As San Jose Sharks rookie forward Michael Misa completes his return from injury, the team has chosen to send him to Team Canada to play in the World Junior Championship. The 10-day tournament is the perfect stop for him, and his participation should carry benefits for both himself and the team. In terms of both the timing and the larger outlook of the season, he and the Sharks have a lot to gain from the event.
Misa Gets Chance to Get Up to Speed
Due to his injury, Misa’s first NHL season hasn’t gone the way he wanted, as he’s been limited to just seven games. So far, the injury has carried one small benefit in that it allowed the Sharks to send him to the San Jose Barracuda of the American Hockey League (AHL) on a conditioning assignment, something they wouldn’t have been able to do had he been healthy under the NHL’s rules about players younger than 20. He appeared in two AHL games and didn’t have to jump right back into NHL action after more than a month off the ice.
World Juniors should serve as an extension of that same concept. He can get back up to game speed by playing against players around his age with roughly his experience level, rather than needing to face NHL veterans while simultaneously rehabbing his injury. He’ll have plenty of motivation to do so as he and his Canadian teammates look to avenge last year’s disappointing finish.
If he plays well at the tournament, he should gain the momentum he needs to conclude his season on a positive note. He has a better chance to do that with a competition at the level he’s used to than he would by immediately trying to readjust to the pace and style of the NHL.
Sharks Can Take Time Bringing Misa Back
The Sharks have exceeded expectations this season, and a playoff appearance is a slim but legitimate possibility. As a result, their mission is pivoting from another year of rebuilding to a year of pushing to win games. Those circumstances make it more difficult to integrate a prospect into their lineup. So while they’re surely disappointed that Misa has been injured, his injury provides a slight blessing in disguise for them, much in the same way it does for him.
San Jose was set to face a tough decision on whether or not to keep Misa for a full season once he played nine games for the Sharks. But when he got injured after seven, the team got more time to make that choice, allowing them a lengthier period in which to assess the state of the roster and their position within the Western Conference. By sending him to the World Juniors, they’ll play even more games without him and give them a better sense of what their next steps should be when it comes to managing Misa.
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Once the World Juniors competition concludes, the Sharks will have a variety of options for the rest of Misa’s season. This far into the season, they might as well have the maximum amount of information possible, so waiting out the tournament is their best option.
Sharks and Misa Don’t Need to Rush This Season
The Sharks can give Misa two more NHL games before deciding whether to use up a year of his entry-level contract. This far into the season, they could truly go in either direction. Once the World Juniors end, they’ll have 41 games remaining on the season, and Misa might not even play in all of those for developmental reasons. Would they burn a year of his contract to have him play at most 48 NHL games? On the other hand, he might not gain anything from a return to juniors beyond the tournament, given how dominant he was during his time at that level.
The good news is they’re not desperate. Given how surprisingly well the Sharks have played, how many of their forwards are having solid seasons and how early Misa is in his career, they can be patient and careful rather than frantically throwing him back into the lineup. They can make the best decision for everyone involved — and part of that decision is having him play at the World Juniors in the first place.