Teal-good story: Thornton hears cheers in scrimmage
Center on mend from knee injuries passes early test
SAN JOSE >> The Sharks’ scrimmage Sunday at their practice facility gave everyone a glimpse at some of the more promising prospects in the team’s system in a game-like setting.
Still, the main attraction had to be Joe Thornton, who received a loud cheer when he first stepped on the ice before he skated on a line with Joe Pavelski and Evander Kane over two 25-minute periods.
It was difficult — particularly in the early going — for either the white team the teal team to sustain much of an offensive rhythm. But Thornton, on the teal team, skated without any issues and said he felt fine as he continues to refine parts of his game in the early days of training camp.
In one sequence, Thornton, who had his anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee repaired in January, came around the net in the offensive zone and flipped a cross-ice pass to an open Ryan Merkley.
The defenseman took a stride toward the net and fired a shot from near the top of the circle that clipped the outside of the post.
“Getting the lungs back because we haven’t done anything like this in a long time,” Thornton said. “Just kind of get the pace of the game back and just feel the puck a little bit.”
The Sharks scrimmage again this morning and host the Anaheim Ducks in their first preseason game on Tuesday, although Thornton does not know yet if he’ll dress for that game.
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer came out of last year’s training camp — when there was just one scrimmage — thinking that if there wasn’t a ton of changes in terms of coaches or personnel, he wanted to have two during
this camp to get more young players competing in game-like situations.
It could also prove beneficial to Thornton, as well.
“Get the game-pace back, short shifts, things like that that we haven’t done in a long time,” Thornton said. “You’re timing kind of comes back a little bit slowly, so hopefully playing these two little intrasquad games, get the timing back and feel the puck again.”
• The line of Lukáš Radil, Maxim Letunov and Vincent Praplan was impressive for team white, which won 4-1.
Radil, 28, assisted on a Marcus Sorensen goal and Praplan, 24, scored from just outside the crease.
Radil, a Czech Republic native who played in the KHL the last three seasons, signed a one-year deal with the Sharks in April. Praplan, who was born in Switzerland and played in the Swiss League the last four years, attended Sharks camp last season as an unsigned
free agent.
“I thought that line was the best line out there today,” Barracuda coach Roy Sommer said. “They were on the puck, they made plays, had good chances, scored a couple goals. (Praplan) was always around the puck.”
After he left Sharks camp last year, Praplan, playing with Kloten HC, had 15 goals and 39 points in 47 games. He played for Switzerland at the Pyeongchang Olympics and signed with the Sharks in March. .
“He was my favorite player last year,” Sommer said of Praplan. “When they said he was going back to Switzerland, I was like, ‘What, really?’ I thought he’d be a 2530 goal scorer in the (AHL).”
Praplan said a few teams were interested in signing him, but he remained in touch with the Sharks, felt comfortable in San Jose and thought this was his best opportunity.
Knowing he’ll be living in San Jose regardless of whether he playing with the Sharks or the Barracuda is nice, but Praplan said “it wasn’t why I came here. I’m here to play in the
NHL. That’s my main goal.”
• Rourke Chartier was also one of the players who stood out in Sunday’s scrimmage. Chartier scored a goal in first 25-minute period and seemed comfortable on a line with Sasha Chmelevski and Jayden Halbgewachs.
Chartier didn’t get a chance to compete at last year’s camp as he continued to recover from a concussion he suffered in a playoff game with the Barracuda in May 2017.
His bad luck continued as just five games after his return in November, he suffered another head injury and was out until February.
Chartier was out of shape when he did return, But in the Barracuda’s final seven regular season games, he had two goals and eight assists to help the team reach the Calder Cup playoffs.
“Obviously, last year was a bit of a mess for me,” Chartier said. “It was disappointing to feel the way I did. But I got a summer of feeling healthy. I didn’t even get to do camp last year, so I’m just excited to be playing hockey and get to start with the big guys.”