By every measure, 2015-16 was a breakthrough season for the San Jose Sharks prospect Ryan Carpenter.

An undrafted free agent, Carpenter, a 25-year-old forward, was the leading scorer for the Sharks’ American Hockey League affiliate, the San Jose Barracudas, was named the team’s most valuable player and went to the A.H.L. All-Star Game. He also earned the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the A.H.L.’s man of the year for his community involvement and played one game with the Sharks, on Dec. 12.

For his efforts, he was recalled to join the Sharks for their run to the Stanley Cup finals. But Carpenter did not see the ice for the first three games of the series, which the Penguins lead, 2-1, going into Game 4 on Monday.

In fact, Carpenter was not even in the building for the first two games in Pittsburgh. He was instead back in San Jose, patiently waiting for the opportunity, no matter how remote, to make his N.H.L. playoff debut.