Filip Bystedt Sent Back Down to AHL After Brief San Jose Sharks Debut Stint

Filip Bystedt Sent Back Down to AHL After Brief San Jose Sharks Debut Stint, Digi Mart USA News: Swedish center Filip Bystedt has been sent back down to the minor league San Jose Barracuda, the San Jose Sharks confirmed on Monday evening, after a brief return to the NHL.

Bystedt said after making his NHL debut for the Sharks at the end of October that it was exactly as he had dreamed it would be. His parents, Cecilia and Stefan, were in the stands.

His debut came in a 3-2 win.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky praised the 22-year-old. “I thought he was really good,” Warsofsky said.

“It didn’t look like it was his first NHL game. He kept a good tempo, played smart and was good without the puck.

He did a great job in the third period getting back toward the middle. Obviously the first chance on his first shift was impressive.”

The Sharks have since struggled, losing five straight games, including a 7-2 road defeat. Bystedt’s ice time decreased in recent games, and in the weekend’s 4-1 loss he was left out of the lineup.

The club is now reshuffling its lineup to try to break the losing streak, and Bystedt is the player being sent down.

Bystedt played five NHL games this time around, recording no points in any of them and a -3 rating. He now returns to AHL play with the San Jose Barracuda.

In the AHL, Bystedt has performed at a high level in recent seasons. He opened this season with four goals and four assists in eight games for the Barracuda.

Last season was his breakthrough in the minors, when he recorded 60 points in 65 games and led the Barracuda in scoring. That was also the second-best total among Swedish players in the AHL, behind only one player.

Born and raised in Linköping, Bystedt played his entire career there before moving to North America, recording 39 points in 108 games for Linköping. He won gold at the 2022 world junior championship, and he also played in 2023 and 2024.

He led the tournament’s scoring in 2023 with ten points in seven games and was part of the silver-medal team at the 2024 world junior championship in Gothenburg. The Sharks selected Bystedt 27th overall in the first round in 2022.