GAMEDAY: BARRACUDA AT HEAT
Oct 13, 2018LISTEN | WATCH | GAME NOTES
Tonight’s Matchup: On Saturday the Barracuda and Heat collide for the first of 12 meetings on the season and the first of three matchups over the next week. A season ago, San Jose went 7-4-1 against the Calgary affiliate and 4-1-1 at Stockton Arena.
Last Time Out: The Barracuda never trailed in 65 minutes of play on Wednesday against the Bakersfield Condors after goals from Alex True and Jayden Halbgewachs and 33 saves from Antoine Bibeau but in a shootout the Condors got goals from Cooper Marody and Tyler Benson while the Barracuda only got a goal from Vincent Praplan and fell 3-2 in a shootout.
Hey Bud: This offseason the Stockton Heat signed former Barracuda forward Buddy Robinson who spent all of last year with the Manitoba Moose. The Sharks traded Tommy Wingels to the Ottawa Senators two years ago for Robinson, Zack Stortini, and a draft pick. Robinson collected 19 points with the Barracuda in 33 games and nine points (four goals, five assists) in 15 playoff games.
Youth Movement: The Barracuda opened up the 2018-19 season with 10 rookies and the AHL’s youngest roster, averaging 22.7 years old. Just 13 players on San Jose’s 25-man opening night roster skated for the Barracuda a season ago.
Trading Up: On June 14, Sharks GM Doug Wilson traded forward Adam Helewka to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for 6-5, 235-pound defenseman Kyle Wood. On September 13, as a part of the Erik Karlsson trade, Francis Perron was acquired from the Ottawa Senators. Thus far, the two have combined for six points (two goals, four assists) in two games and a plus-seven rating.
National Pride: With the offseason signings of Vincent Praplan (Switzerland) and Lukas Radil (Czech Republic), along with the return of Captain John McCarthy, San Jose’s opening night roster was comprised of three different skaters who competed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.