Why the San Jose Sharks’ newest forward says he’s “extremely motivated”

NHL: Jack Studnicka will play tonight as the San Jose Sharks face the Colorado Avalanche

Jack Studnicka certainly isn’t lacking incentive as his tenure with the San Jose Sharks gets underway.

Studnicka, acquired by the Sharks on Friday from Vancouver, is not only in a contract year, but also wants to prove he can again be a full-time NHL player after he was placed on waivers by the Canucks last month.

Studnicka, now with his third NHL team after he was drafted by Boston in 2017, will get that chance tonight as the Sharks finish a brief road trip against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver. It appears Studnicka will begin the game as the Sharks’ third-line center, replacing Nico Sturm, who was injured last week.

“Extremely motivated,” Studnicka said Sunday morning. “It was a tough experience to clear (waivers) there but continue to try to prove people wrong and hopefully prove the Sharks right.”

Sturm was injured last Tuesday in the Sharks’ game against the Winnipeg Jets and is considered week-to-week with what’s been described as a mid-body injury, although his hand or wrist appeared to be hurt in awkward-looking third-period play. Coach David Quinn said Sturm will be re-evaluated next week.

With Sturm and fellow center Ryan Carpenter both injured, the Sharks had Luke Kunin and Filip Zadina, normally used on the wing, move to the middle for their game Friday against the Arizona Coyotes. The Sharks lacked energy and had trouble generating momentum from one shift to the next in what became a 1-0 loss at Mullett Arena.

Studnicka, 24, joined the Sharks on Friday night and practiced with the team on Saturday in Denver.

“Just trying to keep an open head, play my game, and learn the system stuff and the X’s and O’s as we go,” Studnicka said. “But just looking forward to getting out there and showing my compete level and playing my game.”

Studnicka said he was shocked by the trade at first, but also figured he’d have to move on to another organization if he wanted to become an NHL regular again.

Studnicka was waived by the Canucks in October before the start of the regular season but was recalled shortly afterward on an emergency basis. He had one goal in five games with the Canucks and before he was placed on waivers a second time, Studnicka had been a healthy scratch for nine of 10 games. When Teddy Blueger returned for Vancouver, Studnicka was the odd man out.

Studnicka called it a “humbling” experience.

“I think that was a kind of a look in the mirror moment,” Studnicka said. “Just try to continue to get better and know that there were some teams out there that would be watching that can maybe use me. So I just put my head down, kept grinding and I’m excited this opportunity came.”

Quinn said the Sharks have been watching.

“This was a guy that was highly thought of in the Bruins organization,” Quinn said. “He’s a high second-round pick who’s got talent and skill, and sometimes it takes a second or third stop before you really become the player you’re capable of being.

“We thought this was an opportunity for him that he hasn’t had before to the fault of nobody. Certainly, a player that we’ve had our eye on for a while. He’s been talked about, from our end of it, since I’ve been here, for the last year and a half.”

Studnicka is set to become a restricted free agent with arbitration rights next summer, and the next few months will help determine whether there is interest in continuing the relationship past this year.

“The support and communication have been really good so far,” Studnicka said. “There are some days where it was tough to keep going, but you just got to remember that there’s people out there watching and I’m glad that (the Sharks) given me an opportunity here.”

VLASIC BACK: Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic is back with the team after he missed the last three games for personal reasons. Quinn, though, said he was not sure who he’ll have in the lineup against the Avalanche.

“Kind of waiting on some injury situations to play out this afternoon,” Quinn said.

CARPENTER UPDATE: Quinn said last Wednesday that Carpenter, on injured reserve since Dec. 4, was close to a return. Carpenter, though, remains out.

“We figured it was going to be this long and maybe a little longer,” Quinn said. “So it’s really day by day, week by week. It’s pain tolerance with his situation.”

BLACKWOOD STARTS: Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood will start tonight’s game, Quinn said. In six games since Thanksgiving, starting on Nov. 24, Blackwood is 2-2-1 with a .910 save percentage.

Blackwood started his first game for the Sharks against the Avalanche on Oct. 14 and made a staggering 51 saves for San Jose in what became a 2-1 shootout loss at SAP Center.

The Sharks managed just 21 shots against Colorado Avalanche goalie Alexandar Georgiev. San Jose will likely face Georgiev again tonight after Ivan Prosvetov allowed five goals on 24 shots in a 6-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday in Manitoba.

“We’re a completely different team than we were (in October),” Quinn said. “One of the things that we’re wanting to do is stay in the present. We didn’t love our last game, we were a little flat. So we’ve got to get back to playing with that passion and enthusiasm and swagger we’ve been playing with the last three and a half weeks.”