


SAN JOSE >> Newly acquired forwards Noah Gregor and Zack Ostapchuk have arrived in town but it remains unclear when they’ll both be able to play a game for the Sharks.
The Sharks acquired Gregor, Ostapchuk and a 2025 second-round pick from Ottawa on Friday in a deal that sent winger Fabian Zetterlund, AHL forward Tristen Robins and a fourth-round selection this year to the Senators organization.
While Zetterlund was preparing to play his first game for the Senators on Monday night when Ottawa hosts the Detroit Red Wings, Gregor and Ostapchuk were still waiting for their immigration paperwork to be completed.
If his visa issues are resolved, Gregor, per Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky, could play for the team tonight when it hosts the Nashville Predators. But whether Ostapchuk, after he gets his paperwork, plays with the Sharks or their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda, is unclear.
Ostapchuk was with the AHL’s Belleville Senators before Friday’s trade and was placed on the Barracuda roster after the deal.
Ostapchuk skated in San Jose on Monday morning, but worked solely with development coach Mike Ricci away from the Sharks. Seen as a potential third-line center at the NHL level, the 6-foot-4, 212-pounder later watched the Sharks practice from the stands, wearing one of the team’s hoodies.
Gregor skated with the Sharks, with whom he played from 2019 to 2023, and was on a line with William Eklund and Alexander Wennberg. He was in the usual place of Sharks winger Tyler Toffoli, who has a “little lower body” injury, per Warsofsky, who added it was unclear whether the veteran forward would be available to play against the Predators.
“We think it’s probably game-time,” Warsofsky said Monday of Toffoli’s ailment. “But we’ll see how (this) morning shakes out.”
THRUN INJURED >> Defenseman Henry Thrun will have to miss some time after he aggravated an upper-body injury that recently kept him out of the lineup for four straight games.
Thrun was being re-evaluated Monday, and Warsofsky did not know how much time the 23-year-old might have to miss, although he said the injury was probably more than just day to day.
Thrun had to leave the Sharks’ game against the Montreal Canadiens on Feb. 27 with an upper-body ailment and was subsequently placed on injured reserve. On Saturday, he returned to the Sharks’ lineup at home against the New York Islanders and had 12:47 in ice time in what became a 4-2 Sharks loss.
With Thrun out, the Sharks recalled Jimmy Schuldt from the Barracuda. Schuldt played for the Sharks on Thursday in Colorado, his first NHL game in nearly six years, and had 14:15 in ice time in a 7-3 San Jose loss. Schuldt was paired with Vincent Desharnais in Monday’s practice.
“I thought he was our best defenseman against Colorado,” Warsofsky said of Schuldt. “I thought he was simple, steady. Knows what he is as a defenseman, defend the right way, move pucks, be simple, be hard to play against. I thought he did a good job.”
RUTTA UPDATE >> Defenseman Jan Rutta, who has a lower-body injury and last played for the Sharks on Jan. 23, has not resumed skating and will be reassessed at the end of the week, Warsofsky said.
Warsofsky said Rutta is “weeks” away, raising the question of whether he’ll play again this season. The Sharks have just 17 games left, and the regular season ends on April 16.