San Jose Sharks: Barracuda Sign Their First Player Ever
Feb 2, 2015; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks mascot Sharkie performs on the ice prior to the Sharks
The San Jose Barracuda, the San Jose Sharks new top development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL), have signed their first player as a new franchise. The Barracuda announced that they have signed defenseman Gus Young to an AHL contract for the 2015-16 season.
Young, 23, is a 6-foot-2, 207-pound blue liner who spent the 2014-15 season in Worcester. In his first professional season last year, Young led the Worcester Sharks with a plus-14 rating in 64 games. He scored five goals and added 10 assists while accumulating 37 penalty minutes.
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Young, originally a seventh round draft choice of the Colorado Avalanche back in 2009, participated in the Sharks development camp last week and will be looking to add another solid season in the AHL.
Young attended Yale University where he spent four seasons with the Bulldogs. In 110 career NCAA games, Young amassed 12 goals and 28 assists, good for 40 points, with a plus-13 rating. The highlight of his NCAA career was bringing home the 2013 National Championship, the first-ever ice hockey title for Yale. During that championship run, Young was named to the Frozen Four All-Tournament Team.
The Barracuda will begin their first ever season of competition in the AHL on October 9 as they make the transition to San Jose from Worcester.
BREAKING: 91 days until Opening Night! pic.twitter.com/TubNbVUhzC
— San Jose Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) July 10, 2015
Recently, the AHL announced a new playoff format because of the newly formed Pacific Division, which the Barracuda will be a member of. The Pacific Division teams will play 68 games each, while the rest of the AHL will play 76 games. Because of the difference in games played, the playoffs will be determined by points percentage rather than the normal accumulation of points.
Last season, Worcester made the Calder Cup playoffs but were eliminated in the first round in four games.