The San Jose Sharks assigned Henry Thrun to the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL) earlier this week and although there’s a glut of defensemen ahead of him now that the blue line is getting healthy, it shouldn’t be long before he’s back in the NHL.
The Barracuda have had a strange start to the season, with a 7-2 loss to the Rockford Ice Hogs on opening night before beating them with the exact same score the following day. Thrun will get quite a bit of ice time in the AHL compared to what he’d likely get in the NHL at this point, as he’d be bouncing in and out of the lineup. Meanwhile, at TechCU Arena he’s going to get top-four ice time, while likely getting an opportunity on both special teams.
Thrun Had a Good Start in the NHL
Admittedly, Thrun being sent to the AHL came as a bit of a surprise to me. He has performed fairly well at the NHL level, recording two assists through the two games he’s played to start the season. On Tuesday (Oct. 17) against Carolina, he had the third most ice time among Sharks defensemen behind only Jan Rutta and Mario Ferraro. The same was true for the home opener against the Vegas Golden Knights when he played just under 20 minutes. When he was in the lineup, he was being relied on fairly heavily and played fairly well. However, with defensemen like Marc-Edouard Vlasic and possibly Nikita Okhotiuk either recently rejoining the lineup or expected to rejoin it soon, it’s difficult to find room.
The Sharks also seem to be interested in giving Ty Emberson a chance at the NHL level this season. Although he hasn’t dressed in a game yet this season, it’ll likely happen sooner than later. As a result, people had to be sent down and one of them was Thrun.
Thrun’s Role with the Barracuda
The Barracuda have a strong defense on paper with defensemen like Shakir Mukhamadullin, Valtteri Pulli, and Gannon Laroque already on the roster. Add a defenseman who has been able to perform well at the NHL level such as Thrun, and the team only gets better. The main concern with the Barracuda defense would be the abundance of players on the roster, as well as the fact that the majority of them are left-handed shots. Considering Thrun is seen as a legitimate NHL prospect in the near future though, it would be surprising if he’s not on either the first or second pair as well as both special teams units. Having Thrun on one pairing and Mukhamadullin on the other will give the Barracuda a strong one-two punch on the blue line, with both able to drive play and quarterback the power play.
Thrun has never played in the AHL so far in his career, as he signed out of college last season and immediately reported to the NHL for the end of the season. This will be a new experience for him, but overall it should be a good chance for him to learn and develop his game at a slightly slower pace. While it’s difficult to go from being one of the best at your level to the middle of the road at a new level, this will allow Thrun to make the transition to professional hockey a bit more smoothly.
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It’s certainly not what Thrun was hoping for after making the Sharks out of training camp, but he’ll get another opportunity sooner rather than later. The future of the Sharks is starting to take over, and there’s no reason to doubt that he’ll be a big part of it in the long run.