SAN JOSE – Forward Quentin Musty, one of the Sharks’ two first-round draft picks in 2023, has arrived in San Jose and is expected to begin practicing with the team’s AHL affiliate, the Barracuda, on Tuesday.

Musty, 19, had been expected to join the Barracuda after his fourth and likely final season of junior hockey ended last week, as he and the Sudbury Wolves were swept in their best-of-7 series against the Kingston Frontenacs in the opening round of the Ontario Hockey League playoffs.

Musty had four points in three playoff games after he had 59 points in 33 regular-season games with the Wolves. Musty sat out the first month of Sudbury’s season after he requested a trade, returned on Nov. 1, but sustained a broken hand on Nov. 24 and didn’t play again until Jan. 12.

In 189 regular-season games with Sudbury over four seasons, Musty had 270 points, including a 103-point season in 2023-24.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound Musty was selected 26th overall by the Sharks at the 2023 NHL Draft in Nashville and was signed to a three-year entry-level contract in October of that year.

It was not immediately clear when Musty would play his first game with the Barracuda, which is locked in a tight race in the AHL’s Pacific Division standings. After splitting two games with the division-leading Colorado Eagles over the weekend, San Jose entered this week tied with the Calgary Wranglers for fifth place with 75 points.

The Barracuda has five games remaining, starting with Wednesday’s pivotal road game against Coachella Valley, which is in fourth place with 79 points. The division winner earns a bye for the first round of the playoffs, and the teams that finish second through fourth will each host a best-of-three opening round series.

The top seven teams in the Pacific Division make the playoffs, and San Jose is on the verge of clinching its first postseason spot since 2021. The Barracuda are nine points ahead of eighth-place Bakersfield, which has 66 points.