San Jose Sharks Season Review: Troy Grosenick
Nov 16, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; San Jose Sharks goalie Troy Grosenick (34) stops the shot by the Carolina Hurricanes forward Zach Boychuk (22) during the second period at PNC Arena. The San Jose Sharks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
Troy Grosenick sure knew how to make his debut with the San Jose Sharks. Grosenick made his NHL debut on Nov. 16 as the Sharks visited the Carolina Hurricanes.
Grosenick was called up from the Worcester Sharks since Alex Stalock was on injured reserve, and the Sharks were playing the second of a back-to-back as they had fallen in Columbus to the Blue Jackets the night before.
With Grosenick between the pipes, the Hurricanes peppered the Sharks rookie. San Jose was sluggish throughout but did get the opening goal of the game from Tomas Hertl with more than a minute to go in the first period.
From that point forward, it was all Carolina. The Hurricanes outshot the Sharks 16-5 in the first, 15-9 in the second and 14-5 in the final frame. Despite the huge shot discrepancy, Grosenick was there to thwart every attempt.
Grosenick would end up making 45 saves as he shut out the Hurricanes 2-0 with his parents in attendance. Grosenick became the 22nd goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout in his first career start.
However, his next start two days later against the Buffalo Sabres, didn’t go as smoothly as the first. Grosenick would allow three goals on only 16 shots as it was the Sharks turn to outplay their opponent with nothing to show for it.
Grosenick would take the loss against the Sabres and it was his final start of the season with San Jose.
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After his brief stint in San Jose, Grosenick spent the rest of his season with Worcester where he split time with Aaron Dell. Grosenick appeared in 36 games, posting a 20-13-2 record with a 2.63 GAA and a .906 save percentage. However, Dell would post the better numbers with a 2.06 GAA and a .927 save percentage as he would get the starting nod in the Calder Cup Playoffs.
Grosenick would start Game 3 after Worcester fell behind two games to nothing against the Hershey Bears. Grosenick would make 27 saves as Worcester was able to force a Game 4. That would be the end of the line however as Grosenick allowed three goals on his first four shots faced as Hershey cruised to a decisive 10-4 victory as both goaltenders saw action.
It was another solid, but not spectacular, year for Grosenick who was able to get a taste of the NHL. Grosenick needs another season at the AHL-level where he needs to solidify his position as the number one goalie and ensure that he improves his goals-against-average and save percentage.
With Stalock only having one more year on his deal, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to see Grosenick serve, at the very least, as the backup goaltender in San Jose by 2016 if Stalock does not show something this upcoming season.
Regardless, the Sharks will need to decide what to do with their goaltending position and it should be interesting to see if Grosenick can compete for playing time this season. Obivously, the talent is there but now the consistency and improvement must show up if Grosenick wants to spend more time with the big club in 2015.