Chris Tierney Finding Niche With San Jose Sharks

Mar 28, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; San Jose Sharks center Chris Tierney (50) shoots against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. The Sharks won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Chris Tierney has done his fair share of bouncing around this season. He began this year by making the San Jose Sharks out of training camp and got off to a strong start.

In his NHL debut, Tierney registered an assist and was a plus-two as the Sharks shutout the rival Los Angeles Kings 4-0 on opening night. Through the first three games, Tierney had two assists and was a plus-four as San Jose began the season undefeated.

However, those two assists were the lone points Tierney would score throughout the rest of 2014. After playing in 11 of the first 13 games, Tierney would find himself out of the lineup and being sent to the Worcester Sharks of the American Hockey League (AHL) on Nov. 6. He struggled to adapt to the NHL game and his playmaking abilities that won him a roster spot initially were nowhere to be found.

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It must have been difficult for Tierney who was a second round (55th overall) pick of the Sharks during the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Tierney spent four seasons with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, where he steadily improved each year. His offensive exploits shined through during the 2013-14 season when he scored 40 goals and 49 assists in 67 games (stats courtesy of sjsharks.com).

After a brief three-game stint in San Jose in mid-December, Tierney was assigned back to Worcester where he began to rebuild his confidence. In 27 games with Worcester, Tierney posted seven goals, 17 assists and a plus-six rating.

Tierney was recalled at the beginning of February, but still struggled to gain the trust of the coaching staff. On top of that, the Sharks went into a tailspin winning only three of 13 games during the month and Tierney was reassigned once again.

His latest stint in Worcester was short-lived as he returned to San Jose just a couple days later. Since his return, Tierney has been a force and one of the Sharks best forwards. He has five goals and nine points and is a plus-seven since being recalled on March 2. In his last five games alone, Tierney has three goals and two assists, including his first career game-winning goal in a 5-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche last night.

It’s been a tale of two seasons for Tierney who’s seen his ice time steadily rise since his return. After recording 10:25 of ice time during February, he’s seen his ice time jump nearly three minutes to 13:24. This is a sign that the coaching staff is gaining more trust in Tierney and he’s responding with production on the ice.

With his recent run of play, Tierney is pushing Melker Karlsson as the top rookie for San Jose this season. More importantly from a Sharks perspective, Tierney has settled into the third line center role between Matt Nieto and Tommy Wingels. They were the best line last night and appear to be developing a chemistry that should bode well for San Jose’s future.

While Tierney’s inaugural season at the NHL level has been less than ideal, the glimpses of his talents are beginning to shine through. The budding young core that general manager Doug Wilson has talked about building is taking shape. Tierney, Karlsson, Nieto, Tomas Hertl, Micro Mueller and Nikolay Goldobin are all players that should help supplement San Jose’s roster in the years to come.

Considering how this season has gone for San Jose and for Tierney, his development and improvement has been a pleasant sight to behold.