SAN JOSE – Defenseman Jake Walman will be a scratch for the first time this season Tuesday when the San Jose Sharks face the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth game of a five-game homestand.
Walman is dealing with a minor upper-body injury incurred in the first period of Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. However, coach Ryan Warsofsky said sitting Walman, who leads all Sharks defensemen with nine points and is second among all skaters in average time on ice (22:42), was his decision.
Rookie Jack Thompson will dress instead of Walman as the Sharks look to improve their record on this homestand to 3-1-0. The game also marks the return of Macklin Celebrini to the Sharks’ lineup after he missed 12 games with a hip injury.
Warsofsky said he and Walman talked about the decision but did not wish to elaborate to reporters on why he’s making a change.
“I’m sure he’s frustrated. I think everyone wants to play.” Warsofsky said. “Klim (Kostin) and Givani (Smith) would say the same thing
“That message is going to be between (Walman) and I.”
Walman was hurt by a body check by Canucks forward Brock Boeser late in the first period Saturday as he went shoulder-first into the boards to the left of the Sharks’ net. Walman left the ice and returned to the Sharks’ dressing room, but returned to the bench shortly after the start of the second period.
Walman, who finished with 20:35 in ice time on Saturday, participated in practice on Monday. Forwards Klim Kostin and Givani Smith will also be scratched against the Blue Jackets, who have lost three of their last five games before Tuesday.
“I’m a competitor, and I want to play, but it’s a coach’s decision,” Walman said Tuesday morning. “I’ll respect the conversation that we had. I wouldn’t say it doesn’t have anything to do with the injury. I don’t know if (Warsofsky) talked about that, but I wouldn’t be in this position without that, obviously.
“I was on the ice for practice (Monday) in hopes of playing. But it’s a coach’s decision. I feel good about my game, and I’m a competitor. I want to be out there.”
Warsofsky’s decision might have been influenced by Walman’s play in the third period of Saturday’s game, particularly the game-winning goal.
With the Sharks hemmed in their end, Walman and Canucks forward Pius Suter were battling next to the San Jose net. With the puck in the corner, Suter then backtracked a bit to give himself some space from Walman, took a centering pass from Conor Garland, and one-timed a shot that beat goalie Mackenzie Blackwood high to the glove side.
The goal came with 26 seconds left and helped end the Sharks’ three-game win streak.
After the game, Walman took ownership of the mistake, saying that he needed to be closer to Suter, a point he reiterated Tuesday.
“I own up to the things that I feel I’m responsible for, and it’s always been like that,” Walman said. “I’ve always been hard on myself and trying to be the best I can be. If it shows anything. It just shows that I want to win.
“I feel like I’m competitive enough to get through certain things, and that’s kind of why I always take ownership of things. It makes me better, makes everybody around me better, and makes the team better doing that.”
Warsosfsky’s decision to sit a heavy-minute and productive player like Walman against the Blue Jackets can be construed as the biggest, and perhaps most contentious, of his short tenure as the Sharks’ head coach. But it does show that he won’t let those types of mistakes slide if, indeed, that was part of his reasoning.
In any case, Walman hopes to return to the lineup soon. The Sharks host the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and then begin a four-game road trip against Metropolitan Division teams.
“(Warsofsky) knows how bad I want to be out there, and I think the guys around the locker room know as well, speaking to them,” Walman said. “I just want to be out there, and it is what it is; just be right back out there right away.”
Please check back for updates to this story.
