Why the Sharks will likely not recall Gushchin or Bordeleau this season
SAN JOSE – Winger Danil Gushchin is having another standout season for the San Jose Barracuda as he carried a nine-game point streak into the team’s game against the Abbotsford Canucks on Saturday.
But unless the San Jose Sharks experience a rash of injuries to their forward group in the next two-plus weeks, Gushchin, or any other Barracuda forward, will likely not return to the NHL this season.
The Sharks have used up all four post-trade-deadline non-emergency recalls and had 15 forwards on their roster going into their game with the New York Rangers on Saturday. So, unless four or more Sharks forwards are injured, Gushchin and others, like Thomas Bordeleau and Ethan Cardwell, will remain in the AHL the rest of this season.
Gushchin, a third-round pick by the Sharks in 2020, had an assist in the Barracuda’s 5-1 loss to the Canucks on Friday at Tech CU Arena. Over the last nine games, he has seven goals and nine assists, as he entered Saturday as the Barracuda’s third-leading scorer with 44 points in 47 games.
Gushchin was named the AHL’s player of the week for the period ending March 23 after he had four goals and seven points in three games.
The Sharks have 10 games remaining after Saturday, starting with Sunday’s game in Los Angeles against the Kings. Already eliminated from playoff contention, the Sharks’ season will end on April 16 when they host the Edmonton Oilers.
After being scratched the last three games, winger Klim Kostin will draw back into the Sharks’ lineup on Saturday with Carl Grundstrom coming out. The other Sharks’ healthy scratches Saturday will be forwards Noah Gregor and Nikolai Kovalenko.
After an outstanding training camp with nine points in four preseason, the often dynamic Gushchin made the Sharks’ roster to start the year. However, Gushchin had just one point in 10 NHL games before he was returned to the AHL on Nov. 5.
Bordeleau was injured during camp and has not played an NHL game this season. A second-round pick by the Sharks in 2020, Bordeleau came into Saturday with 38 points in 53 games this season. He had three goals and eight assists in his last 12 games.
Gushchin and Bordeleau, both 23, are pending restricted free agents. The Barracuda continued to jockey for position in the AHL’s Pacific Division, as they entered Saturday in fifth place with nine games remaining. The top seven teams in the division make the playoffs.
Where the Barracuda have been hurting is on their defense corps, which was further depleted Saturday when the Sharks recalled Jimmy Schuldt. Barracuda defenseman Jack Thompson sustained a foot injury in Wednesday’s game in San Diego and did not play Friday against Abbotsford.
Schuldt, who will play against the Rangers, was recalled after Vincent Desharnais was ruled out with an upper-body injury. Desharnais will miss Sunday’s game in Los Angeles and Tuesday’s game in Anaheim.
It was unclear whether Schuldt would travel with the Sharks to Southern California. The Sharks, per coach Ryan Warsofsky, expect to have defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic available for Sunday’s game. Vlasic (upper body) has not played since March 15 when the Sharks hosted the Washington Capitals.
San Jose entered Saturday in 32nd place in the NHL’s overall standings, but would move up one spot with a win over the Rangers. The Sharks were two points back of Chicago, but have played fewer games, meaning they would have a better points percentage than the Blackhawks if they beat the Rangers.