprising if Mukhamadullin doesn’t get called up at some point this season, and once he does, it seems unlikely that he will head back down. He currently has seven points in eleven games during his first full season in North America, and there are no signs of him slowing down either. Similar to Gawanke, the defensive side of his game could still use a bit of improvement, but that’s the case for the entirety of the Barracuda so far this season.
Gushchin getting called up is the first of likely many this season, as the Sharks will continue to mix things up to find some sort of stability. Despite breaking their early losing streak, they quickly found themselves on another one. As a result, general manager Mike Grier and head coach David Quinn are going to have to evaluate every option they have to prevent things from snowballing this season. While some NHL regulars will suffer as a result, it’ll get some rookies an opportunity if they continue to perform at a high level.