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Sharks Feel Gushchin Will Develop Better in AHL

The San Jose Sharks felt that Danil Gushchin was overwhelmed defensively during his two games in the NHL.

Author:
Max Miller
Publish date:
Nov 20, 2023 6:28 PM EST

The San Jose Sharks felt that Danil Gushchin was overwhelmed defensively during his two games in the NHL.

"The other night [against Florida], I thought he got a little bit overwhelmed defensively," Sharks head coach David Quinn said after practice on Nov 18. "I thought it was a little bit of a hard game for him, but he's 21 years old."

Gushchin had an assist in 16:21 toi against the Florida Panthers. Despite the effective offense, the Russian forward's size might've affected his play on the ice.

"I do think that, especially for someone his size, you continue to dominate down there as you get a little bit bigger and stronger and grow up a little bit," Quinn said. "Sometimes it's just time. He is 21, and at 23, he is going to look a lot different."

Through 12 games in the AHL, Gushchin leads the San Jose Barracuda with 13 points.

"He's continuing to learn, and he is such a skilled player who takes pride in getting better," Quinn said. "[He is] so coachable. With these guys possibly coming off the IR, we had to send somebody down, and he was a logical choice."

Gushchin is not waiver-eligible, so possibly losing a player was unnecessary to keep him on the roster. While the Sharks need help offensively, the long-term goal is at hand. Gushchin is arguably the team's best prospect already in the system.

Jacob MacDonald is now playing forward for San Jose and was activated today.

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