Welcome Bring Hockey Back to the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast!

Bring Hockey Back is the first-ever title sponsor of the podcast!

San Jose Sharks fans, you might know Bring Hockey Back from their hilarious “Director of Vibes” and “Shorks” t-shirts. They also have other fun hockey t-shirts plus make custom hockey jerseys for teams and events of all shapes and sizes at bringhockeyback.net. 

Besides that big news, we have Kevin Woodley of NHL.com and InGoal Magazine on the pod! Kevin is one of THE goalie guys in hockey media, and he brings us great insight about Yaroslav Askarov. Technically, what’s Askarov have to do to reach elite NHL status?

But before we get to Kevin, let’s talk about the San Jose Sharks’ return from the 4 Nations break and more! (2:30)

Askarov has a minor lower-body injury, why might some rest be good for him?

Nikolai Kovalenko made waves with his comments to a Russian podcast about Ryan Warsofsky. Our thoughts on Kovalenko’s clarification and how Warsofsky treats Russian players. (9:00)

Nico Sturm doesn’t think that he’s going to be with the San Jose Sharks for long. What will Sturm and other Trade Deadline candidates like Luke Kunin, Jan Rutta, and Mario Ferraro fetch? (22:56)

We also discuss the Sharks’ two post-break losses at the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets: Who’s impressed us? What did we think of Warsofsky’s decision to start Alex Wennberg in OT against the Jets? (33:30)

And now, Kevin Woodley! (1:04:08)

Does Askarov have the potential to be a Connor Hellebuyck-level goaltender for the San Jose Sharks? What’s he got to do to get there?

What are Kevin’s perceptions of Askarov’s antics, like his celebrations? (1:15:40)

What’s the value of keeping Askarov in the AHL this year? 

Will Alexandar Georgiev or Vitek Vanecek pair with Askarov next season? (1:29:30)

Where does Woodley rank Askarov among the top young goalie prospects in the league? (1:35:10)

How does Kevin view the work of the San Jose Sharks’ current goaltending regime, director Evgeni Nabokov, goaltending coach Thomas Speer, and goalie scout Ryan Miller?