The San Jose Sharks are off to a bad start, opening the season with no victories through three games, including two overtime losses that could have easily been wins. While more games will determine all the areas where the Sharks need to improve, they should consider toggling their lineup to include more young players playing together at the same time.
The organization’s young players deserve a chance to provide a preview for the next era of Sharks hockey and see if they can give the team a boost at the same time.
Sharks’ Young Players Deserve a Chance
While any rebuilding team needs veterans, the Sharks are showing that experience alone doesn’t lead to wins. The defensive pairing of John Klingberg and Nick Leddy during San Jose’s Oct. 11 loss to the Anaheim Ducks is proof. The duo, who were acquired as much to reach the salary cap floor as for their abilities on the ice, combined for a minus-3 nd had by far the two lowest game scores in the contest. At least one of them was on the ice for each of Anaheim’s final two goals during regulation.
Their performance should force the coaching staff to move them down the lineup or out of it altogether. If this happens, the options for their replacements are clear. Shakir Mukhamadullin turned in a solid — albeit not great — performance in the season opener, committing two penalties but posting two assists, and could prove worthy of more playing time.
Sam Dickinson didn’t have a great game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, but he’s still adjusting to the NHL, and being paired with Klingberg might not have helped. He could be in line for a larger role if he can improve during his nine-game trial.
Up front, Collin Graf has shown a lot of growth since last season and has been a great contributor on the penalty kill, while Michael Misa is looking to prove himself during his own nine-game sample. The Sharks have a lot of forwards to work into their lineup, and finding space for all of them won’t be easy. At least in certain games, the right move is to make room for them and take veterans like Ryan Reaves or Barclay Goodrow out of the rotation.
A lineup loaded with young players might be worth a shot, at least to see if it works. It can’t be sent out for every game, but too often a veteran is tapped for a shift at a key time, only to make a mistake, and something needs to change. The Sharks made many roster adjustments this offseason, and experimentation was always going to be necessary. A pivot toward youth is the best place to start.
Ryan Warsofsky Has Decisions to Make
If the Sharks do ice a younger lineup in certain games, it will be because of Ryan Warsofsky, who is a mix of contradictions when it comes to dealing with San Jose’s youth. He is the youngest head coach in the NHL and has repeatedly argued that he can relate to young players, at least in part, because of it. At the same time, some of his messages have been less supportive.
“[Our] winning habits are not good,” Warsofsky told reporters after the loss to Anaheim. “Our whole game wasn’t great, let’s be honest. So we got to keep working with these young guys and our team here to have an understanding of what that looks like.” This would be a fine quote if the young players made most of the mistakes in that game, but again, Leddy and Klingberg probably had the toughest nights.
Related: Sharks Could Have Gone Even Younger With Opening Night Roster
Warsofsky’s lineup decisions are also worth questioning. He waited until the Sharks’ second game of the season to play Dickinson, which isn’t problematic on its own — but he scratched Mukhamadullin because of it, despite the Russian’s decent first game. When Misa debuted against the Hurricanes, Warsofsky had him take Graf’s spot even though Graf had played well in two consecutive games.
Many players could take that to mean they won’t necessarily be rewarded for good performances, while veterans get to stay on the ice regardless of whether they play well or not. For his part, Warsofsky insists that’s not the case.
“It doesn’t really matter to me if you’re a first-year guy or you’ve been in the league for 15 years,” he said. “I really don’t care. We need to put the best team on the ice that gives ourselves the best chance to win.”
To be fair, Warsofsky has a difficult job to balance. If he doesn’t play young players enough, he risks hampering their development and hurting their confidence. If he plays them too much, veterans around the league might see him as a coach who doesn’t treat experienced players well, making it more difficult for the Sharks to attract free agents in the future. As such, while all the young players should play together at some point, they might only do so a few times.
Warsofsky will tailor his management style to each player. He moved Will Smith in and out of the lineup at times last season, and Smith ultimately had a positive rookie season. As the campaign progresses, perhaps Graf, Mukhamadullin, and others will break through and establish themselves in the lineup like Smith did eventually. But that decision will ultimately come down to Warsofsky, who provides legitimate reasons for us to be uncertain about his approach to developing players.
Sharks Have Opportunity to Exhibit Their Future
One major goal for the Sharks this season is to show promise for the future. They can do this by putting players on the ice who will actually play in those future seasons, and, at some point, all of those players should play together in the same game. It will give them experience playing together, and hopefully, create optimism among Sharks fans that the coaching staff and team as a whole are committed to taking a key step towards winning.
