He’s the player the Sharks could really use right now (hint: it’s not Panarin)

CHICAGO – San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky was complimentary of both forward Philipp Kurashev and defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin in their first games back in the lineup after both spent multiple weeks on injured reserve.

But there’s at least one another injured player who the Sharks could desperately use right now.

While the Sharks activated both Kurashev and Mukhamadullin before their game against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, forward Kiefer Sherwood remained on IR, with no specific indication of when he’ll be healthy enough to play.

Warsofsky said before Saturday’s game, a 3-2 loss to the non-playoff contending Flames, that Sherwood remains day-to-day with an upper body injury, adding that the versatile winger was “getting closer, just not 100% there yet for today.”

In terms of Sherwood being able to play either Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks or Wednesday against the Colorado Avalanche before the start of the Olympic break, Warsofsky didn’t rule it out, but could only offer that the Sharks were “hopeful” that the 30-year-old Ohio native could be available.

The Sharks, now at the 23-player maximum, would have to create a roster opening if they wanted to activate Sherwood, who has been on IR with an upper body ailment since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 19.

Sherwood’s availability probably can’t come soon enough for a Sharks team that has now gone a pedestrian 4-4-1 since a 5-4 home win over the Dallas Stars on Jan. 10. They also enter Sunday in sixth place in the Pacific Division, one point out of a wild card spot and three points back of the third place Seattle Kraken.

In losing to the Flames, the Sharks failed to muster a consistent forecheck – the bread and butter of their offense – and managed just 17 shots on net through the first two periods.

They finished with 25 shots, marking the seventh time in nine games that they’ve managed 28 shots or less. They’ve lost five of those games.

The six Flames power plays the Sharks had to kill Saturday didn’t help.

“That one hurts,” Sharks winger Will Smith said. “I think honestly, if you look at the shots, I think we just need more. Obviously, that’s going to create more offense.”

The Sharks forechecked the way they needed to in the first two periods of their game against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. But they sat back too much in the third period, couldn’t hold a three-goal lead and lost 4-3 in overtime.

“When we hunt pucks, when we get on pucks, is when we have success,” Warsofsky said Saturday of the loss to the Oilers.

“There were times when we just came off the hunt. I think we play in a little bit of fear sometimes of (Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl). That’s what happens with a young team that’s trying to learn how to win those types of games.”

Sherwood would be a tremendous help to the Sharks with both his forechecking ability and physicality while giving Warsofsky another option to throw over the boards in high leverage situations.

And hunting pucks? That’s one of Sherwood’s specialties.

Shortly into his tenure with the Vancouver Canucks, Sherwood in Oct. 2024 described his forechecking approach as someone who tries “to have a hunter mentality and simply just want the hunt for the puck. It’s a lot about reading the opposition’s positioning and seeing where we can try to outnumber guys.”

As someone who leads the NHL with over 900 hits over the last two-plus seasons, Sherwood said, “The physical part is nice for me. I like to get a lot of hits and wear their defense down, but the puck is the priority. … I’m trying to get to the puck first and disrupt the body with hits to start wearing teams down when they are starting a possession.”

Then-Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said the team went out and signed Sherwood, “because he’s a really good forechecker and he’s fitting in really well being that first forechecking guy. He’ll take the body and that’s a good thing for us.”

The Sharks can use other elements of Sherwood’s game, too, namely the offensive part as he’s scored 36 goals in his last 122 games.

The Sharks line of Michael Misa, Adam Gaudette and William Eklund have discovered some chemistry together, with a combined eight even strength points in the last three games, including three on Saturday.

Still, Saturday’s loss marked the 13th time this season that leading scorer Macklin Celebrini has been held without a point, and the Sharks have lost 12 of those games.

The Sharks, of course, do not want to put Sherwood at risk if there’s a chance he can make the injury worse by playing too soon. The Sharks’ first game after the break will be on Feb. 26, also against Calgary, and with 27 games left, they’ll still be in the playoff mix at that point, regardless of how the rest of the road trip unfolds.

There’s even a chance that skilled winger Artemi Panarin could be with the Sharks for the stretch run.

But, boy, Sherwood sure figures to cure at least some of the Sharks’ ills once he does return.

“We just couldn’t get it going at all. Second period we really struggled,” Warsofsky said after Saturday’s loss. “We just couldn’t stop a puck up.”