Addison surprised to be Shark

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (633 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

SAN JOSE — Calen Addison hadn’t prepared himself for a change of scenery, admitting a trade from the Minnesota Wild to the San Jose Sharks earlier this season took him by surprise.

“I had no clue. Honestly, had no idea,” the defenceman from Brandon said Tuesday, a few hours before he hit the ice to face the Winnipeg Jets at SAP Center.

However, safe to say he’s enjoying the view in his new hockey home. In more ways than one, with winter now upon us.

“I’ll take the nice weather for sure. No complaints,” Addison, 23, said with a laugh. “I was just excited to come here, excited for the new chance and the new opportunity.”

He’s getting that in spades, including a regular spot in both the lineup and on the power play with a young, rebuilding Sharks team. Contrast that to Minnesota, a more veteran squad with a win-now mentality that had him under a more intense spotlight and, at times, parked in the press box as a healthy scratch.

Addison put up plenty of points last season a rookie with the Wild, including a franchise-record 26 assists for a first-year pro, along with three goals. The 29 points had him third in rookie blue-line scoring for the 2022-23 campaign.

However, his play away from the puck, and in his own end of the rink, was a frequent topic of conversation between him and the coaching staff.

After putting up five assists through 12 games in Minnesota this year, Addison was sent to San Jose for prospect forward Adam Raska and a fifth-round pick in the 2026 draft. He had six points in his first 16 games with the Sharks, including his first goal of the year Sunday night in Las Vegas.

“It’s nice to obviously get on the scoresheet,” said Addison. “Just trying to do what I can on the ice and work as hard as I can. It’s nice to get up in the offence and find the back of the net.”

When Addison made his San Jose debut on Nov. 9, they were a horrific 1-10-1 on the year. They beat the Oilers that night and have compiled a 7-7-2 record since prior to facing the Jets.

“It’s crazy. Coming here to a team that had one win. Now you look where we’re at and what we’ve done,” said Addison.

“Even the games we haven’t gotten points or the outcome we wanted we’ve made it hard on top teams in the league. That’s our goal every night, to stay in games and obviously try to get wins when we can.”

Addison, selected by Pittsburgh in the second round of the 2018 draft, believes this is a good situation for him to learn and grow.

“Obviously it’s very exciting to come to a young team that wants to be really good in the future, and for me, I want to be a part of it,” he said. “Try to take advantage of every opportunity I have here. You’re not going to have your best stuff every night, but your goal is to work as hard as you can and try the best you can.”

That includes continuing to work on the part of his game that likely made him expendable in the eyes of Minnesota management. He’s got plenty of good veteran mentors in the room to learn from, including Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jan Rutta, Mario Ferraro, Kyle Burroughs and Matt Benning

“I’m trying to focus on my defence,” said Addison.

“The offence can always get better, for me I’m trying to be more productive at even strength situations. But I think just working on the defence, working hard in the d-zone and trying to understand how to defend better.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg