SAN JOSE — Collin Graf will make his NHL debut Saturday when the San Jose Sharks host the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center.
The undrafted Graf, considered one the top college free agents available this year, signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Sharks on Thursday and arrived in San Jose later that day.
Graf took part in his first practice with the Sharks on Friday and skated on a line with Luke Kunin and William Eklund. He’ll play on that line Saturday as the Sharks look for their 11th win in 38 home games this season.
“I liked how comfortable he looked,” Sharks coach David Quinn said Saturday of Graf’s first practice. “He didn’t look overwhelmed by the situation. Your first NHL practice can be a little nerve-wracking and I thought he felt comfortable with the puck, I thought he was confident and acted like he belonged, which is a big piece of being a successful player in this league.”
Quinn was asked what he wanted to see in Graf’s first few shifts.
“Just don’t try to do too much,” Quinn said. “Don’t think you have to impress anybody, just whatever the play calls for, do the right thing, and let the game come to you. Don’t force it.”
Los Gatos native Devin Cooley, searching for his first NHL victory, will start in net for the Sharks. In two games with San Jose, Cooley is 0-1-1 with a .852 save percentage, and in his last start on March 23, he allowed five goals on 31 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.
With Mackenzie Blackwood starting the Sharks’ last five games before Saturday, Cooley, a pending unrestricted free agent, has had the opportunity to work with goalie coach Thomas Speer. The Sharks have nothing invested in Cooley, but they also do not want to get embarrassed and need their goalie to play at a certain level.
“He’s tall and wiry and quick, so sometimes he can get a little bit anxious and move too much,” Quinn said of Cooley, “and I think (Speer) has been working with him about being athletic but also being calm.”
Forwards Mike Hoffman, Kevin Labanc, Ryan Carpenter, and Givani Smith will be scratched from today’s game, Quinn said. Defenseman Torey Krug and center Kevin Hayes are not expected to dress for the Blues.
Hoffman, Labanc, and Carpenter are all pending UFAs. The Sharks likely want to get an extended look at Jack Studnicka, a pending restricted free agent, as a depth center, as the organization has to decide whether to keep him or release him. That means Carpenter sits.
“He’s a pro,” Quinn said of Carpenter. “He understands the situation.”
Graf, 21, just finished his second season at Quinnipiac University and had 49 points in 34 games. He led the Bobcats to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I tournament before they lost to No. 1 seed Boston College in overtime last week.
“Play to your strengths, play with some swagger,” Quinn said of Graf on Friday. “I’m sure there’s going to be nerves, as there is with any player once they start their NHL career.
“Our job is to put him in a position to succeed, and then it’s going to be his job to do what he’s capable of doing — be competitive, play to pace, and do the things that this game demands at this level.”
Graf had upwards of two dozen teams interested in his services before he narrowed his decision down to six teams. After another round of interviews with those teams, he ultimately decided to join the rebuilding Sharks.
“They were honest with me,” Graf said Friday.
Graf arrived at SAP Center with defenseman Henry Thrun just before 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. The game starts at 3 p.m., with the Sharks looking for the three-game season sweep of the Blues, who are barely hanging on to their playoff aspirations.
St. Louis has six games left and enters Saturday seven points back of the Los Angeles Kings for the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com