Warsofsky to coach Team USA at Worlds; Which other Sharks might go?

SAN JOSE – First-year San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky is getting another chance to represent his country.

Warsofsky on Friday was officially named Team USA’s head coach for next month’s IIHF World Championships in Denmark and Sweden, marking the second time the Massachusetts native will be part of the American team’s coaching staff for the event.

Warsofsky, the NHL’s youngest head coach at 37, was also an assistant on the 2023 American entry, which won eight straight games in the tournament and finished fourth, losing in the Bronze Medal game.

“It was a great staff, and it was a great experience,” Warsofsky said of the 2023 team. “Obviously came up a little short, but it’s in a unique tournament that you need to experience. If you haven’t done it, you probably would have some challenges.”

Warsofsky, U.S. general manager Jeff Kealty, and assistant executive director of USA Hockey John Vanbiesbrouck will collaborate to finalize a coaching staff and roster for the tournament, which runs from May 9 to 25 in Herning, Denmark, and Stockholm, Sweden. Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer was on the Americans’ staff in 2023.

“He’s obviously been there, too,” Warsofsky said of Speer. “Guys who have that experience are nice.”

The U.S. is set to play its preliminary-round games in Herning, and a handful of Sharks players could also be flying overseas next month.

Will Smith played for the U.S. at the 2024 World Championships,  and rookie center Mackin Celebrini, the Sharks’ second-leading scorer with 54 points in 63 games,  has expressed interest in playing for Team Canada.

Jan Rutta is working his way back from a lower-body injury but helped Czechia win gold at last year’s Worlds in Prague. Forwards William Eklund and Alexander Wennberg, both from Stockholm, and defenseman Timothy Liljegren appear to be candidates to join the Swedish team.

“(Avicii Arena) is, like, 20-25 minutes away from where I live,” said Wennberg, who played in both the 2016 and 2019 World Championships. “If I get the opportunity to do that and represent the country, that would be amazing.”

After Saturday’s home game against the Seattle Kraken, the Sharks, now in 32nd place, have six games remaining. Their last game is April 16 at home against the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks lost 3-2 to the Oilers on Thursday night at SAP Center.

After that, Warsofsky will begin preparations for the event, with the U.S. seeking to win its first medal since 2021 when it captured the bronze. The Americans won gold at the 1960 Winter Olympics, which doubled as the World Championships, at Squaw Valley, with their only other gold medal coming in 1933.

The Americans play seven preliminary games, with their first game on May 9 against co-host Denmark. The knockout stage begins May 22 with the quarterfinals.

“When you get to the quarterfinals, it’s almost like going from the regular season to the playoffs, the game intensity really speeds up. You’ve got to fight for every inch,” Warsofsky said. “Those other games are like a regular season game, and then it goes from zero to 100.

“So that’s something that I will really reflect on and remember and experience and hopefully share to our players, when we get to that stage, that it’s going to get ramped up and we got to get ready for it.”

MUKHAMADULLIN UPDATE: Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin will miss his second straight game Saturday and will likely also miss Monday’s home game against the Calgary Flames as he deals with an upper-body injury.

Mukhamadullin was spotted wearing a sling around his left shoulder on Thursday, two days after he was injured in the third period of the Sharks’ game against the Anaheim Ducks. Warsofsky said the Sharks will have more clarity on the extent of Mukhamadullin’s injury early next week.

NOTABLE: Warsofsky said the lineup for Saturday’s game still hasn’t been finalized but it appeared from Friday’s practice that both Nikolai Kovalenko and Klim Kostin would be scratched. Kovalenko has been scratched for five straight games, and Kostin has been held out of six of the past seven. … Alexander Georgiev (upper body) practiced Friday, but it was unknown whether he would be available to play against Seattle. Georgiev did not dress for Thursday’s game, as Georgi Romanov made 35 saves in the loss.