ANAHEIM — Joel Ward stood with his teammates during the national anthem prior to the Sharks 3-0 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center Thursday, following through on a pledge he made earlier in the day. Like our Sharks Facebook page for more San Jose Sharks news, commentary and conversation.

Ward laid out the reasons for his decision in a thoughtful statement on Twitter Thursday morning.

The veteran forward, who is one of roughly 30 black players in the NHL, indicated that he won’t be joining the social protest sweeping across the NFL by kneeling during the national anthem because he believes, “the original message that was trying to be communicated has been lost.”

Although he stood for the anthem, Ward isn’t giving up on the goal to bring awareness to issues of racial inequality and police brutality. Ward said that progress can be made in a variety of different ways.

#SJSharks Ward stands for national anthem in anaheim, hand over his heart pic.twitter.com/80DQVqWbZu — Paul Gackle (@GackleReport) September 29, 2017

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Game Changers: Four years after Kaepernick kneeled, a look at Bay Area sports leaders who stood before him “And that’s where I want everyone to refocus their attention — on moving progress forward,” Ward said via Twitter. “We need to be working on bridging the gap between people of all color, and between law enforcement and minorities.”

“How can we be part of the solution and not part of the problem — or be another distraction from what the real issues are?”

Despite his decision, Ward expressed his continued support for the protest in the NFL, started by former-49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, that was reignited last weekend after President Donald Trump said that any professional football player who kneels during the national anthem should be fired.

“I hold an immense amount of respect for the many players — across the sporting world — that have chosen to peacefully bring attention to a couple of big issues in today’s society,” Ward said in his statement.

“Make no mistake that racism exists and that people of color are treated differently on a day-to-day basis.”

The 36-year-old forward is hoping that the conversation about racial inequality and police brutality can extend beyond the playing field now that awareness is being raised.

“Let our collective attention be on bridging the gap between communities — on working to heal generations of unequal treatment of people of color in the United States of America — and not turning our backs on that which is hard to face head on,” he said.

Head coach Pete DeBoer expressed support for Ward’s decision following the Sharks morning practice.

“He’s an intelligent, thoughtful, insightful guy and has put a lot of thought into this,” the Sharks coach said. “Whatever he decides, and how he wants to handle it, we’re going to support him because we know the reasons behind it.”

Ward, a Canadian player who’s the son of Barbadian immigrants, told the Mercury News Tuesday that he was considering the idea of joining the protest at an upcoming Sharks game, sharing his first-hand experiences with racism in the game of hockey and away from the rink. For complete Sharks coverage

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“I’ve dealt with it a lot,” Ward told the Mercury News. “I’ve had a few things that have happened to me that you could say are not the norm. I’ve been singled out at different events. I’ve been pulled over. I’ve dealt with racism right to my face.

“It’s just been part of life that you always have to deal with, so when people get into Kaepernick and some of these other guys, saying that they’re disrespecting the flag, it’s not about just that. It’s about creating awareness about what people, like myself, go through on a day-to-day basis, whether it’s going to the mall or whatever.”

— Joe Thornton said there’s no doubt that he will suit up for the Sharks season opener at the SAP Center on Oct. 4 and he’s still hopeful that he will skate in one of the Sharks final preseason games over the weekend.

“Why not Saturday?” said Thornton, who’s underwent surgery to repair the ACL and MCL in his left knee during the offseason.

— Defenseman Tim Heed got the puck stripped from him as he was trying to take it out from behind his own net on the Ducks first goal, potentially cementing his fate for the beginning of the season.

Heed has been battling AHL Barracuda defensive partner Joakim Ryan for the Sharks seventh defenseman spot in training camp and he appears to be losing traction in the race.

Ryan received the opportunity to play alongside Brent Burns last week and he partnered up with Justin Braun on the Sharks top pairing Thursday. Heed, meanwhile, was relegated to the third pairing, playing alongside Jacob Middleton, who was recalled from the Barracuda earlier in the day.

Although Heed was an offensive juggernaut in the AHL last season, notching 56 points in 55 games, his defensive zone play has always been a question mark. His lapse on the Ducks first goal seemed to confirm that he could benefit from additional time in the minor leagues.

But DeBoer wasn’t overly impressed with Ryan’s performance Thursday. Ryan got turned around as the Ducks notched their second goal on a 2-on-1 play.

“He’s had a decent camp,” the Sharks coach said. “Tonight wasn’t his best night.”