Josh Frojelin
Quentin Musty and Kasper Halttunen are growing together, literally.
Musty and Halttunen, both San Jose Sharks’ 2023 draft picks, are living together, along with 2022 second-round pick Cam Lund.
They’re also maturing on the ice. So how have the roommates progressed? And what do they have to work on to make the NHL?
Musty has overcome his disappointment with not getting called up by the Sharks earlier this season, while Halttunen is focusing on the addition of other skills to complement his lethal shot.
San Jose Hockey Now spoke with the big wingers, head coach John McCarthy, and an NHL scout.
Quentin Musty
Musty is surging.
“It’s tough to be, at this point in the season, and haven’t reached my personal goal of playing in the NHL yet,” the top San Jose Sharks prospect said on Friday. “I finally found my stride after being being injured for a month, month and a half. It’s good to finally get back to where my game was at the beginning of the year, after a tough couple weeks there after injury.”
Musty, 20, has dealt with a couple injuries this season, a Cole Guttman head shot that took him out for a couple games in December, and a lower-body injury that sidelined him from mid-January to mid-February.
In addition to that, Musty was disappointed that he wasn’t recalled, admitting in February, “Not getting the call earlier in season wore on me a little bit mentally before I got injured.”
The 6-foot-2 winger returned on Valentine’s Day, but had just a goal and an assist in his first eight games back.
“There’s not a lot of offense off the rush in this league,” Musty said then. “So winning pucks, especially in the [offensive] zone, is important. You want to play in the [offensive] zone as much as you can…Winning those battles is something I have to do in order to [play in the OZ].”
Since Mar. 4, however, the 2023 No. 26 pick has exploded with 10 goals and 14 points in his last 15 contests. He now has 19 goals and 40 points in 55 games, averaging 16:38 a night,
On Saturday, Musty credited his scoring binge on winning more battles: “It’s a mind-set, you got to want the puck more than the other guy if you want to win the battle. So just get in there, try to touch the puck first.”
“What we talk to him about and what we meet with him on, the reason that you’re having success, you’re winning the puck battles, you’re doing all the little things,” San Jose Barracuda head coach John McCarthy said. “Those details, they can put you in a position to use your skill. We want him to have the puck on his stick. We want him to use his vision, use his playmaking ability. The reason that he’s able to do that is because he has the puck more from playing the right way. “
“It’s not an easy league. It’s hard to play in and you got to work to create your chances,” the ex-Sudbury Wolves star said of the AHL. “Me being an older player last year [in] junior, it’s a little bit easier to create offense just with your skill. In this league, you got to work hard for it, winning puck battles and getting to the net more and just trying to score more goals that way…Just little details that make you successful in this league. “
As for the NHL? Musty knows that the San Jose Sharks are in a tight playoff race now, so he may not get called up this season. So he’s just going to put his head down and keep listening to his coaches.
“[The] coaches here know the pathway to that. They hear directly from them. So, whatever they tell me, just trying to get better at it and make it to the next level,” he said.
“[Improve] defensive detail,” McCarthy said. “200-foot game details that he’s showing improvement in…Because at the NHL, you need to be 100 percent in those areas. He’s getting better.”
“Musty is still inconsistent shift to shift, but has had a pretty good year, overall. Clearly has the skill to play at the next level,” an NHL scout said. “Still needs work on the details of his game. Keep his feet moving, be reliable off the wall in his own end. Play with pace, get inside more often, and defensive coverage.”
Kasper Halttunen
Halttunen is navigating a similar path as his fellow ex-OHL star.
Less than a year ago, the ex-London Knights winger potted 15 goals in 17 games en route to the Memorial Cup.
Now, the 20-year-old is featured on the San Jose Barracuda’s second power play unit and has 13 goals and 31 points in 63 games, averaging just 12:46 a night. That’s solid production for a bottom-six forward.
Musty has seen improvement in his teammate and roommate throughout the season.
“His game’s growing a lot,” Musty said of Halttunen. “He’s a goal-scorer. Obviously, you can see that he can shoot the puck, and put the puck in the net. But I think with the role he’s been put in this year, he’s done a great job of adjusting to that and becoming a heavier player. Playing defense and winning puck battles, stuff like that. It’s nice to see his game grow that way.”
McCarthy has also seen growth, even if it doesn’t show as much on the scoresheet. The coach said the 2023 No. 36 pick is “battling, stopping, hitting, [and retrieving] pucks.”
“We’ve seen improvement there,” McCarthy added. “I think it also, that comes with time. He’s coming from junior. It’s different. Sometimes, it can take players a little while, and he’s doing a nice job. He’s coming along… He’s handling it well. He takes feedback well, so he’s progressing right along.”
“Halttunen has made really good progress from the start of the year,” the scout said. “Much more engaged on and off the puck, showing more of a physical element than I expected. And working off the puck much more. NHL shot and adding more to his game, solid first-year progress from him.”
Halttunen appreciates that his first full year in San Jose is living with Musty and Cam Lund.
“It’s awesome, going through the same things with all of us, and going through [it] together,” the 6-foot-3 winger said. “It’s special. We’ll, for sure, look back one day in the future, that it was a fun year, and glad that we had each other.”
While Halttunen and Musty are taking longer to get to the San Jose Sharks than they’d like, McCarthy believes both will achieve their dream.
“Everybody moves at a different pace,” the head coach said. “It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a process. We have to continue to harp on things with these guys to get them where they want to go.
“I always remind myself how young they are, and we’ve got to give them time for it to set in.”