Askarov, Other Injured Sharks Take First Step Toward Return

More good injury news for the San Jose Sharks!

For the first time in training camp, per head coach Ryan Warsofsky, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Yaroslav Askarov, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have skated, albeit on their own.

Vlasic has an upper-body injury, while Mukhamadullin and Askarov are nursing lower-body injuries.

“There’s a plan in place for all those guys to skate on their own and then implement them back into practice,” Warsofsky said last Thursday.

So that’s the next step for this trio, who have been hurt since the beginning of San Jose Sharks’ training camp: Can they return to practice?

It will be a welcome sight, because Askarov, Mukhamadullin, and Vlasic are all key players on the Sharks’ depth chart.

Askarov, arguably the best goaltending prospect in the world, was expected to push veterans Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek for a job on the big club.

It’s hard to see him breaking camp with the Sharks right now: Askarov will have to return to practice and probably play by San Jose’s preseason finale on Oct. 5 in that case. Chances are, the Sharks will want him to play at least a game before keeping him in the NHL.

Best guess, Askarov shakes off his rust with the San Jose Barracuda to start the year.

Mukhamadullin, the Sharks’ top NHL-ready defensive prospect, was expected to seize a job on a shallow San Jose blueline during camp. The 6-foot-4 two-way defender, a 2024 AHL All-Star, still has time though.

The San Jose Sharks open the season on Oct. 10 versus the St. Louis Blues.

It’s usually not as necessary for a skater to play games before coming back into the line-up.

Vlasic provides veteran depth and smarts on the blueline. The 36-year-old’s return could push prospect Jack Thompson down the depth chart. The 22-year-old right-hander looks like the current favorite to start the season with the San Jose Sharks as a No. 7 defenseman, in the absence of Mukhamadullin or Vlasic.

Let’s see when Askarov, Mukhamadullin, and Vlasic return to practice.