VANCOUVER– Kiefer Sherwood took part in the San Jose Sharks morning skate for the first time since he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks.
Despite participating in what appeared to be a non-limited fashion, the forward won’t make his team debut, according to Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky. Warsofsky told media members that the expectation is that Sherwood will play on the five-game road trip.
“Closer [to playing]. He won’t play tonight, but he is getting closer,” Warsofsky said. “I would say there’s a pretty good chance of playing the trip. When that is, we’re not sure yet.”
Sherwood skated on a line with Jeff Skinner and Philipp Kurahsev at the morning skate. They were the fifth rotation of forwards, signaling they won’t play. For Kurashev, he was in a regular jersey, officially shedding the orange non-contact uniform.
#SJSharks lines at morning skate:
Graf-Celebrini-Smith
Regenda-Wennberg-Toffoli
Eklund-Misa-Gaudette
Goodrow-Ostapchuk-Reaves
Skinner-Kurashev-Sherwood
Orlov-Klingberg
Ferraro-Liljegren
Dickinson-Desharnais
Mukhamadullin-Iorio
— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) January 27, 2026
“Pretty good 5th line,” Warsofsky joked.
Although the official injury designation by the San Jose Sharks is an upper-body injury, SHD spotted some form of a brace or wrap on Sherwood’s right hand. The forward appeared to be taking shots, but not at 100%. Sherwood hasn’t played since January 10th, after he suffered an injury against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Yaroslav Askarov will start in goal for the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. The young goalie is searching for better performances.
“If you look at his last few games, he’s put a lot of [the second of a] back-to-back against high offensive teams,” Warsofsky said. “I want to get him going and balance it out a little bit. Five games before the break, no back-to-backs, so we’ll do what’s best for the team.”