San Jose Sharks
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.
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I have this weird feeling Cagnoni might actually make the team over Thompson if Mukhamadullin and Vlasic are still on the shelf. The right side is weaker, but it’s all older veterans. The left side features an inexperienced player in Thrun. If you subtract someone on the right and put Thompson in, there are two very young defensemen in the lineup at once. If you swap Thrun for Cagnoni, you keep a five vets/one youngster ratio. And if the idea is to add an element to the lineup on some nights that the current top six players don’t bring, Cagnoni… Read more »
I don’t see it. You could be right but I think Thompson is the choice in that scenario.
Elaborate on your opinion. Why don’t you see it? I explained my thought process. Clue us in on yours, please.
Older, bigger, AHL allstar. Thompson’s next step is the NHL. Luca’s is simply the AHL. Lucas is already fighting an uphill battle, so there shouldn’t be skipping any steps in his development. he should play a full season in the AHL. Hell he might end up in the ECHL for a little bit too. You never know. According to Wario, Thompson has had a good camp. Tiebreaker goes to the more experience player.
I would be surprised if Cagnoni made the roster. Coming from the WHL, where he has played against lesser competition does not bode well for his prospects in an NHL game. I would say he had the best preseason of all the Sharks defensemen so far, but he is still playing against AHL / NHL talent that are not going full out. I believe the speed and intensity of the game ratchets up starting in the regular season. Cagnoni has had shifts where he has struggled on the defensive end. Either losing position to bigger bodies or making a mistake… Read more »
And why again is $7mil underperforming Vlasic not bought out and taking up a valuable roster spot? I mean, I know we were “Doug’d” with yet another special DW contract (sarcasm attempted), but why are we still enduring this??!
There’s one year left so a buyout (while possible) comes with multi-year cap penalties, and for what exactly..? Sharks are closer to the cap *minimum* not the max, so it’s not like they need that cap space from his contract or anything this year
How many times does this have to be explained? Go read one of the many articles where Sheng and other writers have detailed why it’s dumb AF to buy him out.
If they bought him out this summer, the cap penalties would still be on the books when Smith and Celebrini’s ELCs are up. If they wait until next summer, that won’t be the case.