Musty Got Better & Better at Rookie Faceoff

Quentin Musty continued the positive impression that he made at development camp.

In July, the San Jose Sharks’ 2023 first-round pick paced camp with three goals during the Prospects Scrimmage.

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Two months later, the 6-foot-2 winger kept it going, this time at the Rookie Faceoff in Las Vegas. While he didn’t score until the finale, a 5-3 loss to the Arizona Coyotes, he more than held his own against tougher competition.

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Keep in mind, the 26th-overall pick is just 18, and going from juniors to competing against some of the top prospects in the world, and in some cases, men. Holding your own is meaningful.

“He’s looked good. He’s a big kid. He’s 18. But he fits right in,” head coach John McCarthy said. “If you were to watch the game, you would have no idea [he’s so young].”

“It’s a little more competitive, physical,” the top San Jose Sharks prospect said, comparing the Rookie Faceoff to even development camp. “It’s obviously an adjustment from juniors with the speed and less time and space.”

Musty looked like he was getting more and more comfortable as the tournament progressed.

“First game, I was a little bit panicky with the puck. Thinking [too much], obviously you’ve got less space, but it’s not as quick as you think it is. There’s still a little bit of space and time to make plays. Just stop throwing the puck away and things like that,” he said. “Just got more comfortable as the games went on. I thought my performance was better as the weekend went on, started to feel comfortable there at the end.”

McCarthy agreed: “He’s catching on to things. We just made a few tweaks to his game, some tracking and stuff, just some details that we wanted to see. And he made the adjustment right away. So you can tell he can process things quickly, and he can apply it.”

The next step for Musty? San Jose Sharks’ training camp, then likely, a return to the Sudbury Wolves. He’s looking to build on a productive sophomore season, when he finished second on Sudbury with 78 points in just 53 games.

“It’s the basics, getting bigger, stronger, and faster. Just trying to keep up with these guys,” Musty said. “And the NHL level, it’s even bigger and faster. So just to get myself ready for that.”