Sharks rookie forward to miss game against Florida Panthers

Rookie forward Will Smith has an upper-body injury and will not play Saturday when the San Jose Sharks face the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.

Smith, who has 11 points in 24 games this season, is considered day-to-day. Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky said Saturday that he wasn’t exactly sure when Smith was injured, only that it happened near the end of a recent game.

So far this season, when Smith has not dressed for games, it’s because the Sharks have given him what they’ve called ‘development days,’ which were introduced in part to help reduce the 19-year-old’s chances of getting injured. Before Saturday, though, Smith had played in seven straight games from Nov. 23 to Thursday, collecting three goals and four assists.

After playing the Panthers, the Sharks will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and finish their road trip on Thursday against the St. Louis Blues.

With Smith out, rookie Ethan Cardwell, who has sat out the last two games, will draw back into the Sharks lineup. Warsofsky wouldn’t specify where Cardwell will play. Smith had been playing on a line with Mikael Granlund and Klim Kostin.

The Sharks are also making one change on defense, with Henry Thrun replacing Jack Thompson.

Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood will start for the Sharks, who are looking to bounce back after an 8-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

With Marc-Edouard Vlasic nearing a return from an upper-body injury that’s kept him out since the start of training camp, the Sharks might soon have to make a roster decision on what to do with Thompson.

Thompson on Thursday was making his first appearance for the Sharks since their Nov. 23 game against the Buffalo Sabres. He had 17:47 of ice time against the Lightning and was on the ice for three goals against, and the Sharks’ only goal, scored by Alexander Wennberg.

Perhaps the Sharks’ simplest option — if there are no more injuries (Barclay Goodrow remains on injured reserve) by the time Vlasic is activated — is to return Thompson to the AHL since the 22-year-old remains waivers exempt.

Still, with some more experience and improvements, Thompson seems to have the potential to become a full-time, every-game defenseman.

“He’s taken steps towards it,” Warsofsky said of Thompson. “I think he’s gotten better defensively this year. He’s playing with more jam below the top of the circles and in the defensive zone. For me, it’s his puck-moving ability. There’s an ability there to move pucks. He needs to be more consistent with it.”

Regarding Vlasic, Warsofsky said, “We’re inching closer to him joining us here in a hockey game and being available for us. We’re going to probably get through the weekend and go from there.”