San Jose Sharks mysteriously healthy scratch their top defenseman: may have broken team rule

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Tom Banks
November 5, 2024 (4:15 PM)

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The San Jose Sharks have a solid young core, but now it appears that Jake Walman, a top defenseman may be out for a shocking reason after breaking a team rule.

After a slow start to the 2024/25 season, the San Jose Sharks have won three of their last four games, and with some fantastic young talent on their roster, things are looking up. One reason for that success as of late is blue liner Jake Walman, who has a solid 9 points in 13 games thus far, but now, there may be drama behind the scenes, as reporter Max Miller has revealed that he will be a healthy scratch for the team's next game.

Given that he's second (by just one second) on the team in minutes per game by a defenseman alongside Cody Ceci, labelling this as a 'coach's decision' is certainly intriguing, as it suggests that something may be going on behind the scenes. As of right now, details of that have not been revealed, and when asked about the situation, Walman declined to open up on his conversation with Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky, but respects his decision.

"My initial reaction is, I'm a competitor, and I want to play," Walman said. "It's the coach's decision [and] I'll respect the conversation that we had."

However, there were two notable mistakes made by Walman during the team's tight loss to the Vancouver Canucks, as the team gave up three goals in the third period to fall just short of winning four straight games. At this point, we may not know why Warsofsky made the decision he did, but it wasn't just Walman that was frustrated, as his teammates were shocked by the decision as well.

"[Warsofsky] knows how bad I want to be out there, and I think the guys around the locker room know as well," Walman said. "Kind of a little surprise with other guys, like when I told them. It's a little bit frustrating, obviously, and they're frustrated too. So, yeah, like I said, I don't know. Having a good group of guys means a lot, and I don't think it needs to be blown up out of proportion."

Ultimately, Walman has been fantastic early in his stint with the San Jose Sharks, and if they want to win they need him on the ice, so their fans will be hoping that this is nothing more than the coach wanting him to come out of the lineup for a game.

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4 HOURS AGO \| 13 ANSWERS San Jose Sharks mysteriously healthy scratch their top defenseman: may have broken team rule Will Jake Walman be a top pairing defenseman for San Jose when this team gets back to the playoffs?
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