Early this season, roommates Quentin Musty, Kasper Halttunen, and Cam Lund barely made it in time for a team event. In that moment, the San Jose Sharks prospects learned their lesson.
“From then on, [we] haven’t had anything close that,” Quentin Musty noted.
There’s bound to be lessons learned for these youngsters in their first full professional North American years. Before the season started, Halttunen and Musty asked Lund to take the third bedroom in the house they wanted to rent.
Now, whether it’s an on-ice struggle, a round of golf rounds at Cinnabar Hills, post-practice “Fortnite” sessions, or a “corrupt” San Jose Barracuda ping pong league: These rookies have each other to lean on during this season.
Since Nov. 1, Musty has six goals and 19 points in 20 games. His 22 points this season are tied for second on the Barracuda, behind recent call-up Igor Chernyshov and tied with fellow first-rounder Filip Bystedt.
“He’s shown a willingness to listen and apply it to his game, which is promising,” McCarthy said of Musty. “You see the high-end skill. Just [recently], he made a nice play from behind the net to set up a goal. You see the upside, and he’s doing a nice job rounding out his game.”
JT with the goal for Teddy Bear Toss presented by Kaiser Permanente! pic.twitter.com/9QlPeVnPRM
— SJ Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) December 7, 2025
How can the San Jose Sharks’ 2023 first-round pick refine his game, and eventually make the NHL?
McCarthy wants him to learn “when it’s okay to make plays and when it’s okay to take a little bit of risk with the puck. And the other side of the coin is, when it’s not … The only way to figure that out is to go through it. This is part of his development, and he’s coming along nicely.”
At the house, Musty helps in the kitchen as needed and is co-captain of their “Fortnite” trio.
Memorial Cup champion and primary house chef Halttunen has had an up-and-down season. In his first full pro North American season, Halttunen and his wicked shot has produced six goals and 11 points in 26 contests.
Kasper Halttunen gets his second of the game, this time on the power play. 4-0 Barracuda. They might be a lot of fun this year. pic.twitter.com/kR8r1iefuU
— Ian Reid 😡🇨🇦🤖 (@IanBlogsHockey) October 13, 2024
Halttunen got an early AHL look last season. When the San Jose Sharks returned him to the London Knights, McCarthy and the team asked that he improve his play along the boards and breaking out the puck. While that’s improved, McCarthy noted that the San Jose Sharks’ 2023 second-round pick is still adjusting his offensive game to the professional level.
“He’s got to get himself into scoring areas more regularly,” the coach said. “Get inside, get into that slot area so that he can get his shot off. Adjust to the pace of the pro game. Coming from London, first power play, up there in the line-up, playing a lot of minutes every night, [he’s] figuring out how to adjust to the speed of the pro game.”
After a string of losses, “Tuna” recently dropped from No. 7 to No. 14 on the team’s ping pong power ranking. At the house, he is the cleanest and typically takes a backseat on their Fortnite trio.
“I just try to help the guys, carry the meds and all that,” he said, smiling. “Just be there when they need me.”
Former Northeastern University Husky Lund has twice missed time with injuries already this season. But the 21-year-old winger has four goals and 16 points in 21 games this season. McCarthy noted that he does not judge the the San Jose Sharks’ 2022 second-round pick’s play based off points, but has been impressed.
“He’s been good at possessing the puck,” the head coach said. “He recovers a lot of loose pucks. He’s able to work inside. That’s a skill that a guy like Collin Graf really excelled in last year. And look at him, he’s up [in the NHL] full-time now. [Lund] has some skill around the net, has some good hands. Unfortunately, he’s had a couple of injuries, so has missed some time. But his body of work has been good.”
ALL EFFORT CAM LUND GOAL!
He gets #FeastMode on the board
2-1 pic.twitter.com/ABd9c9DsIz
— JD Young (@MyFryHole) December 11, 2025
When asked about his house’s best chef, Lund called himself a “good cleaner.” Most importantly, he announced he’s stepping away from the team’s ping pong league after dropping out of the top-25.
“I’m not really looking to get back in the ranking,” Lund said. “It’s a very corrupt league.”
Confirmed: The Ping Pong Bracket is Corrupt pic.twitter.com/BGsWE2ubHv
— SJ Barracuda (@sjbarracuda) November 23, 2025
“There’s some older guys who just switch the rankings around and do what they want, so it’s tough to get a good position for us,” Musty explained of the ping pong league. “We’re trying. I haven’t been in there much recently as well, but [I’m] getting back into it. Trying to get up there in the ranking.”
The group told San Jose Hockey Now how the league is designed: After the controversial original top-25 power ranking of Barracuda players and staff was released, a player could challenge another player within three spots of them. If you beat a player above you, you swap spots with them. Also, before the matches begin, all ping pong players must accept a challenge for the day.
Seems simple enough, so who is corrupting the league?
“Colin White,” all three replied.
“He’s known for not accepting almost any [challenge,]” Halttunen shared.
“He’ll switch rankings … Like, you won’t even play, and he’ll just switch your ranking with them,” Musty explained. “It’s a joke.”
While the trio of youngsters might be coming early because they had an early season scare, or stay late just to earn back their spot in the ping pong power rankings, they’re building the right habits. And the organization is taking notice.
“They’re starting to adopt the get there early, stay late mentality,” McCarthy said. “I see them here earlier. They’re getting into a routine. They must drive together, because they tend to show up at the same time … I think they’re all coachable. They’re all open to making the changes that we asked them to make.”