SAN JOSE – A pair of Sharks that didn't advance in the World Cup of Hockey are on their way back to San Jose.
Joe Pavelski, who captained a Team USA club that fell flat on its face, and Joonas Donskoi, who competed for the Finnish team, were on a flight back to the Bay Area from Toronto on Friday. It's uncertain when they'll join their Sharks teammates on the ice, as they'll likely get a few days off before lacing up their skates again.
"I'll sit with them when they get back and see how they feel, and give them the appropriate time," Pete DeBoer said on Friday, as the Sharks opened training camp. "For me, it's not about getting them on the ice tomorrow, it's about getting them rested and ready to go."
The Sharks play their first preseason game on Tuesday at home against Vancouver.
Mikkel Boedker remains in Toronto with Team Europe, although he was a healthy scratch in all three preliminary round games. Europe faces Sweden on Sunday. Team Canada, featuring Joe Thornton, Logan Couture, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, plays the Russian team on Saturday in the first semifinal.
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The Sharks are split up into two groups for camp. Some of the line combinations were as follows:
San Jose Sharks
Nikolay Goldobin – Tomas Hertl – Joel Ward
Matt Nieto – Patrick Marleau – Timo Meier
Marcus Sorensen – Chris Tierney – Tommy Wingels
Barclay Goodrow – Ryan Carpenter – Melker Karlsson
Micheal Haley – Rourke Chartier – Kevin Labanc
John McCarthy – Daniel O'Regan – Alex Schoenborn
Alex Gallant – Jake Marchment – Nikita Jevpalovs
Adam Helewka – Colin Blackwell – Jonathon Martin
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It's always interesting to see who has a place in the NHL locker room when camp gets underway. Currently Haley, Goodrow, McCarthy and Mirco Mueller have stalls in the big boys' room.
Dylan DeMelo, who seemingly leapfrogged Mueller for the seventh defense spot last season, somewhat surprisingly does not.
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DeBoer was asked about the ongoing Colin Kaepernick anthem protest movement that has made headlines the past few weeks.
"I went to law school so freedom of speech is one of the things they teach you on the first day," said DeBoer, who has law degrees from the University of Windsor and University of Detroit. "Whether or not it would be my choice to express myself that way – there's nothing more important than the freedom to express yourself, and that's what this country is built on."
And if one of his players wanted to protest the anthem?
"For me, nothing is more important than [freedom]. There's all kinds of different ways to do it. You can't give someone the freedom and then tell them when or how they can do it. It doesn't make sense. That's everyone's personal choice."
