Sharks return second-round draft pick back to junior hockey

SAN JOSE – The San Jose Sharks assigned forward prospect Kasper Halttunen to the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League on Friday.

Halttunen attended training camp with the Sharks but had been with the San Jose Barracuda for the last six weeks after he was assigned to the AHL in late September.

Halttunen, 19, had four points in six AHL games but was injured last month and hadn’t played since Oct. 25. He had been practicing with the Barracuda in recent days and was nearing a return to full health.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Halttunen, taken 36th overall by the Sharks in 2023, rejoins a London team that is eyeing another OHL championship. The Knights, led by fellow Sharks prospect Sam Dickinson, carried a nine-game win streak into Friday and had an overall record of 13-4-0-0.

On Monday, Dickinson, a defenseman, was named the OHL Player of the Week for the second time in three weeks after he scored four goals and four assists in three games. Before Friday, Dickinson had 25 points in 15 games.

Last season, Halttunen and Dickinson led London to a league title and a spot in the Memorial Cup championship game. Halttunen had 61 points in 57 regular-season games and 26 points, including 17 goals, in 18 playoff games.

Dickinson had 13 points in 18 playoff games last season before he was drafted 11th overall by the Sharks in June.

The Barracuda also has 19-year-old defenseman Luca Cagnoni on its roster. Cagnoni can return to his junior team, the Portland Winterhawks of the Western Hockey League, but all indications so far have been that Cagnoni will remain in San Jose. Going into this weekend, Cagnoni leads all AHL defensemen with 13 points in 12 games.

The Barracuda continues its homestand this weekend with games against the Calgary Wranglers on Saturday and Sunday. Led by forward Collin Graf’s 15 points, the Barracuda (8-4-0-0) are in second place in the AHL’s Pacific Division with 16 points, six points back of the Wranglers (11-3-0-0).

The Barracuda opened its homestand with a 2-1 win over San Diego on Wednesday. Goalie Yaroslav Askarov made a career-high 48 saves, and Thomas Bordeleau scored two power-play goals in the win. Askarov now has a record of 6-2-0 this season with two shutouts and a .949 save percentage.