SAN JOSE – Sharks normal supervisor Mike Grier not has Erik Karlsson however he’ll nonetheless have some troublesome choices to make in relation to choosing the seven or eight defensemen who might be on the 23-man roster for the beginning of the common season.
Henry Thrun is ensuring of that.
Thrun, 22, had three factors Sunday evening to proceed what has been a powerful coaching camp to date, because the Sharks started the post-Erik Karlsson period with a 5-2 preseason win over the Vegas Golden Knights at SAP Middle.
Thrun, who performed eight NHL video games final season after he left Harvard, will most likely be within the lineup once more in not less than one of many subsequent two video games because the Sharks play a home-and-home sequence with the Anaheim Geese, beginning with a sport Tuesday in San Jose.
“He’s had an excellent camp,” Sharks coach David Quinn mentioned of Thrun, “and he’s come right here to earn a job.”
Whether or not Thrun stays with the Sharks or is reassigned to the Barracuda of the AHL earlier than the beginning of the common season may come all the way down to his waivers-exempt standing.
The Sharks have 10 defensemen who would require waivers to be assigned to the AHL. Realistically, although, Jacob MacDonald, Leon Gawanke, and Nikita Okhotiuk are the one ones in that group at risk of being despatched down.
Understanding they want depth (they used 12 defensemen final season), the Sharks don’t wish to lose any of these gamers to a waiver declare. MacDonald, 30, gives versatility given his means to additionally play ahead, Gawanke, 24, seems able to offering some wanted offensive punch, and Okhotiuk, nonetheless simply 22, may very well be part of the workforce for years to return.
To that finish, Thrun, who doesn’t require waivers, may need to start out the season within the minors.
“While you’ve acquired competitors, that’s by no means a nasty factor,” Quinn mentioned. “Making the workforce might not be proper on opening evening, however you will have to go all the way down to the American League and provides the final supervisor time to create a spot for you. So it might not be within the quick time period that you just’re going to make the workforce, however you possibly can make it ahead of later due to your efficiency and coaching.”
The Sharks may preserve eight defensemen to start out the season, with Okhotiuk, who the Sharks focused and bought within the Timo Meier commerce with New Jersey, becoming a member of Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mario Ferraro, Kyle Burroughs, Jan Rutta, Radim Simek, Matt Benning and Nikolai Knyzhov on the roster.
That may restrict the Sharks to 13 forwards to start out the yr, bringing about its personal questions. However it provides San Jose a bit extra flexibility when finalizing its protection corps after coaching camp.
“I’m truthfully simply nervous about what I do,” Thrun mentioned of the competitors. “I’m my largest believer in myself and I feel that if I do what I do and play the best way I can … that’s all I can care for. I can’t actually management the motion that goes on with different gamers.”
Thrun turned skilled final spring following his junior yr at Harvard and had two assists to shut out the yr. However he additionally averaged shut to twenty minutes of ice time per sport, rapidly incomes Quinn’s belief after being thrown into the deep finish straight out of the NCAA.
Thrun labored on his skating and his shot all through the offseason, and it seems the coaching has paid off. His improved skating has allowed him to shut gaps on opposing forwards faster than earlier than and though his shot stays a piece in progress, he acquired two wrist photographs by from the purpose that beat Golden Knights goalie Jiri Patera, together with one 24 seconds into the sport.
Thrun completed with over 21 minutes of ice time, forming an efficient protection pair with Jan Rutta.
“It’s good to start out a sport with a purpose, proper? So he simply stored it going,” Rutta mentioned. “I feel he performed a extremely good sport.”
Thrun’s efforts weren’t fairly sufficient to make folks overlook about Karlsson. However to date, there’s sufficient there to make people contained in the group be ok with Thrun’s long-term prospects.
“I actually like his sport,” Sharks heart Tomas Hertl mentioned. “He’s younger, however he’s acquired a variety of confidence.”
“Mentally, coming into camp, one of many largest issues I needed to give attention to was being affected person,” Thrun mentioned. “You’re not going to make the workforce on one play and also you’re not going to get minimize from the workforce on one play. So I attempted to start out off easy, construct from there, and slowly ramp up your confidence. I really feel that I’ve completed that all through camp.”