{"id":471275,"date":"2026-09-21T22:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/471275\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T22:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T22:34:10","slug":"san-jose-sharks-mike-grier-on-yaroslav-askarov-its-a-big-year-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/471275\/","title":{"rendered":"San Jose Sharks’ Mike Grier on Yaroslav Askarov: ‘It’s a big year’"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN JOSE \u2013 Ask coach Ryan Warsofsky<\/a> about what the San Jose Sharks want to see from goalie Yaroslav Askarov <\/a>this season, and you\u2019ll get a pretty straightforward response.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we want to see him save the puck,\u201d Warsofsky said last week with a smile<\/a>. \u201cOf course, we want him to string some games together. \u2026 But we want to see a guy that really jumps and takes the No. 1 job and runs with it and develops in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

When that will be, though, is anyone\u2019s guess.<\/a><\/p>\n

With the additions and changes<\/a> the organization has made, and the money spent in recent months, Sharks players have talked openly<\/a> during the first few days of training camp about wanting to be a playoff contender \u2014 now and well into the future.<\/p>\n

But to make the postseason in the spring, the Sharks will likely need better team defense and for Askarov, 24, to be more consistent and show more of the promise he\u2019s had since he was drafted 11th overall<\/a> by the Nashville Predators in 2020.<\/p>\n

In his first full NHL season, Askarov\u2019s best month was November with an 8-2-0 record and a sparkling .944 save percentage.<\/p>\n

But the then-23-year-old finished the year with a 21-20-4 record in 47 games and won just two of his last nine starts \u2013 with losses to also-rans Vancouver and Chicago mixed in \u2014 with an .871 save percentage in that time. The advanced metrics<\/a> were not much better.<\/p>\n

The Sharks then missed the playoffs by four points, and questions about Askarov\u2019s progress began being raised.<\/p>\n

Last week, General Manager Mike Grier tried to offer some perspective, saying that goalies often take more time to ripen than forwards and defensemen, and that Askarov was new to the NHL workload, not to mention the increased travel of a West Coast-based team.<\/p>\n

Still, Grier knows Askarov needs to take a step forward, not backward.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a big year for him,\u201d Grier said. \u201cBut at the same time, I think he\u2019s taken that responsibility. This is the best he\u2019s looked coming into camp, as far as physically with his conditioning. He\u2019s definitely put in the time over the summer, so hopefully that translates into the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

To better prevent injuries and deal with the rigors of a long season, Askarov said he\u2019s added about 10 pounds of muscle to a still relatively slim 6-foot-4 frame. He was listed at 180 pounds last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve changed my summer routine a little bit,\u201d Askarov said. \u201cGot a new goalie coach (in Russia). New strength trainer off the ice, as well. I changed my nutrition a little bit.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust feel a little bit more ready.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with on-ice work, Askarov said the \u201chighlight\u201d was learning how to swim.<\/p>\n

\u201cI (was) swimming like a dog before,\u201d Askarov said, adding that he went to a \u201cprofessional facility with a coach because the weather in St. Petersburg wasn\u2019t good this summer. A lot cloudy, not sunny.\u201d<\/p>\n

Askarov could play Tuesday when the Sharks host the Vegas Golden Knights <\/a>in their preseason home opener. It\u2019s an important game: With a shorter training camp, he and Alex Nedeljkovic, like every other NHL goalie, have fewer practices and games to dial in for the start of the regular season.<\/p>\n

After Tuesday, the Sharks have preseason games Thursday and Saturday, and two or three practices next week before their regular-season opener on Oct. 1 at home against the Florida Panthers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think (the shorter camp) probably affects our position the most, just because you don\u2019t have those extra games,\u201d Nedeljkovic said. \u201cYou\u2019re (No. 1 goalie), he\u2019s got to play at least \u2014 I would imagine \u2014 two games. It\u2019s usually what I feel like most guys get.\u201d<\/p>\n

A good start for Askarov and the Sharks will not be easy.<\/p>\n

After Oct. 1, four of the following five Sharks\u2019 games will be against playoff teams from last season. The Sharks then go on a six-game, 10-day road trip, and five of those opponents finished ahead of them in the NHL\u2019s overall standings last season.<\/p>\n

Asked if he might look for outside goaltending help, potentially three-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, if Askarov struggles out of the gate, Grier said he had faith in his tandem, without closing any doors.<\/p>\n

Hellebuyck, 33, has requested a trade from the Winnipeg Jets, who suspended the veteran goalie last week for missing training camp. Although the Sharks are not considered frontrunners for Hellebuyck\u2019s services, they have the assets needed to complete a deal if they choose.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf for whatever reason (Askarov\u2019s) not on top of his game to start the year, I think we\u2019re more than comfortable with (Nedeljkovic),\u201d Grier said of the goaltending position. \u201cWe\u2019re lucky to have him, and (Eric) Comrie down as the No. 3 gives us some good depth, so we feel good about where our goaltending is.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s probably the most depth we\u2019ve had since I\u2019ve been here, so it\u2019s exciting, but it\u2019s no different than any other position out there, right? If something pops up and I feel like it can improve the team and help us be a better team, and it makes sense not only in the short term but in the long term, then I\u2019m always open to exploring.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll be a moot point if Askarov plays well and shows growth from year one to year two. The Sharks will know the answer to that soon enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI keep focusing on today,\u201d Askarov said. \u201cThat\u2019s only what we can change: today. Let\u2019s keep focusing on today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone develops at his own pace, and goaltenders are no different,\u201d Warsofsky said. \u201cBut it\u2019s obviously a big year for him. He put in a lot of work this summer. He\u2019s gotten stronger. He looks bigger. He\u2019s in good shape. So keep working with him and improving his game. But we all want him to take the next step. That\u2019s for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN JOSE \u2013 Ask coach Ryan Warsofsky about what the San Jose Sharks want to see from goalie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[401,402,181,404,88,90,89,98,403,94685,127],"class_list":["post-471275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-jose","tag-hockey","tag-inside-sports","tag-latest-headlines","tag-nhl","tag-san-jose","tag-san-jose-headlines","tag-san-jose-news","tag-san-jose-sharks","tag-sharks-alert","tag-social-alert","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}