Prospect center Michael Misa is set to begin a conditioning loan with the Sharks’ top minor league affiliate this week, possibly as a prelude to playing for his home country at the IIHF World Junior Championship in Minnesota later this month.

The Sharks on Wednesday assigned Misa, a native of Oakville, Ontario, to the Barracuda to begin what could be a brief conditioning stint in the AHL, with Canada’s training camp for this year’s World Juniors set to start Dec. 12.

Misa, 18, sustained a lower-body injury during the team’s morning skate on Nov. 5 as he took part in a drill before a Sharks road game against the Seattle Kraken. The injury steadily improved over the past two weeks, and Misa took part in the Sharks’ practice on Tuesday.

Misa had been on injured reserve but is now officially on long-term injured reserve, meaning he will not be taking up a spot on the Sharks’ 23-man roster while he is with the Barracuda.

Misa’s last game came on Nov. 1 when the Sharks beat Colorado 3-2 in overtime. In seven games with the Sharks this season, Misa, taken second overall at this year’s NHL draft in Los Angeles, has three points.

The Barracuda host the Tucson Roadrunners on Friday and Saturday at Tech CU Arena.

“He’s excited,” Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said of Misa before Wednesday’s game with the Washington Capitals. “We talked to him, so it’ll be good for him to go down there and play. He’s been out for a bit. It’s a challenging league, it’s a tough league. Respect it and go (play) his game.”

Misa, surprisingly, didn’t get an invite from Hockey Canada to take part in last year’s World Junior selection camp, but still went on to record 134 points in 65 games with Saginaw.

Canada’s training camp roster for the World Juniors will be announced on Monday, and it could also include Sharks defenseman Sam Dickinson, who played in last year’s tournament in Ottawa.

— Curtis Pashelka

In games Wednesday ...

Stars 3, Devils 0: Jason Robertson scored his 17th goal of the season, Jake Oettinger stopped all 31 shots he faced for Dallas in Newark, N.J. While Robertson kept building his case to make the U.S. Olympic team scoring on a give and go with Esa Lindell, a trio of other Finns were responsible for the Stars’ other offensive production. Roope Hintz fed Miro Heiskanen for the Stars’ first goal, while Mikko Rantanen scored on a rebound to get their third.

Flyers 5, Sabres 2: Travis Konecny, Noah Cates and Bobby Brink each had a goal and an assist for the host Flyers. They earned their fourth win in five games.

briefly

Tyler Seguin is expected to miss the rest of the NHL season with a torn ACL in his right knee, another major injury blow to the already-shorthanded Dallas Stars. Coach Glen Gulutzan said that Seguin would be out a significant amount of time. The 33-year-old forward was injured Tuesday night at the New York Rangers.