SJHN Daily: Barracuda Mascot Hits Opposing Player, Smith & Pohlkamp Make Team USA

World Junior Championships rosters are getting finalized, it looks like we should know all the San Jose Sharks prospects who are participating.

Team USA’s roster dropped yesterday, and not surprisingly, 2023 fourth-overall pick Will Smith made the team. But perhaps surprisingly, but not so much after a strong Summer Showcase, puck-moving defenseman Eric Pohlkamp, a 2023 fifth-round pick, made it too.

We have our squad that's heading to Sweden. 🇺🇸 #WorldJuniors pic.twitter.com/x1ESN9DcZC

— USA Hockey (@usahockey) December 16, 2023

A couple days ago, we got word that 2022 fifth-rounder Jake Furlong had made Team Canada’s defense.

SJHN Daily: Furlong Makes Canada’s World Juniors Team

2022 first-round center Filip Bystedt and 2022 second-round defenseman Mattias Havelid are slated to have big roles on Team Sweden.

And finally, 2023 second-round sniper Kasper Halttunen is on Team Finland.

The 2024 WJCs open on Dec. 26 in Gothenburg, Sweden.

AT SAN JOSE HOCKEY NOW…

Nico Sturm was the latest Shark to get hit with the injury bug, and the Sharks answered that by trading for Jack Studnicka.

Here’s what scouts had to say about the San Jose Sharks‘ new addition.

Jack Studnicka believes he can establish himself as a reliable NHL player with the Sharks.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic re-joined the Sharks in Denver, perhaps for Sunday’s game against the Avalanche.

The Arizona Coyotes are making it out of their rebuild, slowly but surely. Can the Sharks follow that model?

The San Jose Sharks lost Friday’s game in Arizona 1-0 after having two goals disallowed. Coach David Quinn does not blame those disallowed goals for the loss, however.

IN OTHER SHARKS NEWS…

Jack Studnicka introduced himself on the San Jose Sharks’ social media pages.

#SJSharks fans: meet Jack! 👋 pic.twitter.com/V6BOI3tHF2

— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) December 16, 2023

Eetu Makiniemi picked up a shutout with the San Jose Barracuda on Friday.

Big 🍩 for Makiniemi! #Shutout pic.twitter.com/1iZAN2mMBx

— SJ Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) December 16, 2023

Ethan Cardwell scored the Teddy Bear Toss goal on Saturday, and the Cuda won two games in a row for the first time this season.

Cardwell makes it 1-1, and so it begins… pic.twitter.com/hNfQQgvDRp

— Nikita Sokolov (@cwnikitasokolov) December 17, 2023

To add insult to getting swept this weekend by the Cuda, Wranglers forward Emilio Pettersen caught the wrong end of mascot Frenzy’s celebration.

So if you guys didn't see, Frenzy absolutely clobbered a Wranglers player in the face with the flag LMAO #SanJoseBarracuda #OneReef pic.twitter.com/T33FU5Bojt

— Michael “Molasses” Morales (@MichaelMolasses) December 17, 2023

AROUND THE NHL…

Jakob Chychrun walked into the wrong dressing room in Friday’s game against the Dallas Stars.

It made for a funny clip, but he had a good reason to do it… (TW on the attached link, it’s a nasty cut…)

🗣️ Switching sides pic.twitter.com/eIYyr79lcm

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 16, 2023

Monday’s opponent, the Colorado Avalanche, also made a trade on Friday, sending Tomas Tatar to the Seattle Kraken for a draft pick.

The Florida Panthers have been juggling around defensemen as they navigate the “good problem” of having eight NHL-worthy defensemen.

The Dallas Stars were forced to use an EBUG to back up Scott Wedgewood for all of yesterday’s game. The Stars lost to the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in OT.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rickard Rakell is nearing a return from injury.

New Jersey Devils prospect Seamus Casey was one of four Florida natives to make USA’s World Juniors roster.

Antti Raanta placed on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes — he cleared.

How it Started ➡️ How It’s Going

A rollercoaster 48 hours for Jordan Kyrou pic.twitter.com/lFvO80bgEK

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 17, 2023