Why Sharks Sending Askarov to AHL Makes Sense…For Now

Yaroslav Askarov is ready to roll.

But not for the San Jose Sharks, not quite yet.

Askarov, arguably the top goaltending prospect in the world, was assigned to the San Jose Barracuda on Friday morning.

Askarov has yet to practice in Sharks training camp, after suffering a lower-body injury right before camp. But after skating on his own this week, Askarov reportedly practiced with the Barracuda today.

The 6-foot-4 netminder did not travel with the Cuda to Bakersfield for their Friday night preseason opener.

The San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate has one more exhibition game before their regular season opens on Oct. 12 in Ontario.

Askarov made waves this summer, asking for a trade after the Nashville Predators extended Juuse Saros for eight years and signed Scott Wedgewood as a back-up. Purportedly, the 2020 first-round pick had no intention of reporting to the Preds’ AHL affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals.

However, from the moment that the San Jose Sharks acquired him for a handsome package from the Predators, Askarov has expressed no unwillingness to report to the AHL.

“We talked with him. We had a good talk with him and his agent about our plan for him and how highly we think of him,” Sharks GM Mike Grier said after the trade. “We’ll see how it goes in training camp. If he has to report to the Barracuda, I don’t think he’ll have any issue with it.”

Unlike in Nashville, it sounded like it would be an open competition to be the San Jose Sharks’ opening night starter, between Askarov and Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek. However, veterans Blackwood and Vanecek have had solid and healthy camps, while Askarov is getting off to a late start because of injury.

We’ll see if Askarov is on the Sharks’ Oct. 10 opening night roster, but chances are, he’ll need more time to get himself into game form in the AHL.

And that’s okay. But eventually, there is an expectation that sooner or later, Askarov takes over the Sharks’ net.