SAN JOSE – Danil Gushchin was tied for the NHL lead during the preseason with nine points in four games. But that’s hardly the only reason the diminutive forward made the San Jose Sharks roster out of training camp.
Gushchin’s skill and offensive prowess have never been questioned, as evidenced by his five assists in the Sharks’ 6-5 comeback win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. But Gushchin’s willingness to be more physically engaged and better away from the puck led the Sharks to make him one of the team’s forwards for right now.
“I think he’s earned it,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Gushchin. “He’s earned it through his summer training and preseason practices. His attention to detail is growing, a big third period in Vegas, and he’s earned the right to be here.”
The Sharks had to get their salary cap-compliant roster down to 23 players by Monday at 2 p.m. (PT), and to keep Gushchin, they’ll have, at least for now, 15 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies.
The Sharks placed captain Logan Couture (osteitis pubis) and fellow forward Thomas Bordeleau (lower body) on injured reserve and designated defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin (lower body) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body) as injured non-roster players. Warsofsky said Monday that Bordeleau and Vlasic are both skating but remain out indefinitely.
If both Couture and Bordeleau were healthy, Gushchin’s chances of being on the Sharks roster following training camp would have significantly diminished. However, their injuries opened the door for the 5-foot-8 winger to start the year in the NHL.
The Sharks informed Gushchin on Monday morning that he had made the team. They also assigned defensemen Luca Cagnoni and Jack Thompson and forwards Ethan Cardwell and Collin Graf to the Barracuda of the AHL.
“Yeah, awesome for sure,” said Gushchin, adding later, “It’s already my third year here in this organization. I know a lot of guys, older guys, younger guys, so I feel very good.”
Gushchin had one goal and eight assists in four exhibition games, with three of his five assists in Saturday’s comeback win in the third period. He assisted on two goals by Luke Kunin and one by Cardwell in the final three minutes of regulation time to go with the earlier helpers he had on goals by Klim Kostin and Mario Ferraro.
Gushchin’s nine points were tied for the NHL preseason lead with Mat Barzal of the New York Islanders. But other areas of his game also stood out.
Warsofsky was impressed with Gushchin’s work away from the puck in the defensive zone and his defense of opposing teams’ rush attempts.
“A big thing in the game is if somebody gets lost, it’s just angles on guys that have a lot of skill. You’ve got to push these guys to the outside,” Warsofsky said. “He’s picking those things up pretty quickly, and he’s obviously making things happen on the other side of the puck. So he’s got to continue to work on it, just like everyone else, but he’s taken some steps.”
Gushchin, a 2020 draft pick, skated on a line Monday morning with Nico Sturm and Ty Dellandrea. Gushchin, 22, has four points in six career NHL games and has 99 points in 126 career AHL games with the Barracuda.
Dellandrea said Gushchin’s preseason play reminded him of his former Dallas Stars teammate Logan Stankoven, who is similarly built at 5-8 and 171 pounds.
“Skilled as they come. Can score, can make plays, sees the ice great,” Dellandrea said of Gushchin. “Good on the walls, works. So if anything, I think that’s what helped him make the team — he could still play on the wall and get pucks out and win battles. He’s going to be dangerous.”
Mukhamadullin practiced with the Sharks on Monday and his designation as an injured non-roster player allowed them to free up a roster spot for another player.
The Sharks carrying six defensemen instead of the usual seven or eight wouldn’t be an issue at the start of the season. The Sharks open up with home games against St. Louis on Thursday and Anaheim on Saturday and can quickly recall a defenseman from the Barracuda if needed.
Mukhamadullin missed most of training camp with a lower-body injury but returned to practice on Saturday and participated in the team’s optional skate.
CELEBRINI BACK: Macklin Celebrini was also on the ice for the Sharks on Monday morning and declared himself ready for Thursday’s season-opener. Celebrini aggravated a lower-body injury in a preseason game last Tuesday at SAP Center. Celebrini was back in the spot he had been in for most of training camp, as the Sharks No. 1 center. He was on a line with Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund.
Celebrini got a shot away on a partial breakaway at the 13:45 mark that goalie Connor Ingram stopped. Celebrini’s left skate was then tapped by Utah defenseman Kevin Stenlund, causing the 18-year-old forward to lose balance and slide hard into the end boards.
Celebrini returned to the Sharks bench on his own and took one more shift on a San Jose power play before he went to the team’s dressing room for further evaluation.
“I thought I just toe picked but I slowed it down,” Celebrini said. “I mean, it wasn’t a penalty, but the front of his stick kind of lifted up my toe and it maneuvered my skate. That’s why I went down and just went hard into the boards.”
TRANSACTIONS: Veteran defenseman Lucas Carlsson and 2024 draft pick Igor Chernyshov were also designated as non-roster players. Neither skated with the Sharks during training camp. Carlsson, 27, signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Sharks in July and is expected to join the Barracuda. Chernyshov had shoulder surgery in early August. He is expected to join Saginaw of the OHL when he is fully healthy.
