Sharks to give Misa 'every opportunity' to make NHL roster
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While it remains undecided where forward Michael Misa will play next season, the Sharks will give the 2025 No. 2 pick every opportunity to stay in San Jose.
Misa is coming off a big season with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit. He scored 62 goals with 134 points in 65 games last season, winning the CHL Top Scorer Award as well as the Red Tilson Trophy as the OHL’s Most Outstanding Player and the Eddie Powers Trophy as the top point-getter.
The Oakville, Ont., native was granted exceptional status by Hockey Canada to enter the OHL as a 15-year-old in 2022. Since then, he won OHL rookie of the year in 2023 and helped Saginaw win its first Memorial Cup title in 2024.
Sharks director of player development Todd Marchant told Sheng Peng of NBC Sports that the 18-year-old will get every opportunity this fall to crack the NHL.
“He’s going to get every opportunity to come into training camp and rookie camp to make this team,” Marchant said on Thursday.
Marchant added that Misa’s hockey IQ has stood out.
“He’s right up there at the top [for all the players that I’ve ever developed]," Marchant said. "Like I said, I have not been able to figure out a way to teach somebody to make them better at that -- you either have it or you don’t.”
Misa joins a very young Sharks team still in the early stages of rebuilding. San Jose already has 2024 first overall pick and Calder Trophy finalist Macklin Celebrini on the roster as well as 2023 fourth-overall selection Will Smith.
The Sharks have stayed busy so far this off-season as they continue to transition to a new era. They inked 22-year-old forward William Eklund to a three-year extension but bought out veteran defenceman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who spent 19 years with the Sharks. Captain Logan Couture also announced his retirement in April due to injury after 15 seasons, all with San Jose.
In the short term, the Sharks claimed defenceman Nick Leddy off waivers this week and signed several free agents, including defencemen Dmitry Orlov and John Klingberg as well as forwards Adam Gaudette and Philipp Kurashev and acquired goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic via trade.
Despite the veteran additions, the Sharks will be led by their young core as they look to avoid finishing last in the NHL again after doing so the last two campaigns.
Skating at the team’s development camp this week, Misa shared some of the advice imparted from the team’s staff as he heads into the summer preparing to make a push for a spot on the Sharks.
“One thing I take away is probably just always have my feet moving," Misa said. "[Also] everyone's so fast at the next level, so you always want to be scanning, kind of looking where your next play is.”