Worcester, Mass. - Three Worcester Sharks players have been recalled to San Jose on a standby basis during the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. Worcester veteran defenseman Patrick Traverse, veteran forward Graham Mink and rookie netminder Thomas Greiss flew to San Jose on Wednesday to practice with the team.

Should San Jose have any injuries in their lineup, Traverse, Mink and Greiss would be eligible to suit up for the big club.

Traverse spent the first 26 games of the season with Hamilton (AHL) after being claimed off waivers by Montreal on his way to Worcester. Finally, the Sharks acquired Traverse in exchange for Mathieu Biron on December 15, 2006. The steady, stay-at-home defenseman skated in 54 games and registered five goals and 17 assists for 22 points. He picked up a minuscule 14 penalty minutes and maintained a plus-five player rating. His end of season stats was 27 points (6+21=27) in 80 games.

On the front end, Graham Mink provided grit, determination, and experience to an otherwise young team. Mink missed a good chunk of games at the start of the season due to injury, but quickly showed why he was a large reason why the Hershey Bears won the Calder Cup last season. Mink was second on the team in scoring with 63 points in just 61 games played. He racked up 31 goals and 32 assists with a plus-nine rating. From January 1 until the final games played in the regular season, Mink went on a hot streak and led all AHL goal-scoring in the New Year with 27 goals.

Finally, the rookie netminder from Germany in Thomas Greiss was a very important ingredient to the Sharks winning seven straight games and securing their first ever playoff berth. Greiss finished the season second among AHL rookies in wins with 26, third in goals against average at 2.61, and fourth in save percentage at 91.2%. The young goalie showed strong poise this season and should prove to be a staple in the Sharks organization for years to come.

San Jose will next play on Saturday afternoon (May 5) in Detroit for game five 2:00 p.m. ET on NBC. The Western Conference Semifinal matchup is currently tied at two games apiece. For more information, please visit www.sjsharks.com.