Sharks goalie prospect has ‘little setback’ as Barracuda’s skid continues

SAN JOSE – Yaroslav Askarov’s return to the net for the San Jose Sharks’ AHL affiliate will have to wait a little longer.

Askarov, the Sharks’ top goalie prospect who had not played in six weeks because of a lower-body injury, had been on track to start Tuesday night’s San Jose Barracuda game against the Ontario Reign. But, according to Barracuda coach John McCarthy, Askarov re-aggravated the injury in the hours before the game and was unavailable to play.

Askarov was on the ice for pregame warmups at Tech CU Arena, but Gabriel Carriere started in a 3-2 loss to the Reign, marking San Jose’s fourth straight defeat.

“Little setback,” McCarthy said when asked about Askarov after a 3-2 loss to the Ontario Reign on Wednesday. “They’re still kind of diagnosing it and figuring out what’s going on, but I don’t think it’s going to be long.”

Carriere and the Barracuda fell behind 2-0 after they allowed two goals on the Reign’s first two shots in the opening 32 seconds. Carriere finished with 16 saves, and Luca Cagnoni and Patrick Giles both scored for San Jose in the loss.

It’s unclear when Askarov might be able to return, but knowing what a big piece he is to the future of the team, the Sharks organization will likely proceed with caution. The Barracuda (32-24-5-4) are now tied for fifth place in the AHL’s Pacific Division standings with 73 points and seven games remaining, starting with two upcoming road games against the division-leading Colorado Eagles on Friday and Saturday.

The Barracuda remain six points up on seventh-place Tucson and seventh points ahead of eighth-place Bakersfield. The top seven teams make the Calder Cup playoffs. The Barracuda has not played in the postseason since 2021.