Young San Jose Sharks defensemen could be facing a big test ahead

The San Jose Sharks overhauled their defense corps within the last two seasons, acquiring a handful of young blueliners they feel can be a part of the organization for years to come. Those defensemen might now be forced to take on some more responsibility if Mario Ferraro has to miss time with an upper body injury.

Ferraro, who leads all Sharks skaters in ice time, had to leave Sunday’s game with the Colorado Avalanche after he absorbed a shoulder to shoulder hit from forward Nathan MacKinnon midway through the first period. Ferraro appeared to be in considerable pain as he immediately headed toward the Sharks’ dressing room, missing the remainder of what turned into a 3 1 San Jose loss at Ball Arena in Denver.

Sharks coach David Quinn did not have an update on Ferraro on Sunday night and it remained unclear as to whether the Toronto born defenseman would be available for the team’s game Tuesday against the Detroit Red Wings. The Sharks, beset by injuries all season, were off Monday and Ferraro remained on the team’s active roster.

“I don’t want to think about that just yet,” Quinn said Sunday night when asked how his team might have to adjust without Ferraro. “Let’s find out where he is from an injury standpoint. I’ve got enough bad news injury wise.” The consolation for Quinn was that he liked what he saw from Ty Emberson and Henry Thrun, two of the youngest players on the Sharks’ roster acquired in the last year who took on extra ice time in Ferraro’s absence.

With the Sharks down to five defensemen against a potent Avalanche offense, Thrun, 22, led all Sharks skaters with 25:07 in ice time on 38 shifts, and Emberson, 23, played 24:21 in his first game in a month as he returned from a lower body injury. “I felt pretty good,” Emberson said. “I would have liked to create some more offense out there, but I think we held a pretty good team to some outside chances.

I was happy with that but it would have been nice to get the win.” The ice time totals are about seven minutes more than usual for Thrun, in his first full professional season after he was acquired from Anaheim in February, and Emberson, a waiver claim from the New York Rangers in September. “You’re talking about two guys before the season started that had about eight games of NHL experience,” Quinn said.

“To throw them out there against that team and play in minutes they did against the players they did and to hold up the way they did, it really, really bodes well for us moving forward.” The Sharks and Avalanche were tied 1 1 in the third period when Valeri Nichushkin scored on a delayed penalty with 3:29 left in regulation time to give Colorado the lead.

Josh Manson scored an empty net goal with just over a minute remaining, as the Sharks were sent to their eighth straight loss. “Played a little bit more than I’m used to, but that’s just kind of the next man up mentality,” Thrun said. “I was happy with it. We put together a good 55 minutes, but at the end of the game, we slipped a little bit there.

That’s the NHL and you’ve got to be good for 60 minutes.” On the Sharks’ blue line, only Ferraro and Marc Edouard Vlasic are still on the team from two seasons ago. Gone are Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Jaycob Megna, and Jake Middleton, among others. The new faces include Thrun and Emberson, and 23 year olds Nikita Okhotiuk and Calen Addison.

Shakir Mukhamadullin, 21, who, with Okhotiuk, came to the Sharks last February in the Timo Meier trade, is gaining North American experience with the Barracuda and figures to be called up by the Sharks before the end of the season. Okhotiuk and Addison, acquired from Minnesota in November, have been lineup mainstays when they’ve been available to play, and after Matt Benning was injured, Thrun hasn’t missed a game since he was recalled from the Barracuda on Dec.

9. “We’re in a situation as an organization where young players are going to get more of an opportunity probably than other organizations,” Quinn said. “And when they get that opportunity, they’ve got to understand that from a competing standpoint and effort standpoint, those are two things that are non negotiable.

“The good news for us is all of these young players that are doing that.” Emberson has proven to be found money for the Sharks, as he was on the team’s top defense pair with Ferraro before his Dec. 3 injury when he was hurt during the team’s morning skate at Madison Square Garden. “He might have been our best defenseman when he got hurt, so that was a tough blow for us to swallow,” Quinn said.

“He plays hard, he plays with conviction, he finishes his checks, can make an outlet pass and he can skate. He was starting to find his groove.” Besides leading the Sharks in ice time, 22:45 per game before Sunday, Ferraro was third in the NHL in blocked shots with 101, trailing only the Rangers’ Jacob Trouba (113) and Vegas’ Brayden McNabb (105).

He also leads all Sharks in shorthanded time on ice with an average of 3:32 per game. Ferraro is also second among all Sharks defensemen with nine points, but more importantly, is a vocal leader and a big locker room presence on a team that began the year with a ton of new faces. “I’d say he’s probably the heartbeat of the team,” Thrun said of Ferraro.

“So it’s really tough to make up for what he brings to the table, both on and off the ice.”.