Hill Talks Frustration With Injury, Kahkonen Trade

Missing the entire month of February, just to return for one game in mid-March before going down with injury again, San Jose Sharks goaltender Adin Hill hasn’t had an easy season.

Hill came into the year with some lofty expectations placed on his shoulders after costing the Sharks a second-round pick in the upcoming draft. With three NHL-caliber netminders on the roster, the Sharks will have to make a decision on who to move this summer. Through 25 games in teal, Hill finished with a .906 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average.

Adin Hill spoke to reporters about his future on Saturday. He didn’t have much to say about his persistent lower-body injury, except it wouldn’t require surgery.

Adin Hill, on his own injury frustrations:

I’ve always felt like I’ve been pretty resilient and haven’t really ever had much [in terms of] injury problems. So this year was pretty frustrating for me. It was annoying just not feeling 100% and feeling like I couldn’t do what I needed to do to help the team win.

Hill, on when he may be ready to come back:

I don’t know. It has to be when I feel 100% right before I step back on the ice. It’s just a matter of waiting and taking it day-by-day. I don’t feel like it’ll be too long, so I can be 100% for camp next year.

Hill, on how he took the Sharks trading for Kähkönen:

I took it as I was hurt. They had one goalie, Reimer was getting worked a lot, and they wanted a second guy to kind of fill in and help Reimer out and we were trying to push for a playoff spot. So I think the trade made sense.

Hill, on potentially coming back to San Jose next season:

I mean, I’m hoping I’m back here, but right now we have three guys so there’s one odd man out, but we’ll see. So I’m just going into summer and if I end up somewhere else next year, just go in with the best attitude.

Hill, on his off-season plans

I’ll go back home. I’ll travel to a few different places and work with some different people, but I’ll just get healthy and get 100%