San Jose Sharks' newest defenseman, Vincent Desharnais, will make his team debut against the New York Islanders.
Desharnais is slated to play alongside Henry Thrun, returning from a four-game injury absence.
The 6'7 d-man has had a whirlwind of a season. He signed a two-year contract with the Vancouver Canucks, was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, then traded again to San Jose.
"When I signed July 1, if you would have told me [that in] March I would be here with everything that happened it would've been hard to believe," Desharnais said. "I'm excited to just play. There's been a lot of distractions outside the ice. Whether it was in Vancouver [or] Pittsburgh, now I can just be here and find the best game that I can. Just do anything again to help the team win."
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Desharnais is not known for offense. The big d-man has just three assists in 44 games this season. He will be a presence in front of the Sharks net, an area that needs some size to protect the goaltenders.
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"I think my penalty killing will help. I try to bring stability to the blue line, bringing a little bit of toughness around my net and in the corners, and obviously, I want to be there for the younger guys," Desharnais said. "There's a lot of young guys here, and I want to make sure that those guys are protected, and they know that if anything happens, I'll have their back."
Desharnais said he's close with Sharks forward Klim Kostin. The two both played with the Edmonton Oilers.
"I was pretty close to him. As soon as I got traded, he shot me a text, and he was so pumped," Desharnais smiled. "This morning, he came to see me, and he was like, 'Brother, I'm so happy. I'm so happy to see you. It's been so long.' He's a great guy. He's a great player."
The Sharks also traded Cody Ceci, another former Oilers teammate. Desharnais told reporters that he reached out to Ceci to talk about San Jose.
"He was super happy for me. He gave me a few [restaurants to] try out," Desharnais said. "He's a great guy. He gave me very good comments about San Jose."
The San Jose Sharks take on the New York Islanders at 7 p.m. PT in Desharnais debut.
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