Michael Misa has spent the entire season in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks and will continue.
There was much debate about whether the Sharks should keep the 2025 NHL Draft pick in the NHL or send him back to Juniors. After recovering from an injury and playing for Team Canada at the WJC, the official decision was made. Misa was staying in the NHL.
San Jose Sharks GM Mike Grier explained the decision to keep the 18-year-old in the NHL last Thursday.
“These are never straightforward or easy decisions. He’s played three years of junior. He dominated Junior last year. Just from a development standpoint, how much more was he going to get of going back there and putting up 160 points? I don’t know how much that would have done for him,” Grier said. “He’s already a player that has pretty good habits for an 18-year-old.
We just thought just being up here with the guys, even if he wasn’t playing every day, getting in the gym, starting down the path of what it takes to be a pro and in the pro game. Being out there and playing against the best players in the world. We just thought, for his development, that was best for him.”
Misa had shown progress before his injury, but since returning from the WJC, he’s impacting the game more than ever. The Sharks center has three points, all assists, in the past three games. He’s played in his first two back-to-back scenarios and has proven he can handle it. His play-driving ability on the boards is growing, which he showcased with his primary assist to Pavol Regenda against the New York Rangers.
Misa has just one goal and six assists in 13 games in the NHL this season, but Grier and the Sharks aren’t worried about his offensive output.
“He’s gonna have his ups and downs as an 18-year-old kid. He’s gonna fail, and he’s gonna have some success, and we’re willing to live with it,” Grier said. “We really think in his long-term growth, when we look back at this [decision], maybe two or three years from now, it’ll be really beneficial for him. Hopefully, it’s just the first step of them becoming what we think he can become.”
Despite Grier’s confidence, he admitted, the choice to keep Misa with the Sharks wasn’t made the moment he signed. They were evaluating his play from the start of the season, making sure he wasn’t too far out of place.
“I mean, if he completely fell on his face, it’s a different story,” Grier said. “We thought he handled the minutes, even limited minutes to start, we thought he handled it fine. Just felt like this was the best place for him.”
Misa has filled a third-line center role left by Ty Dellandrea nicely, and could benefit from more gym time during the NHL’s Olympic break.
