SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks made a handful of training camp roster trims on Monday, including sending 2023 first-round draft pick Quentin Musty back to Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League.
Musty, 19, shined at the Rookie Faceoff in Los Angeles in mid-September, but the Sharks felt he was too inconsistent once the main camp began. He went without a point in two preseason games and took two hooking penalties in last Thursday’s game in Anaheim, one of which resulted in a Ducks power-play goal.
The Sharks’ decision on Musty is unsurprising, given their improved forward depth.
“As a young kid, he’s just learning the pro game, the style, the speed, the pace, the details, the habits that you need to have to play at this level, and (those details are) not there yet,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Musty. “He did some good things in camp. He did some good things going back to the development camp. We just thought he probably couldn’t get over that next hurdle.
“This is the best thing for his development to go back and play in the OHL, do really well, put up some points. He’s got a list of things he needs to work on.”
As a player who does not turn 20 until next July, Musty is ineligible to play in the AHL at the start of this season. He could join the Barracuda in the spring if Sudbury’s season ends and the Sharks’ AHL affiliate is still playing.
In the meantime, the Sharks would like to see the 6-foot-2, 205-pound Musty dominate the OHL and be included on Team USA’s roster for the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championships in Ottawa. Musty was left off last year’s American team, which captured gold at the tournament in Sweden.
“You can’t go back to junior and go back to your old habits and think it’s going to be successful,” Warsofsky said. “You can probably get away with it at times. Our development staff will have to stay on him about certain things that we see in his game that will now translate to the pro level.
“And it’s going to be difficult. It’s difficult for all those guys that go back to junior that are on that cusp.”
Musty is one of six forwards no longer in Sharks camp. Filip Bystedt, Brandon Coe, Kasper Halttunen, and Tristen Robins were all assigned to the Barracuda, and, perhaps surprisingly, at this stage of camp, Justin Bailey was placed on waivers.
The well-traveled Bailey, now in his 10th professional season, was considered a candidate for the Sharks’ 13th or 14th forward spot. But the Sharks played him in just one preseason game, and he without a point in 7:55 of ice time in a 4-3 loss to Anaheim on Sept. 24 at SAP Center.
After he had 14 points in 59 games for the Sharks last season, Bailey signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Sharks in late June. If he clears waivers, Bailey will be assigned to the Barracuda.
Bailey came to Sharks camp …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
