What I’m Hearing About Barabanov, Nutivaara’s Injuries

There’s good news on the injury front for the San Jose Sharks.

The Sharks cut their roster to 22 players yesterday, waiving Aaron Dell and Jeffrey Viel, and sending down prospects William Eklund, Thomas Bordeleau, and Nick Cicek.

Eklund, Bordeleau Sent Down: Who’s Next Shark to Get Demoted?

But what’s going on with injured winger Alexander Barabanov and defenseman Markus Nutivaara? Neither made the trip to Europe, but if healthy, both will almost certainly be on the Sharks’ 23-man roster.

Final season-opening rosters are due at 2 PM PT today.

San Jose Hockey Now is hearing that Barabanov and Nutivaara, both dealing with lower-body injuries, are on the right track. They may not necessarily be ready for the Oct. 14 home opener against the Carolina Hurricanes – therefore, they may not be on the San Jose Sharks’ 23-man roster today – but there’s hope that both will be back in the line-up very, very soon.

Specifically, it’s SJHN’s understanding that Barabanov should be ready in less than a week, and Nutivaara appears close to participating in practice once again.

Barabanov’s return to the Sharks’ top line could help balance San Jose’s attack up front. Both Logan Couture and Nick Bonino’s lines have suffered from a bit of a revolving door at wing so far. Oskar Lindblom and Noah Gregor have not yet secured their spots on those lines yet.

Meanwhile, Nutivaara was ticketed to skate with Erik Karlsson to start the new season. But because of Nutivaara’s injury, Karlsson played the two contests in Prague with two different partners, Scott Harrington and Mario Ferraro.

The San Jose Sharks’ first post-European practice will be held on Oct. 11.