Shane Wright saw it all in the 2022-23 season. Could Michael Misa learn from his experience?

Wright, the Seattle Kraken’s no. 4 pick in the 2022 Draft, began the 2022-23 season, his D+1 year in the NHL. There was lots of chatter about whether the Kraken would keep him in the NHL or “slide” his contract by returning him before his 10th NHL game to the OHL.

Like Wright, Misa, the San Jose Sharks’ no. 2 pick in the 2025 Draft, began his D+1 year in the NHL. At the moment, there doesn’t seem to be a clear decision as to whether the Sharks will keep the currently injured Misa in the NHL for more than 10 games or return him to the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit before then.

There does appear to be a decent chance that Misa will follow Wright’s winding path in 2022-23.

Not quite ready for the NHL, the Kraken assigned the then 19-year-old to the AHL for a conditioning assignment. That was essentially followed by a gold medal-winning turn for Canada at the World Junior Championships in January. Finally, Wright went back to the OHL, until the Windsor Spitfires season ended, paving the way for the top prospect to re-join the Coachella Valley Firebirds for their run to the Calder Cup Final.

So what did Wright gain from those wide range of experiences, NHL to AHL to WJCs to OHL? Did he still have things to learn in the OHL? Wright, now a full-time Kraken winger, was also honest about which level was truly the most suitable for him that season.

We’ll see what the San Jose Sharks do with Misa. The center, dealing with a lower-body injury that has sidelined him since Nov. 5, could re-join practice late this week, which would set him up to either return to the NHL, where he has a goal and two assists in seven games, the AHL for a max two-week conditioning assignment, and/or Team Canada and the WJCs.

Canada’s WJC camp begins on Dec. 12 and the tournament kicks off on Dec. 26.

Wright also shared his initial impressions of the young San Jose Sharks rookie, who he played against when Misa was 15. Like Wright, Misa was granted OHL “exceptional status”, which allowed the 15-year-old to play in a normally 16-and-up league.