Impressive Rookie D-Man Ty Emberson Signs New Deal

He established himself as a solid part of the San Jose Sharks defense in 2023-24 — when he was able to stay on the ice. It was an injury-prone rookie season for Ty Emberson, but when he did play, he ate up plenty of minutes and was a valued part of the top-six defense corps. Now, as a restricted free agent, he's re-upped with the Sharks for another year.

Also, Ty Emberson agrees with San Jose: 1 year, $950K
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 11, 2024

It's a one-year deal worth $950,000 for the right-shot d-man, a bit of a raise from last season.

At 6'1", 194 pounds, Emberson used his body to his advantage, delivering 94 hits in his 30 games (a 250-hit pace over a full season), while also blocking 46 shots. He registered one goal and nine assists for 10 points, and was just starting to find his offensive game with three points in four games when he went down with the first of a series of injuries, a lower-body issue.

He came back at the end of December and immediately picked up where he left off, distributing assists in three of four games along with a +3 rating, before going down yet again, this time with an upper-body injury.

Back again at the end of January, he registered two more assists in his first two contests back, then went back on the IL. Eventually, at the end of February, lacerated tendons in his foot spelled the end of his rookie season.

Overall, it was Emberson's defensive metrics that had the biggest impact on the Sharks' blueline, per Evolving-Hockey. In fact, he was second-best among San Jose defensemen behind Mario Ferraro in goals above replacement.

His offensive game started to show its stripes in 2022-23 with the Hartford Wolfpack at the AHL, where he posted 27 points in 69 games, along with his strong defense, and a +17 rating.

The Sharks picked up Emberson off waivers from the New York Rangers before the season began, and would like to see a lot more of him in 2024-25.