Jamie McGinn, Face of the Sharks' Shuttle

SAN JOSE -- Frequent travelers on Virgin America's early-morning Boston-San Francisco route relax: Jamie McGinn appears to be in San Jose for the rest of the season, thanks to roster expansion. You're all safe.

McGinn, a 21-year-old left wing, compiled as many miles this year as just about anyone in hockey. The Sharks, cognizant of keeping costs down under the NHL's salary cap, make liberal use of their Worcester (Mass.) affiliate, recording more than 100 transactions with the AHL team this season.

That's a 3,000 mile journey each way, 6,000 total for a round-tripped player, when the Sharks are at home. So McGinn spent a lot of time on airplanes: he was recalled and then reassigned 11 times, 22 total transactions. A Worcester TV station told him that he'd flown the equivalent of three trips to Australia (from the East Coast of the U.S.) and back, and that was before McGinn's most recent recall.

A pity, then, that McGinn doesn't sleep on planes, and for a specific reason: fellow passenger safety, and of course, a desire to avoid embarrassment.

"The first time I was called up this year, I did fall asleep," McGinn said. "But I twitch when I sleep. And I was in the middle seat. I fell asleep and twitched and I hit the lady next to me with my arm. I was like, 'Oh, no! Sorry!' So that's not going to happen again. Plus, when you fall asleep and you twitch, you know everyone stares at you."

Should you get accidentally whacked by a sleeping seatmate, it's really ideal to have Mr. Twitchy be a professional hockey player. So perhaps it's for the best that McGinn took to paying for airplane internet so he could chat with friends online to keep him awake.

As often as McGinn was yanked back and forth between Worcester and the Sharks, you'd think he'd be as prepared as an Eagle Scout. He couldn't foresee every eventuality, though. Last month, Worcester was en route to play Bridgeport when the team bus stopped; the order had come through to have McGinn join the Sharks in Buffalo.

"I had my headphones on and I guess they were all yelling at me, but I didn't hear them, so Frazer McLaren hit me in the face with a water bottle," McGinn said, grinning. "Then they booted me off the bus in some random spot."

"Any opportunity to play here is a privilege. All those flights are hard, but you do what you've got to do to play in this league."
McGinn was left in a parking lot and was instructed to wait for Sharks assistant coach Wayne Thomas in front of a lighting store, but there was no place to sit, so McGinn wandered to a nearby Holiday Inn and waited there for half an hour. Thomas picked him up and drove him to the airport in Hartford to catch a flight to Buffalo.

McGinn's troubles didn't end there, though. He was wearing just a tracksuit on the bus to Bridgeport. He didn't have any of the more formal clothes required for NHL team travel. He wound up borrowing Brad Staubitz's suit, Dwight Helminen's belt and Ryan Clowe's shoes just so he was presentable enough to walk into the arena.

"I had to buy a travel kit at the airport because I had nothing with me," McGinn said. "Then, after the game, they basically just stripped me. I had to put my tracksuit back on."

He'd been sent back to Worcester after spending one short evening with the big club. All the to-ing and fro-ing, though, was worth it.

"Any opportunity to play here is a privilege," McGinn said. "All those flights are hard, but you do what you've got to do to play in this league."

There are obvious downsides along with the exhausting travel schedule. The reason the Sharks make so many moves is to make sure they remain under the cap; each day a Worcester player remains up is a day of pay that counts against the cap. That means that call-ups don't get much practice time with the NHL club unless they've been recalled because of an injury. It's tough to get into the flow when you spend all day traveling and you've also had limited time skating with the guy next to you; not optimal circumstances for a player looking to shine.

"We're like, 'Oh, he doesn't practice. He only plays in games,' " Sharks wing Dany Heatley said with a grin, joking that McGinn (nicknamed "The Sauce," according to Heatley) gets special treatment. "No, for all those guys coming up and down, it's tough on them. But that's the salary cap."

It's not always the best arrangement for coaches, either -- there's not always much time to impart the game plan or provide instruction. The Sharks, though, have faith in their Worcester players because the affiliate uses the same system, the same terminology; players familiar with the Worcester way are probably going to have a decent clue in San Jose. Sharks coach Todd McLellan pointed out that the team also gets to see a lot of young players over the course of the year, it's a reward for the players who are working hard in Worcester and it gives the NHL team a better idea of potential future options. And all that travel "tests their mettle," said McLellan, who clearly likes that idea.

Shuttling players around isn't unusual, and other West Coast teams have East Coast affiliates, such as the L.A. Kings' agreement with Manchester (N.H.).

"It is what it is," McLellan said. "We feel good about Worcester. We like their coaching staff, the way they develop players, and the travel schedule for Worcester is minimal ... when players are there, they sleep in their own beds most nights.

"In an ideal world, our top affiliate would play at Sharks Ice (in San Jose), but that's not the way it works."

McLellan likes the fact that McGinn was around for the Sharks' three practices leading up to Thursday's game against Nashville. McGinn will get the opportunity of an extended look and he'll be able to get into a routine; he's the sort of player who could wind up contributing down the stretch and possibly into the playoffs. The Sharks will need extra bodies as they prepare for the final run, and it's no secret that they need better secondary scoring in the postseason than they had last year when they were upset by the eighth-seeded Ducks in the first round. If McGinn proves capable of doing that on the third or fourth line, he might find himself traveling by team charter for years. Note: the Sharks are 7-0 this year when McGinn scores, and 10-0 in his career.

"Jamie's had a rollercoaster season because of the travel, but I believe he can be a very important part of this team," McLellan said. "There are certain things he needs to do if he's playing six minutes a night or 16 minutes, things that can't vary, and he can do that. He's proven he's got a lot of energy, he's a physical player, he skates well."

"I try to keep it simple," McGinn said. "Work hard, get pucks. Practice means so much, I'm enjoying it right now. I've got a smile on my face."