SAN JOSE – With each passing game, it’s increasingly complex to believe that the San Jose Sharks picked up defenseman Jake Walman — and a 2024 second-round draft pick — from the Detroit Red Wings this summer for basically nothing.
Going into Thursday’s game against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks, Walman, after 11 games, leads all Sharks skaters in average time on ice (22:41) while being second in assists (seven) and tied for third in points (eight).
“He was a good player in Detroit, and he was a great add for us,” coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Walman on Tuesday after the Sharks beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-2. “A puck-moving guy and those are hard to find.
“He’s big, he’s physical, he can skate. (Those guys) don’t just fall off trees. So it’s a good acquisition, for sure.”
Walman had a goal, two assists, and over 21 minutes in ice time on Tuesday as San Jose (2-7-2) earned its second straight win and its first at SAP Center this season. Walman’s goal at the 2:20 mark of the second period was the first by a Sharks defenseman this year.
Walman also had three assists in the Sharks’ dramatic comeback win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday. Now, he has more three-point games this week than in the first 211 games of his NHL career (one).
“There were some moments in that game where we bent, but I felt we didn’t break and stuck together the whole time,” Walman said after Tuesday’s game. “I think we have a pretty close group. Obviously, we’ve gone through a lot of adversity, but we know how to battle those tough times now.”
San Jose Sharks’ Ethan Cardwell (56) and San Jose Sharks’ Jack Thompson (26) chat following their 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Walman’s increased responsibility speaks to how much more of an opportunity he’s getting now with the rebuilding Sharks.
His tenure in Detroit didn’t end well.
At the end of last season, Walman was listed as a healthy scratch for what would turn out to be his final six games in the Red Wings organization.
The only issue with that, Walman said during training camp, was that he wasn’t healthy.
Walman said he was dealing with a lower-body injury for roughly the season’s final two months when the Red Wings were trying to chase down a playoff spot. He missed time in March dealing with the ailment and returned for two games in April but was held out the rest of the way.
Detroit missed the playoffs on a tie-breaker.
When the Sharks acquired Walman and the draft pick on June 25 for future considerations, it was unofficially because the Red Wings needed to clear out cap space to try and get forward Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider under contract. Raymond would sign an eight-year, $64.6 million deal, and Seider inked a seven-year, $59.85 million contract.
Walman is …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
