Michael Misa won’t play for the San Jose Sharks on Saturday when the Dallas Stars come to the SAP Center.

The forward is coming off a bronze medal with Team Canada at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship, where he scored two goals and five assists. Now back in the NHL, the No. 2 pick is healthy and has practiced with the Sharks, but he’s not going to play. Misa got good news on Thursday that he would be staying in the NHL for the rest of the season.

So why wouldn’t the Sharks put him right back into the lineup? A case could be made to slot him in at Ty Dellandrea’s vacated 3C spot due to his injury, but San Jose Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky says not yet.

“He went through seven [games] in 11 days, and has had one practice with us,” Warsofsky said on Saturday. “There’s a chance he plays tomorrow, [but]we have a plan. We know we need to get him to play, and he needs to play games and get him going here. I don’t see him sitting out too long.”

Misa told reporters following Friday’s practice that he believes in the plan that the Sharks have put in front of him.

“I think after that injury, [this year] turned into a bit of a development year for me. Obviously, it’s hard to come back from injury in this league. I think what they got going on for me is really going to help me,” Misa said. “I’m excited to be back here and, hopefully, get in the lineup soon.”

Adam Gaudette is currently filling in for Dellandrea on the third line. That could continue to happen even when Misa does get into the San Jose Sharks lineup. Warsofsky says they are testing out Misa on the wing, but are still keeping their focus on developing him as a center.

“Yeah, there’s a chance we could try [Misa] on the wing,” Warsofsky said on Friday. “But right now we are focusing on him as a center.”

The Sharks’ head coach admitted on Saturday that the team is attempting to try him on the wing during certain parts of practice.

“Thought he looked good. Obviously, moved him around a little bit, played a little bit of the wing, played center,” Warsofsky said. “I think he looked good in his first practice.”

Another reason for Misa’s delay in the Sharks lineup is the contract count. Once Misa plays his 10th game of the season, his ELC will become part of the Sharks’ active contract count. A team cannot have more than 50 active contracts. If Misa’s contract were to be active, it would be the Sharks’ 51st active contract.

John Klingberg and Jeff Skinner are players who have no-trade clauses in their contracts through January 30th. While the Sharks may not want to trade key players, both will have trade value as the Olympics and NHL Trade Deadline approach.

The team is clearly taking a cautious approach with the return of its top prospect, but he could be in the lineup as soon as Sunday. If he doesn’t play against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday, his next chance to play would be on January 15th against the Washington Capitals.

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