Breaking in fresh hockey equipment is never fun, and it’s even worse when you have to do it all at once.
Unfortunately for San Jose Sharks prospect Quentin Musty, he’s being forced to wear brand new gear at his first NHL rookie camp after Air Canada allegedly lost all of it, according to Max Miller of The Hockey News.
Musty, the 28th overall selection at the 2023 draft, and other Sharks prospects are set to take part in the 2023 Rookie Faceoff showcase in Las Vegas this weekend.
Musty was still able to practice with his fellow freshmen as they prepared for their showcase game, which gets underway on Friday at 1:00 p.m.
Musty, 18, is coming off a 78-point campaign with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, which ranked second among all draft-eligible OHL skaters, according to Pick224.com. The Athletic’s Corey Pronman listed Musty as the Sharks’ fifth best prospect in his annual Pipeline Rankings for each NHL team.
Heading into the 2023 draft, one of the most highly anticipated ones in recent memory, Elite Prospects listed Musty as the 12th-best player in the draft. He was also listed as the 14th-best player by NHL Central Central Scouting.
According to Byron Bader, creator of HockeyPropsecting.com, players who produce as well as Musty did in his draft year have a 20% chance of becoming NHL stars. Musty represented Team USA this summer at the U-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
This isn’t the first time Air Canada’s made a mistake that impacted a top NHL prospect. During last year’s world juniors, the airline lost Columbus Blue Jackets first-rounder David Jiricek’s equipment when he flew from Cleveland to Nova Scotia to represent Czechia.
Fortunately for Jiricek, the gear was located and delivered to him a few hours before the team’s opening game against Team Canada. We can only hope Musty is so lucky this time around.
