San Jose Sharks defenseman opens up about recent mental health struggles

SAN JOSE Perhaps insufficient Sharks players needed certain time away from hockey this summer more than defenseman Vincent Desharnais Less than a year after reaching the Stanley Cup Final with the Edmonton Oilers Desharnais was dealt twice in a five-week span before the NHL contract deadline in March and missed the last games of the year with an upper body injury Although Desharnais received positive feedback from the Sharks coaching staff in exit interviews in April he still needed a reset after his majority challenging season as a professional When the season ended I was in a kind of tough place mentally announced Desharnais who skated in the Sharks meeting against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday at SAP Center in the preseason opener for both teams I took a lot of time off in the woods and fishing and no phones no social media and that was very very helpful And I m back I m ready I feel good physically feel good mentally Desharnais is in the second year of a two-year million contract he signed with the Vancouver Canucks who were impressed with the -foot- rearguard during their second-round playoff series with the Oilers in May But Desharnais brief tenure in Vancouver was rocky almost from the start as after just one meeting he was a healthy scratch by then-Canucks coach Rick Tocchet This came shortly after the Oilers run to Competition of the Cup Final when Desharnais dressed for straight playoff games but only played in one of the squad s final Desharnais would play just of games with the Canucks before he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins Desharnais then lasted just days in Pittsburgh where his ice time fell off a bit before he was shipped to San Jose in March for a fifth round pick Desharnais revealed a role with the Sharks though and his exit meeting with coach Ryan Warsofsky let him know he was valued by the organization When you get traded twice in a year and going back to Edmonton not playing in every competition in the Stanley Cup Finals playing the whole season playing the majority playoffs and at the end you re not in Like right away you kind of question yourself Desharnais declared You change teams Things are not going your way Get traded get traded again At particular point your confidence is kind of taking a hit You re questioning yourself a lot and having kind of that reassurance helped a little bit Warsofsky declared his message to Desharnais was to play towards his identity We don t need to come in and run a power play and try to create a ton of offense Just defend hard Use his size use his length Desharnais declared he used a mental coach to try to get back to enjoying the contest saying that after signing with the Canucks I was putting a lot of pressure on myself And obviously there s a mix of a lot of things that happened last season but at particular point I struggled with just my confidence and just being at peace being at peace with myself being at peace with my thoughts When I got home at the end of the season I was not in a great head space There was a lot of negativity and I was kind of trying to get out of it As Desharnais reflected on the year he appealed himself what he needed to learn from the experience He got off the grid and began to work with a new mental coach which helped give him perspective Just go play out there You ve got nothing to lose Desharnais declared I was a seventh rounder in I shouldn t technically be here so let s just have fun Last year something I got away from is having fun I got caught in the business of things and the trades and all that I m here because I work hard and I have fun