Coach Pete DeBoer said Monday that the wait for Jannik Hansen to debut in a Sharks uniform is almost over, as the team expects the newly acquired winger to suit up later this week when San Jose hosts the Washington Capitals.
The wait might have been a bit frustrating for Sharks fans, but it wasn’t unusual.
Joe Kirkwood, a San Diego-based immigration lawyer who has worked with several NHL teams, said it can take up to a week-to-10 days for non-Canadian players such as the Danish-born Hansen to get the proper clearance from U.S. Immigration Service.
Kirkwood said a player like Hansen, who was traded last Tuesday night from the Vancouver Canucks to the Sharks, first has to get a P-1 visa approval notice from U.