Today marks the first day of preseason, meaning hockey is officially back! The San Jose Sharks do not play until tomorrow, but following an incredibly exciting Rookie Showcase excitement is through the roof. However, one player with quite a bit of hype surrounding him has been thrown an unfortunate curveball: Quentin Musty is out long-term.
This is a devastating blow to Musty, who rightfully has received a lot of praise from fans and scouts alike. Following a successful season with the San Jose Barracuda last year, where he played 61 games and had 45 points (21G, 24A), Musty was seemingly being primed to make the Sharks’ roster opening night. At the close of last season, scouts were praising Musty and his readiness to take the next step.
The injury comes as a bit of a surprise, though. Early into game two of the Rookie Showcase, Musty suffered a severe facial injury. Unfortunately, he took a puck to the face that resulted in him leaving the ice. However, he returned and completed the game, even scoring the final goal of the 3-1 victory over the Utah Mammoth rookies. Considering he was able to come back, complete the game, and even score a goal, his new status as out long-term is a bit shocking.
While the Sharks are certainly not lacking in young talent, particularly forwards, the loss of Musty in what was supposed to be a defining season for him is crushing. He has been impressive in almost every appearance, and fans were very much looking forward to the pieces he adds to the greater puzzle of the San Jose Sharks. Big and unafraid to use his size to leverage play and win board battles, Musty’s physicality was something that could’ve helped solve a lot of issues for the very finesse team.
In addition to Musty, forward Filip Bystedt is also injured, although he is only day-to-day. Bystedt is another upsetting loss, as he also seems ready to make the jump to the NHL. Thankfully, though, his injury is short-term and there is still hope for an appearance by him in the near future. Bystedt also scored a goal during the Rookie Showcase, although he did not play in the second game, and showed off his incredible speed and stickhandling abilities.
Other than the obvious blow of two high-quality prospects getting hurt, one long-term, there is another somewhat precarious aspect to this. The Sharks simply have way too many forwards and not enough spots on the team, but the fall of Musty and Bystedt make the positions of guys like Toffoli, Gaudette, Dellandrea and Goodrow somewhat safer. Plus, Head Coach, Ryan Warsofsky, seems to have a weird affinity for playing those guys instead of the young ones that deserve more ice time. With a guy like Musty unavailable long-term, it’s more likely we’ll be seeing one of those other guys who greatly slow down the rest of the team. However, fans can still find solace in an unstoppable top-six that will consist of superstars like Ivar Stenberg, Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Igor Chernyshov, Michael Misa and Collin Graf.
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