The San Jose Sharks opened training camp Thursday without four injured players, including goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, who is out with a lower-body injury, the team announced Thursday morning before taking the ice.
Askarov was acquired last month from Nashville in a deal that sent forward prospect David Edstrom and goaltender Magnus Chrona to the Predators.
Also ruled out for the beginning of training camp are captain Logan Couture, who has been dealing with an ongoing groin injury, and defensemen Shakir Mukhamadullin (lower body) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic (upper body).
It was not immediately clear how much time any of the injured players would have to miss, but early indications are that Askarov’s injury is not considered serious.
Couture missed 76 of 82 games in 2023-24 with a potentially debilitating condition called osteitis pubis, or inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones. After missing all of training camp and the Sharks’ first 45 games, Couture returned and played in six straight games from Jan. 20-31 before being shelved again.
Couture would sit out the rest of the season and said in April that he hoped to resume skating sometime in July. But general manager Mike Grier said late last month that Couture had yet to get on the ice, casting more doubt as to whether the career Shark would be ready for the start of training camp this week or be able to play in the team’s season-opener on Oct. 10.
“It’s difficult. I mean, I want to be playing hockey,” Couture said in an interview with Sharks Audio Network’s Dan Rusanowsky on Wednesday. “It’s what I’ve done for almost all my life, so not being able to the last 15 months has been difficult. But, I mean, the human body can only do so much at some point.
“We’re trying to attack this thing with different types of rehab, and maybe something will click here.”
Couture, 35, is entering his 16th NHL season and sixth as the team’s captain. He is fifth on the Sharks’ all-time list with 933 career games and is fourth all-time with 701 points.
Vlasic is entering his 19th NHL season, all with the Sharks, and Mukhamadullin is thought to have an outside chance of making the team’s 23-man roster to start the year.
Mukhamadullin, one of the key pieces the New Jersey Devils acquired in the Timo Meier trade in 2023, was also held out of the recent Rookie Faceoff in El Segundo. He is entering his second full season in San Jose after playing almost all of last year with the Barracuda.
Please check back for updates to this developing story.
