Can the Sharks make the playoffs?

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You are on KNBR Sportsphone 680 here on KNBR, the Sports Leader, 105-680.

And we are now going to do a little shark's talk with the man who covers them for Bay Area

News Group at his Curtis, Peshelka.

Curtis, what's going on, man?

How are you doing?

I'm doing well, Ted.

How are you?

I'm doing very well, man.

I am watching the San Jose Sharks currently occupying the second spot in the Western wild

card right now.

And I know that's a fluid situation to put it to bluntly because they've been up and

down all over the place.

And that's even with the win tonight, Curtis.

One of the things that I've kind of been recognizing about this whole narrative is that

they're probably closer to a 500 team than they are a playoff team.

But with that being said, a 500 team just might be able to get in in the West this year

because it is so parody-laden or as Gary Beven likes to call it, there is so much competitive

balance.

Yeah, there's no question about it.

You know, if the sharks have been in the Eastern Conference, let's say they'd be probably

well out of the playoff picture right now and are we talking about the draft lottery

in with the trade deadline just passed, we'd probably be talking about some new guys on

the team right now after some UFA has got traded.

Listen, the sharks are where they are right now and you've got to give them some credit

for that.

Obviously, the Pacific division is, like you said, kind of a real parody, that's kind of

a kind word.

Other people might use another word to describe the division, but yeah, I mean, the sharks

have kind of hung in there all year, they had a terrific November and it kind of played

pretty steady hockey since that point.

Obviously, it's been a little bit more on the downslide race recently, but they are where

they are.

And you know, the kind of possible letter tonight after that big win or Boston.

Big part of that was Alex Nidelkovich who had 39 saves, a 951 save percentage.

And I guess the question kind of needs to be asked now, even though Askerov is dealing

with an injury and we don't know when he'll be back and that makes an interesting situation

with the back-to-back coming up for the sharks this weekend.

Is Ned the better netminder right now for this team trying to get to the postseason or

do they have to go to their goalie of the future that they invested all the hurdle trade

assets in to give him that experience?

As I can make an argument that Ed is the better keeper right now and he certainly has

better numbers since the turn of the calendar in the 2026, but I also understand that the

long-term investment has been made in Askerov.

Yeah, I mean, I think the sharks, the way they're going to approach this, and we'll see

how it all shakes out over the next few weeks, but I think I just write the hot hands.

I think, you know, I think Ryan Wersowski certainly recognizes that, you know, you're also

of Askerov as you know, as in his first year in the NHL, this would be a terrific chance

for him to really grow and develop and get involved in these pressure-packed games.

You know, I think if you just think of it right here and now and how, you know, how valuable

it would be just for the group to be in the playoff chase right to the end and then, you know,

maybe get in for the first time since 2019.

I think that's got to be the forefront of their other sharks thinking right now.

And, you know, if I was Ryan Wersowski right now, I would certainly lean towards putting

out the Valkovich in there more often than not. You know, Ryan Wersowski didn't have an

update on Yaroslav Askerov after tonight's game in terms of his health and what his

availability is going to look like going forward. You're right. They've got the back-to-back coming

up this weekend. So we'll see what the sharks do in that second game this weekend. They play

Montreal on Saturday and then on a lot of Sunday. If they bring up Luronka Squaw from the

barracuda, maybe to play that second game. That would probably make the most sense if Askerov's

less than the 100%. So certainly some decisions to be made by the by the sharks, but I do think that

you have to sort of ride the hot hand as long as he's playing as well as he is right now.

Speaking of hot hands, Michael Mesa continues to impress his ascension in recent games and recent

weeks. It looks like he's starting to figure it out. I know his overall narrative this year, very

different than what we saw last year with Celebrini and Smith just because different situation,

different player, different world junior going on, different Olympic break. It was never going

to be the same, but one thing we have seen with Mesa is that with the consistent playtime,

he is evolving very, very rapidly. Yeah, and you don't get that consistent play time without

earning the trust of the coaching staff. And you know, Michael Mesa's played every single game

for the sharks since he's been back from the world juniors in early January. So you certainly

developed a lot in that time. And it's not just the offense with Michael Mesa,

it's also his awareness on the defensive end, too, and where he needs to be in terms of a

back check and picking up boards. And just kind of that's how the IQ that kind of helps him make

the signal help make him the second overall pick in last year's draft along with obviously

the offensive skill set, too. So yeah, you're seeing Michael Mesa's are developing real time here

and in a playoff chase to boot. So pretty impressive to what you know, what he's done so far.

And I'm sure sharks fans are excited about what he could be doing in the future, too.

You and I talked about it on the sharks audio network last week about William Eckland and his

goal is streak, which went back to the start of January, I believe January 7th. And tonight he scores

a goal that, you know, when all is said and done, that could be up for contention a goal of the year.

Just the way he went flying over picking up his own rebound and twisting in the air and Curtis,

he didn't, you know, just tap that puck in. He slammed it home somehow while, you know,

entirely airborne. But if that was very much needed for him and, you know, he's been picking up

points, you know, he had assists on the shark's three game win streak on their game winning goals

in those games. But I just kept on waiting for him to have a louder game. And then he has that

assist great played Michael Mesa and then has the goal, which is again, a highlight real goal

for all time highlights. Is this a jumping off moment for him? Do you think he can build on it?

Because, you know, we've shown flashes, but to me, he needs that consistency. He can't just be one

goal and then going cold again. Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there as

soon as the consistency in doing what he did tonight on a more consistent basis. You know,

the long going drought. I'm sure that was weighing on him. You know, even though, like I said,

he's been collecting some assists here and there. It's it's one thing to do that. It's quite

another to finally find the back of the net. You mentioned how just remarkable that that goal

was for him. And it's important for the sharks to listen to this. This can't just be a

match of celebrating show over the final five, six weeks of the season. It's it's got to that. You

got to get got your contributions from Eclin. You got a contribution, a goal from Tyler to

Foley tonight, even though it was a bit of a bit of a lucky bounce there, but you know, he'll

certainly take that and you got contributions from the fourth line tonight that they were

pretty effective in that role. And, you know, I think and, you know, some other guys to try to

get involved. So, so I mean, that you want to see William Eclin sort of break through like he

like he has or it did tonight. And, you know, I that's important for the sharks team to to get more

contributions just from than just from for one player. Every day excessive delays and denials from

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We saw earlier today that Igor Ternishoff had been recalled from the barracuda and I really liked

his game when he was up earlier with the sharks this year and I thought that one thing San Jose

had been missing and especially in the game the other night against Buffalo was his size in particular

and having him out there. I think would have helped San Jose in that game. But for Ternishoff,

since he's had a taste of it and he had success, can he pick up where he left off or does he

have to reintegrate into this team, which does have kind of a different field than when he was

up previously because with Keeper Sherwood, he's changed the sharks dynamic a bit and it's not

there have been so many different versions of the sharks team over the course of this year,

Curtis. I just don't know how much of a seamless transition it will be to kind of put him back

in the line. I've been expecting him to be the same player. Yeah, it'll be a transition for him,

getting back to this level after being away for almost two months here. It's also going to

make you see once he does get back into the lineup who he plays with. I mean, he was alongside

Michael Celebrini for a lot of those games when he was up with the sharks last time and

you'll see if Ryan Wersowski does put Ternishoff back into the lineup either Saturday or Sunday

if he decides that Ryan Wersowski decides to maybe break up that top line and put Ternishoff

alongside, you know, Celebrini and Smith and maybe move back down to the second or third line.

I think that's probably, you know, that could be an effective trio down there too if we're

apples going to play with with Wenberg and to Foley or Unberg and Sherwood that could be a line too.

But yeah, it is, you know, he's just 20 years old. You go to Ternishoff just 20 years old,

so it's, you know, you never know how he's going to react to serving in those situations,

but I do think he plays the type of game that sort of maybe translates from one level to the next.

There's not a lot of cluff in his game. He plays in straight lines. He attacks the net.

You know, he's a he's a he's a heavy player in terms of being responsible and

you know, as long as he kind of continues to show those attributes, I think he should be,

he'd be fine. Maybe not get the production, but at least be an asset out there to a shark's team

that's like we talked about is in the midst of a level playoff race.

One of the things that we've consistently talked about is how important, you know,

these games are being a playoff race for San Jose and the opportunity to get into the

postseason of what that would mean for their development, but I almost feel like we've overlooked

what it might mean for head coach Ryan Worsovsky and we know he's been in the postseason at lower levels,

but I still think that that's kind of something that gets ignored is that it'd be big for Ryan

Worsovsky, who is what 37 38 now, who you know, if he could in year two as the head coach,

be on top of a team that has an MVP candidates and sneaks into the postseason ahead of schedule.

I think that would do a lot for him as well, even if we know that the potential matchups in that

first round would not exactly be, it would not be great matchups for San Jose. I'll put it that way.

Yeah, I know exactly. Listen, if it's sharks, do you make the playoffs? It would be

heavy, heavy underdogs in that first round, especially if you have to come across a

Colorado answer, something along those lines of your matter, or much better off for them to go

in the first round, of course, probably even third place in the in the Pacific, but you're right,

I mean, listen, this is a tough year for everyone involved. Last season, just 20 wins in 82 games

for the Sharers last year, dead last in the week. And a lot of people were maybe questioning whether

or not Ryan Worsovsky was, even though he had, you know, quite an impressive background, just to get

to this point at this stage of his life, whether or not he was totally ready for this job. And so,

I think it's an important year for him in terms of solidifying his message in that room, make sure he's

getting what he needs to get across to his team, having those guys buy in. That's been big too,

and that's not always easy if you're a young coach to have all the veterans in that room

buy into what you're telling them to. So, that's certainly a nice weather in his cap to

have the sharps where they are right now, obviously, led by Macatel Braini, what he's been doing,

but nevertheless, it's something for Ryan Worsovsky and his career to

get you to grow and grow with his team as it tries to become a tough contender here in the next few

years. All right, Curtis, well, we are out of time, but I appreciate your willingness to come and talk

San Jose hockey with me as always. And I'll see you at the tank soon, all right, my friend?

Yeah, anytime said you got it.