San Jose Sharks forward prospect Quentin Musty took a pass from fellow 2023 first-round draft choice Will Smith inside the offensive zone, streaked in on the Anaheim Ducks net with the puck, and fired a shot past goalie Vyacheslav Buteyets.
The third-period snipe completed a hat-trick and a four-point night on Sunday for Musty, as he and the Sharks earned a 7-2 victory over the Ducks in their second game of the Rookie Faceoff event in El Segundo.
Nolan Burke, Jeremie Bucheler, Kasper Halttunen, and Colton Roberts also scored, and Collin Graf and Luca Cagnoni added two and three assists, respectively. The Sharks, even without Macklin Celebrini’s services Sunday, improved to 2-0 at the event, with the finale on Monday at 11:30 a.m. against the Colorado Avalanche. Celebrini could return for that last game.
But against the Ducks, Musty took center stage. He started on the top line with Smith and Halttunen and contributed to four straight Sharks goals.
Now it’s a matter of what the 19-year-old from Western New York can bring once the Sharks’ main training camp begins in San Jose on Thursday and whether he can be one of the 13 or 14 forwards on the 23-man NHL roster to start the regular season.
Despite Musty being one of the Sharks’ top prospects, the numbers are not in his favor this year.
The Sharks already figure to keep Celebrini, 18, and Smith, 19, with Tyler Toffoli, Mikael Granlund, Alexander Wennberg, Barclay Goodrow, Luke Kunin, Nico Sturm, Ty Dellandrea, Carl Grundstrom, Fabian Zetterlund and William Eklund considered locks or close to it.
That would leave Musty, Klim Kostin, Collin Graf, Thomas Bordeleau, Justin Bailey, and Givani Smith battling for one or two spots.
That list does not even include Logan Couture, who will also be on the Sharks roster if he’s healthy. If he’s not, that opens up a roster spot for the start of the regular season.
Still, to get an NHL job right now, Musty will have to compete like crazy in preseason games and daily in practice. He’ll have to show he’s ready to be a pro with his habits on and off the ice, and that the Sharks coaching staff can trust him, especially when he doesn’t have the puck on his stick.
“I want to see (the young guys) competing in every drill, in the gym, on the ping pong table,” coach Ryan Warsofsky told Sharks Audio Network on Sunday. “How competitive are they as human beings? I know Macklin is. I know Will is. Is someone else going to jump out to us where (we say), ‘Man, we’ve got to see him in another exhibition game,’ or ‘he’s close,’ or, ‘This is a guy that we want in our lineup on opening night.’
“There’s jobs to be won.”
What works in Musty’s favor is his size. At a listed 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Musty, who was selected 26th overall at the NHL Draft last year in Nashville, can play in the middle six or a fourth-line role if need be.
In his first full season as a pro in 2016-17, the 6-foot-1, 210-pound Timo Meier played just over 12 minutes a game and gradually earned more ice time as he gained more NHL experience.
But Meier was going pro that year no matter what, as he turned 20 in October of that season. Musty won’t be 20 until next July, and the Sharks likely will not want to rush him into the NHL if they don’t have to.
Musty worked on his biggest weakness, his skating, this summer. He “leaned out,” reducing his body fat percentage, but he remains stout and is about 15 pounds heavier now than during his draft year.
Another year with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves — with a chance to play for the U.S. at the upcoming World Junior Championships after he was left off the roster last year – would likely be just fine for Musty’s development. Then, if Sudbury’s season ends before the Barracuda’s, Musty could come to the AHL and get more pro experience.
But a terrific camp in San Jose might alter those plans a bit.
Regardless, Musty will undoubtedly be one of the more intriguing players to watch at their practice facility, starting on Thursday. If he shines from day one, there’s a chance, however remote, that he could start the season in the NHL and get a nine-game audition before the first year of his entry-level contract kicks in.
If not, there’s always next year; if Sunday is any indication, Musty’s time is coming soon.
DICKINSON’S GAME: The Sharks coaching staff and front office probably liked what they saw from several prospects Sunday night, including defenseman Sam Dickinson.
The 6-3 Dickinson, who was selected 11th overall by the Sharks in June, showed off his skating ability but was also a physical presence in what ended up as a chippy game with several after-the-whistle scrums, one fight and 28 minutes in penalties.
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In the second period, Dickinson, on a Ducks 2-on-1 and with the help of a strong backcheck, nullified the puck carrier and took away the scoring chance. He also assisted Colton Roberts’ goal in the third period just as time expired.
SIZE DIFFERENCE: The Sharks have always had big bodies at these events, but they’ve mostly been depth players. The difference now is that San Jose’s skilled players are also big.
Besides Musty and Dickinson, Kasper Halttunen and Filip Bystedt are both 6-3, and five of the six defensemen who played Sunday were also at least 6-3. That doesn’t include the 6-4 Shakir Mukhamadullin, another top prospect who is on the rookie roster but is being held out for precautionary health reasons.
