The Sharks have two more players headed to the Olympic Games. As both Phillip Kurashev and Pavol Regenda have been named to team Switzerland and Slovakia, respectively. Joining both Alex Wennberg for Team Sweden and Macklin Celebrini for Team Canada.
Kurashev has had a bounce-back campaign with 15 points in 31 games, after a 14-point campaign last season with the Blackhawks. He will be among 11 NHLers on Team Switzerland.
Kurashev is currently injured and has been out since mid December with a lower-body injury. There haven’t been many updates on his status, but Warsofsky did say he didn't expect Kurashev to miss the Olympics back in December, though it is unclear if that stance has changed.
As for Regenda, he will be headed to the Olympics for a 2nd time after winning bronze in 2022 in Beijing. The 26-year-old has been a bit of a revelation for the Sharks the past couple of weeks with 6 goals in 6 games on the season, including 4 in his past 3 games since being recalled from the Cuda. And has added a much-needed presence in front of the net in the top 9.
Outside of the recent hot stretch at the NHL level, Regenda has been a consistent presence at the AHL level between the Ducks and Sharks over the past couple of years. And has put together strong performances internationally for the Slovaks at various levels.
This should conclude the list of Sharks Olympians headed to Milan in February, with 4 in Celebrini, Wennberg, Regenda, and Kurashev. It’s possible Eklund could get the call for Sweden in the event of an injury, but outside of him, there really isn't another threat to make the cut.
Regardless, it will be fun to see how the Sharks players perform in front of the entire world in February as the NHL season goes into the Olympic break.