SAN JOSE — Rookie Chris Tierney says he feels a little more comfortable in his second go-round with the Sharks this season than he did at the start of the year.

And much of that has to do with a 12-game stint in the minors from early November to mid-December, working on every aspect of his game and playing the kind of important minutes for Worcester that might not have come his way had he stayed with the big club.

“When you’re down there, sometimes you play Sunday and you don’t play again until Friday, so there’s a lot of time to work out and go out on the ice and practice,” Tierney said Wednesday. “Just get stronger and work on your game.”

Tierney was one of training camp’s pleasant surprises in six exhibition games, quickly developing a chemistry with linemates Barclay Goodrow and Nikolay Goldobin. A second-round pick in the 2012 draft, Tierney was thrust into a San Jose jersey on opening night as James Sheppard and Tyler Kennedy were rehabbing injuries.

Tierney dressed for 11 of the Sharks’ first 13 games, mostly on the third line. He recorded assists in two of his first three games before the scoring dried up. He also had some trouble defensively as the schedule progressed and struggled in the faceoff circle, winning just 40 percent of his draws.

When Kennedy was healthy again, Tierney was sent to Worcester on Nov. 6.

“I obviously want to be up here playing in the National Hockey League, but when they said you’re going to go down to the AHL, I’m not going to take that as a slight, you’re not going to look at that negatively,” Tierney said. “It’s time to work on your game and just try and get better. … You have to take all those minutes and make it worth something.”

Tierney said he worked on faceoffs, strength and individual battles for positioning and the puck. He had 10 points in 12 games, and was recalled to San Jose on Dec. 11 after an injury to Mike Brown.

Tierney has been playing on the fourth line in his two games since then, but his future in San Jose will probably be in a second- or third-line role.

To play there, Sharks coach Todd McLellan said, “You have to experience power play, you have to experience the penalty kill. You have to be on the ice when the goaltender’s pulled. … That happens more at the minor league level than it does here.”

Right now, the coach added, Tierney “has earned the right to be here, and with injuries he could move up to a third- or a second-line role at any point in the game if things aren’t going well. We’re confident about putting him there.”

It remains to be seen whether Tierney stays in San Jose once the team is fully healthy again. But with no timetable set for Kennedy’s or Brown’s return, Tierney is trying to learn as much as he can and contribute whenever possible.

“Obviously, you’re doing something right if they’re going to call you up,” Tierney said. “That being said, the goal is to get here and stay here.”