SAN JOSE – San Jose Sharks rookie center Michael Misa will have to miss an extended period of time with a lower-body injury he sustained earlier this week during the team’s morning skate at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said the 18-year-old Misa, who was placed on injured reserve on Thursday, is now considered week-to-week with his ailment, which figures to keep him out of the lineup for at least several more games.
Warsofsky said Misa was injured during a Sharks power play drill on Wednesday morning, hours before the team’s game against the Kraken. Warsofsky said Misa entered a puck battle, “and something happened.”
“It’s not going to be his last time he’s injured in his NHL career,” Warsofsky said of Misa. “I know he’s disappointed, especially (being injured) in a morning skate is a little unique, it’s not in a game, which is frustrating.”
Misa, selected second overall by the Sharks at the NHL Draft in June, had three points in seven games with the Sharks. If he plays in 10 NHL games this season, the first year of his entry-level contract will be burned. That was the case with Sharks rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson, who played in his 10th NHL game on Sunday at home against the Detroit Red Wings.
Warsofsky said the Sharks’ medical staff is confident that Misa will stay on the week-to-week timeline and that his injury will not require several months of recovery. That could be important, since Misa is a prime candidate to represent Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship, which begins on Dec. 26 in Minnesota. A training camp for invited players will take place from Dec. 12-22 in Niagara Falls, Ontario.
The Sharks, who improved to 5-2-1 in their last eight games after a 6-1 win over the Kraken, host the Winnipeg Jets on Friday and the Florida Panthers on Saturday as they continue a month in which they play 15 times in 29 days.
Warsofsky said Misa can still develop, even though he will not be on the ice for the time being.
“There are still ways we can develop players,” Warsofsky said. “Obviously, you’re not getting the reps. But he’s going to watch (Mark Scheifele and Jonathan Toews on Friday), two of the best in the league. He’ll continue to watch (Macklin Celebrini and Alexander Wennberg).
“There’s video that we can show. There are meetings that we have. He’s not just out on an island doing his own little thing. He’s got rehab that he’ll have to do. So there’s still a lot of development we can do with him, even though he’s not on the ice.”
The Sharks on Thursday also recalled center Zack Ostapchuk from the Barracuda. Ostapchuk, though, will be a scratch Friday night against the Jets, as Ty Dellandrea was set to center the Sharks’ third line and Adam Gaudette centering the fourth line.
REAVES RETURNS
A little more than a week after he was injured in a game against the New Jersey Devils, winger Ryan Reaves returned to the Sharks’ lineup and was set to start Friday’s game on the fourth line with Gaudette and Barclay Goodrow.
Reaves, 38, sustained a lower-body injury in the second period of the Sharks’ game against the Devils on Oct. 30. Reaves had a breakaway and was able to get a backhand shot on goal as he fought off a check from Devils winger Paul Cotter, but he tripped over the glove of goalie Jake Allen and fell hard on his back.
Reaves missed three games due to the injury, but wanted to be available to play the Jets and the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. The Sharks play the Panthers on Saturday.
“I was definitely doing everything I could to come back for this weekend,” Reaves said. “Obviously, a couple of heavy teams that like to lay the body and like to get in your face. So those are the games I like to be in, for sure.”
With Reaves available to play, the Sharks took him off IR and added William Eklund, who last played on Nov. 1 against the Colorado Avalanche. Eklund will miss his fourth straight game on Saturday, but could be activated before the Sharks begin a three-game road trip next week that has stops in Minnesota, Calgary, and Seattle.
DICKINSON SITS
With games on back-to-back days, the Sharks scratched Dickinson on Friday in an effort to manage his workload. Dickinson had played in six of the Sharks’ last seven games and scored his first NHL goal in the third period of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Red Wings. In his first 11 NHL games, Dickinson is averaging 14:30 in ice time.
