Michael Misa has discovered his first favorite San Jose restaurant.<\/p>\n
On Friday, Misa shared that he\u2019s already gone three times (and counting) to local Italian chain, Il Fornaio.<\/p>\n
The 2025 San Jose Sharks\u2019 No. 2 pick also discussed his acclimation to his first NHL training camp, the defensive side of playing center, and what he\u2019s learned about taking faceoffs at this level.<\/p>\n
Michael Misa, on how he\u2019s feeling so far at camp:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s been great\u2014fast-paced, really competitive, hard practices. Like I said, it\u2019s competitive out there, but yeah, I feel good.<\/p>\n Misa, on if that\u2019s what he expected coming in:<\/strong><\/p>\n Definitely, yeah. A lot of older guys, stronger, faster, just at that next level. It\u2019s been a bit of an adjustment, but just trying to feel more comfortable each day.<\/p>\n Misa, on whether he spoke with Tyler Toffoli for advice before camp:<\/strong><\/p>\n Not really, to be honest. I just went into it with a positive mindset, trying to do my thing out there. Throughout the day, there\u2019s obviously so many guys you can talk to, and that\u2019s what\u2019s good about this team. Everyone\u2019s super nice and welcoming, so it\u2019s been good so far.<\/p>\n Misa, on potentially staying at center:<\/strong><\/p>\n I feel like I\u2019m playing my best when I\u2019m down the middle. That\u2019s what I\u2019m most comfortable with, so going forward, I hope to stay there.<\/p>\n Misa, on who he\u2019s rooming with during camp:<\/strong><\/p>\n Cam Lund.<\/p>\n Misa, on the elevated pace compared to Rookie Faceoff:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s definitely a faster pace. I think it just pushes me to keep up, and for me, I\u2019m always just trying to skate as fast as I can. I think it\u2019s important to build speed early to help you keep up with some of those guys out there.<\/p>\n Misa, on how small victories during camp help build confidence:<\/strong><\/p>\n Like I said earlier, each day I\u2019m feeling more comfortable. I think confidence is always there, I believe in myself.<\/p>\n Misa, on his defensive side:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s going to be an adjustment, for sure. Like any young player trying to make the NHL, bigger players are down low trying to get them up against the wall and stuff like that. Each day, I think I\u2019ve been doing a better job of it, and it\u2019s something I still am going to continue to learn. That\u2019s why there\u2019s a lot of older guys on the team for me to take advice from and learn from.<\/p>\n Misa, on any pointers he\u2019s been given by coaches or older players:<\/strong><\/p>\n All of the assistant coaches and older guys on the team have, it\u2019s great. There\u2019s so many people around the rink who you can ask for advice, and they\u2019re going to give it to you.<\/p>\n Misa, on whether there\u2019s anything specific he wants\/need to work on:<\/strong><\/p>\n I think everything. I\u2019m going to be honest, for me, I want to get better at everything and push myself. Coming into it with a purpose of \u201cI want to get better at this\u201d each day in terms of skating, shooting, defensive game, anything.<\/p>\n Misa, on how he gets into an in-game mindset:<\/strong><\/p>\n Just get involved in some way, whether that\u2019s lay a hit, get the puck on your stick, and make a play. Ultimately, I want to win the game. That\u2019s the main objective of Sunday, and I\u2019m going to try to do whatever I can to help the team win.<\/p>\n Misa, on playing with Igor Chernyshov in camp:<\/strong><\/p>\n That chemistry is nice to have with him. Over the past year and then coming here, it\u2019s nice to have a teammate like that from Saginaw and someone I know well and can connect with. I got the chance to play with him the last week or so, and he\u2019s been on my line the last couple of days, so it\u2019s been nice.<\/p>\n Misa, on his thoughts about San Jose:<\/strong><\/p>\n Can\u2019t complain. It\u2019s been good. They have us at the Hilton downtown, and there\u2019s a couple of nice restaurants around there. You drive 10 minutes and you have Santana Row just around the corner. Great weather, obviously. It\u2019s been nothing but good.<\/p>\n Misa, on his go-to San Jose spot so far?<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019ve been going to Il Fornaio. We\u2019ve gone there like 3 times, that\u2019s right around the corner. Nice Italian food, it\u2019s been good.<\/p>\n Misa, on playing with William Eklund:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s pretty easy to play with someone like that. I don\u2019t know who wouldn\u2019t want to play with him. He\u2019s fast, creative, makes plays all over the ice. For me, it\u2019s just been trying to keep up with him because of how fast he is and he sees the ice so well. It\u2019s been fun to play with him.<\/p>\n Misa, on his experience with Ryan Warsofsky so far:<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s been great. Anytime he gives you advice, you just listen and do what he says. There\u2019s been times already out there in practice where he\u2019s giving me good advice along with the coaching feedback, so it\u2019s nice to get advice and stuff you can work on coming into camp.<\/p>\n Misa, on how he\u2019s been feeling during camp, mental-wise:<\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m more just having fun. It\u2019s been a fun couple of weeks here already. Now that we\u2019re into the main camp, it\u2019s nothing. We\u2019re just having fun, working hard. That\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n Misa, on whether the possibility of the San Jose Sharks\u2019 home opener being his NHL debut is on his mind:<\/strong><\/p>\n Not really. I mean, like you said, it\u2019s 3 weeks away. There\u2019s a lot of time between then and now. I\u2019m not on the team yet, so there\u2019s still 3 weeks for me to try and prove myself and try to make the team.<\/p>\n Misa, on what he\u2019s learned about face-offs at the NHL level:<\/strong><\/p>\n The man grip. Everyone\u2019s so much stronger on their stick, so it\u2019s definitely more challenging than the OHL, for sure. That\u2019s why you have coaches and older guys to help you with face-offs.<\/p>\n