Earlier this season, the Sharks added some extra depth on the back end when they added Nolan Allan from Chicago as part of the trade that saw them take on Laurent Brossoit’s contract. Now, they’ll get a chance to see what Allan can do as the team announced (Twitter link) that the blueliner has been recalled from AHL San Jose.
The 22-year-old was a first-round pick by the Blackhawks back in 2021, being taken with the 32nd and final pick of the opening round. However, he hasn’t had a ton of success professionally just yet. Allan got into 43 games with Chicago last season and did okay in a limited role, picking up eight points, 48 blocks, and 61 hits in a little over 15 minutes per night.
However, he was assigned to the AHL in training camp and has been there ever since, aside from a brief stint playing for Canada at the Spengler Cup back in December. With Chicago having strong defensive depth, they were okay with including him in the deal that offloaded Brossoit’s contract.
Before the swap, Allan had two goals and four assists in 29 games with Rockford. However, he has been more productive since then, notching two goals and eight helpers in 20 appearances with the Barracuda to earn this promotion. Now, he’ll look to boost his value with his entry-level contract set to expire this summer.
Allan will take the place of Timothy Liljegren on San Jose’s roster after the Sharks moved him to Washington yesterday at the trade deadline. With now seven healthy defenders on their active roster, it’s unclear when he’ll get a chance to make his Sharks debut while his recall will count against their post-deadline regular recall limit of five.
