Desharnais Ready To Stand Up for Young Sharks

Vincent Desharnais is ready to stand up for the San Jose Sharks.

“I’m excited to come here and bring the culture of hard working and try to help the young guys as much as I can,” said the 6-foot-7 defender. “I try to bring stability to the blueline, bring a little bit of toughness around the net and in the corners. And obviously I want to be there for the younger guys cause there’s a lot of young guys here. And I want to make sure that those guys are protected. And they know if anything happens, I’ll have their back.”

In exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2028, the Sharks received Desharnais from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The right-handed defenseman started the season with the Vancouver Canucks, after signing a two-year, $4 million contract over the summer, but headed to Pittsburgh as part of the Marcus Pettersson trade in early February. He’s played 54 total games with three assists this season.

In the previous two seasons, Desharnais did yeoman’s work for the Edmonton

He said he’s looking forward to settling in with the San Jose Sharks, after lots of movement.

“When I signed July 1, you would have told me, March I would be here, with everything that happened, it would have been hard to believe, but I’m excited,” Desharnais, 28, said. “There’s been a lot of distractions outside the ice, whether that was Vancouver or Pittsburgh, and now I can just be here, play, and just find my game, find the best game that I can, and just do anything I can to help the team win.”

General manager Mike Grier said Desharnais will play a role in solidifying the San Jose Sharks’ defense.

“On the back end, I think bringing Vinnie in the other day is going to really help us by adding some size, someone who likes to defend and somewhat has some meanness to him – which we haven’t had here – so I think he’ll really help on the back end.”

And the defenseman is also looking to play a mentor role, helping out the Sharks younger core.

Desharnais – who has played with both Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby – said the chance to play with Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith is exciting.

“I’ve played with both of those guys when they were at their peak – I know Crosby might not be at his peak, but he’s still a hell of a hockey player. Just seeing their work ethic and what they do off the ice,” Desharnais said. “It’s going to be fun to come here and see what Mack and Smitty and all those guys do, and I’ll be able to try to help them as much, even though I’m not close to their skill-set.”

Desharnais also joins the long list of Sharks with New England and NCAA connections, as he played four years at Providence College – where he played with ex-Shark Jake Walman — and he’s looking forward to engaging in some fun rivalries.

Desharnais, who joined practice in San Jose for the first time Saturday, said he reached out to old buddy and former Shark Cody Ceci, who he played with on the Edmonton Oilers.

“He was super happy for me. He gave me a few spots – ‘You can try the restaurant there, try it out.’ He’s a great guy, he gave me very good comments about San Jose,” Desharnais said.

He also got a text from former Oilers teammate Klim Kostin, ahead of their reunion.

“I was pretty close to him. So as soon as I got traded, he shot me a text. He was so pumped,” Desharnais said. “This morning he came to see me. He was like ‘Oh brother, so happy to see you. It’s been so long.’ He’s a great guy. He’s a great player.”