SAN JOSE — The San Jose Sharks will be without at least one key player and possibly more Friday when they face the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City.
Forward Nikolai Kovalenko did not travel with the team on Thursday afternoon and will miss Friday’s game with an upper-body injury, Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said.
Kovalenko, considered day-to-day, was credited with three hits in 11:43 of ice time during Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights but did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. He has six points in 12 games since being acquired by the Sharks from Colorado on Dec. 9 as part of the trade that sent goalie Mackenzie Blackwood to the Avalanche.
Winger Fabian Zetterlund, who stayed off the ice Wednesday and Thursday with a lower-body injury, did travel with the team to Utah and is an option to play on Friday.
San Jose Sharks’ Fabian Zetterlund (20) takes a shot against Tampa Bay’s Nick Perbix (48) and Tampa Bay’s goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) in the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
“It’ll be a game-time decision,” Warsofsky said of Zetterlund, who is fourth on the Sharks with 27 points this season and is the team’s plus-minus leader at +6.
Winger Carl Grundstrom (upper-body injury), who hasn’t played since Dec. 28, skated again Thursday and could come off injured reserve for the game in Utah.
“We’ll have to kind of go back with our training staff this afternoon,” Warsofsky said before the team flew to Utah. “I would say it’s game-time. But I’ve got to have a meeting (about it) today.”
Defenseman Jake Walman had been skating with the Sharks recently, including Thursday morning, but did not travel with the team in the afternoon and will miss his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury. Walman, though, could be an option to play Saturday when the Sharks return home to play the Minnesota Wild, Warsofsky said.
San Jose Sharks’ Jake Walman (96) takes a shot against the Colorado Avalanche during the third period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Walman leads all Sharks defensemen with 25 points and has not played since Dec. 21.
“We’ll kind of reassess it in the morning,” Warsofsky said of Walman’s status.
Top-pairing defenseman Cody Ceci, who missed practice on Wednesday with an upper-body ailment, was a full participant Thursday and is expected to play on Friday.
“He’ll come on the trip,” Warsofsky said. “Yeah, he’ll be good to go. He practiced today. So as long as he got through today, I’m gonna talk to our training staff this afternoon, but he’ll travel. We’re pretty sure he’s gonna play.”
San Jose Sharks’ Cody Ceci #4 celebrates with Tyler Toffoli #73 and Alexander Wennberg #21 after scoring the game-winning goal against the New Jersey Devils in the final minute of the third period, Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025, at SAP Center in San Jose, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
The Sharks have dealt with injuries all season, but this batch has simultaneously impacted several of their best players. Though Zetterlund hasn’t missed a game yet and might play Friday, his absence in practices has highlighted his importance to the Sharks’ fortunes.
“He’s a great player, and we’re going to need him,” said center Mikael Granlund, recently Zetterlund’s linemate on the so-called Lund line along with winger William Eklund. “What he brings with his skating, with his strength, his forechecking, and obviously he can score goals. He’s been great for us.”
Zetterlund led the Sharks last season with 24 goals and has played in 147 consecutive games with San Jose. That streak will be in jeopardy this weekend.
“It’s just part of the business,” said Granlund of the injury spell. “Every single team, every single year, goes through some of the injuries. Obviously, you would like to have everyone healthy, but that’s never the case the whole year. So it’s part of the game. It happens.”
San Jose Sharks’ Mikael Granlund (64) takes a shot against Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) in the first period at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Granlund, 32, is the fourth-oldest Sharks player and a key piece to their leadership council as an alternate captain. He’s been around the block more than most of San Jose’s players.
He’s also a pending unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Does he want to go around the block at least once more with the Sharks?
“We’ll see what’s gonna happen,” Granlund said with a smile. “Just getting ready for tomorrow’s game. As a team, we’re trying to get the best performance out of ourselves tomorrow night. I’ve liked it (here this year). Obviously, results, we know we could do better.
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“There’s been some good moments. Our game, when we play well, we’re a really good team. So we’re gonna try to be more consistent. And we are taking steps in the right direction, that’s for sure.”
For Warsofsky, the oldest players are an essential conduit for the culture change he’s trying to implement. It’s a consideration the Sharks will have to weigh as the March 7 trade deadline approaches and players like Granlund receive interest from teams in contention for the Stanley Cup.
“Usually, the leadership group, they have a good feel for that,” he said. “If something needs to be handled, they can usually handle it. If it gets to my desk, then we’ll handle it and nip it in the bud. But we don’t want to let things drag on. So the leadership group does a really good job of handling that.”
