SB Nation - Joe Pavelski

Logan Couture, Great Prospect

That'll Cheech You — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:00:14 -0000

When you are drafted only 8 players after NHL 10 cover boy and (insert taxi cab joke of choice here) Patrick Kane, there's bound to be some hype around your arrival. That hype is bound to turn to pressure when you're compared favorably to NHL legend Steve Yzerman and are one of only three players selected in the top ten by your team in the decade.

Oh yeah, and you're 17. Good luck with all that.

Couture wasn't ready to succeed at the NHL level when he was selected 9th overall by the San Jose Sharks in the 2007 NHL entry draft. That's actually to be expected, considering the team he was drafted by. Although it's something that happens mostly in the later rounds, the Sharks love drafting project players. Players who aren't great skaters (Joe Pavelski), players who don't accelerate well or struggle with consistency (Ryane Clowe), or need to add some size to their frame (Marc-Edouard Vlasic). Well, Couture needed to work on most all of those things heading back to juniors.

The Sharks draft players like this because they not only have confidence in the player, but also their organization's ability to coach the player through their shortcomings. This allows them to grab a player with innate, high skill that other teams may have been scared away from because of a few, possibly coachable, faults. Logan is a skilled playmaker, a capable goal scorer, and has an admirable and difficult to teach desire to play well in every area of the ice. The balance, stride, and size would come later.

Couture has done almost all of the things necessary to become an above average NHL player. Although he still has some work to do on keeping his feet, it's apparent he's adjusting quickly to the speed of the NHL game.

NHL	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Logan Couture	11	1	1	2	-2	4	0	0	0	0	14	7.1

I'm not going to even try to say that he's got a decent NHL line there. It's alright considering his playing time and line mates, but doesn't really work with all the praise I'm giving him so far in this piece. My proof is in his AHL stats, below.

AHL	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Logan Couture	14	9	12	21	7	4	3	0	5	0	43	20.9

Dizzam. It doesn't stop there, though. As an AHL rookie, Logan is putting together and extremely strong statistical season. His five game winning goals lead the league. He's got the longest point streak in the AHL; from October 10th to November 25th, where he scored 14 points (6 G, 8A). He's one of only two rookies in the top 25 for scoring, and that's in 11 less games than most other players in the top 25. What's most amazing, though, is his effect on his team.

Couture has been called up and sent down a few times this year, just like most other Sharks prospects. That gives us a pretty decent sample size to see his effect on the team. As Worcester Sharks broadcaster, Price is Right winner, and friend of the website Eric Lindquist pointed out in a press release, the Worcester Sharks really depend on Couture to get things going offensively. In the 14 games that he has played with the team, the Worcester Sharks average 3.42 goals per game. In the 12 games without him, the Sharks have scored just 1.91 goals per game. That's a pretty significant difference.

It didn't just start in the AHL, though. Logan has been scoring (just ask the ladies) since he first started in Juniors. He was most successful with Jamie McGinn as his wingman (again, ask the ladies), but has been able to score with just about anyone (do I really have to say it again?). Sexual innuendo aside, here are his carreer stats.

Logan Couture - Career Stats

League	GP	G	A	P	P/GP
2005 -2006 Ottawa 67's	65	25	39	64	0.99
2006 -2007 Ottawa 67's	54	26	52	78	1.44
2007 -2008 Ottawa 67's	51	21	37	58	1.14
2008 -2009 Ottawa 67's*	62	39	48	87	1.40
2009 -2010 Worcester Sharks	14	9	12	21	1.50

*Called up to AHL after conclusion of OHL season

Although scouts have been wary of Logan's long term scoring potential, his recent success in the AHL should do a little bit to quell those concerns. In fact, I'd say these numbers merit an almost permanent call up.

Don't agree with me? Let's look at Joe Pavelski's (short) AHL career.

2006-2007 AHL Worcester Sharks	GP	G	A	P	P/GP
Joe Pavelski	16	8	18	26	1.62

That stat line was good enough to merit a call up to the NHL, and he never looked back. What's interesting, is how similar Joe's stat line is to Logan's. It's especially interesting because Couture has always been compared to Pavelski in terms of player type, skill set, and mental makeup. Time for a full time gig for Couture?

Ah, there's the problem. The Sharks are in the midst of a high pressure NHL season, one in which anything less than making the Stanley Cup Finals would be an OMG CRASHN BURN FALUREZ. That's not really the best environment for Couture to flourish. In addition, the cap situation doesn't help, especially when Couture is one of the higher priced rookies in the system.

When he has been called up, he's played admirably. But it's tough to succeed statistically when you're paired with the likes of Jody Shelley, Brad Staubitz, et. al. That's not an excuse, it's just not exactly the perfect situation. Hell, Joe Callahan assisted on his first career goal. The assist? Couture set up Staubitz's weird "flying goal". (That celebration is kind of sad, though... everyone gets to party but Logan)

It's kind of crazy that I'm using stats to talk about Couture's improvement when that's only half of his game. Even when he's on his rear end (like I said, balance), he's still fighting for the puck and wins important battles in all zones. That kind of motor can't be taught. That desire even further adds to his value.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the promise of Couture's skill is finally becoming more than promise. He's still got some work to do... but I'm thinking he's going to be a star in this league. In any other situation, he'd be working on that ascent now.

Go Sharks.

San Jose Sharks 2010 Olympic Hockey Preview: Part Two

Mr. Plank — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 23:01:53 -0000

Imagine a gold medal game on a frozen pond-- of course it would never get past the IIHF competition committee, but I'll be damned if it wouldn't be one helluva experience.

View full size photo »

The 2010 Games in Vancouver are fast approaching, with final rosters set to be announced in late December. SB Nation has been running a network wide preview series chronicling the likelihood of individual players making their respective country's roster, and pocket aces dropped today-- it's Fear The Fin's turn to make our grand entrance onto the big stage.

As I see it, the San Jose Sharks have a couple locks and a smorgasbord of remaining hopefuls that boast a myriad of different skills; these hopefuls will either need to elevate or hold their current level of play in order to make their inclusion later this month the right choice for their country.

Make the jump for evaluations of Greiss, Boyle, Pavelski, and Murray.

PACK YOUR BAGS, JACK

Thomas Greiss, Team Germany

#1 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 29, 1986

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Thomas Greiss	6	286	3	2			14	2.94	143	129	.902	0

Although Thomas Greiss has seen all of four starts for the San Jose Sharks this season, Germany's pool of available goaltenders makes it a near certainty that Thomas Greiss will start in net for his national team, with former San Jose Shark Dimitri Patzold making a bid for the backup role.

Germany will have a tough time competing with the Big Seven, and the lack of a relatively strong defensive core could highlight Greiss' tendency to heavily challenge shooters and sometimes find himself out of position for the follow up opportunity. The hope is that the move from a six team two pool format into a four team three pool format (with all teams advancing to single elimination) can give Team Germany an opportunity to get hot at the right moment and do some damage.

Unfortunately, that doesn't look very likely.

*****

ON THE FRINGE

What a show

Dan Boyle, Team Canada

#22 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Jul 12, 1976

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Dan Boyle	29	6	18	24	4	20	3	0	1	0	69	8.7

Boyle is an interesting case when it comes to Team Canada, and although he is one of the best offensive defenseman in the game today, you have to wonder how they are going to approach the blueline. There's a lot of firepower amongst the forwards; it stands to reason they're considering putting a little extra muscle in the defensive zone because of it. I wouldn't call San Jose's number one defenseman a slouch in his own end by any means, but he's definitely no world beater-- do you go with a guy whose skating ability could elicit a tear from even the notoriously callous Scott Stevens, or do you go with a guy who plays like the aforementioned wall of steel? It's a question that doesn't have a clear cut answer, but with Jay Bouwmeester, Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, and Duncan Keith already locks for the team, the road to a starting spot in Vancouver for Boyle may not be as smooth as it currently seems.

That leaves us with two starting spots left on the roster. Drew Doughty has raised a lot of eyebrows around the league*, with some circles calling for him to make the team-- others have Seabrook penciled in to play with Keith considering the familiarity they have with one another-- this could pay off dividends since the teams have a very short time to practice together.

*We're talking Patrick Marleau eyebrows here.

Beyond that you have Shea Weber, Robyn Regehr, and Dan Boyle. Regehr may warrant some attention as he and Bouwmeester could be considered in the same boat as Keith-Seabrook. Dion Phaneuf probably has some supporters somewhere, but I'd be very surprised if he is even getting a second look from the Canadian brass-- very subpar in the defensive zone, and although an Olympic team won't be hampered by his overpaid contract, taking a flyer on him based off reputation alone is not a recipe for success.

So where does that leave us? With five worthy defensemen fighting over two starting spots and the healthy scratch. If I'm Steve Yzerman I take Weber, Seabrook, and Boyle, with Seabrook pairing with fellow Blackhawk Duncan Keith, Pronger and Niedermayer obviously going together, and Weber/Boyle pairing with Bouwmeester depending on the night. It gives you a good combination of firepower throughout your pairings, and anchors one of the lines with a great defensive defenseman.

No matter which way you cut it, Canada is stacked in this department. Here's to Dan Boyle getting cracking the first Olympic roster of his career without the whole team alternate situation rearing it's head again.

Joe Pavelski, Team USA

#8 / Center / San Jose Sharks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 195

Born: Jul 11, 1984

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Joe Pavelski	14	3	9	12	8	8	1	0	0	0	49	6.1

Joe Pavelski runs into the same situation as Dan Boyle to a degree in that the Americans, while not nearly as deep as the Canadians, do boast a decent crop of forwards that can put the puck in the net. That being said, he impressed a lot of folks during the orientation camp this summer and has played for head coach Ron Wilson before as well as playing against GM Brian Burke when he was with Anaheim. His injury to start the year didn't help his bid, but his noteworthy play after returning has proved that he is not hampered by any lingering issues in his foot.

Like Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski will be able to play an excellent two way game and help shore up the United States penalty kill. With Team USA mainstays Scott Gomez and Chris Drury having fairly porous outings this season, the opportunity is there for him to jump into the starting rotation as either a center, or play on the right wing. An enticing possibility would be for him to play with fellow American Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks in a shutdown role-- Team USA has very little hope of being able to outgun the likes of Russia, Canada, and Sweden once they advance out of pool play, and establishing a physical game with an influx of young players might be the best route to take considering the strength of the goaltending class and what's shaping up to be a surprisingly above average top six defensive unit.

Ron Wilson, as we are well aware of, has been known to favor a defensive style of play. Pavelski has been a winner at every level he's played at and can bring intangibles to the squad's run at avenging Salt Lake in 02. For that reason I think he gets the nod.

Just don't pencil him in quite yet.

Douglas Murray, Team Sweden

#3 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 240

Born: Mar 12, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Douglas Murray	28	1	3	4	4	31	0	0	0	0	25	4.0

Going into this season there was no indication Douglas Murray would be anything but a stretch when talking about a strong Swedish roster, but with Nicklas Lidstrom extending his blessing earlier this year (a blessing that must be akin to a kiss from the Pope), speculation on whether or not Murray would crack the starting lineup has ramped up considerably.

That being said, there's still a fair amount in his way.

Nicklas Lidstrom, Mattias Ohlund, and Alexander Edler are the locks here, and after that you get into some gray area-- Niklas Kronwall is currently out for 4-8 weeks with a sprained MCL in his left knee, and while that doesn't necessarily write him out of the top six for the Swedes, it does open up the playing field for some other notables to make their bid. On this short list we have Victor Hedman (whose inclusion would likely be welcomed by the country at large along with an opportunity to play with Lightning teammate Ohlund), Johnny Oduya (who has taken a step back in his game from last season, Anton Stralman (a member of the 2009 World Championship team who has played well this season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and could help quarterback the power play), along with numerous other notables from the NHL such as Tobias Enstrom, Nicklas Grossman, Jonathan Ericsson, among others. There's a slew of players from across the pond who I am admittedly not all too familiar with, but it's a deep class for the third best IIHF team going into the tournament.

There's three aspects of this year's Olympics that benefit Murray-- the aforementioned blessing from Lidstrom, the fact that his grandfather is a hero in Sweden for his international accomplishments, and the Games being played on an NHL sized rink. His physical play would be an asset in this arena, and as long as he is paired with an offensive minded defenseman, the hope is that they will be able to compliment each other such as the current pairing of Boyle-Murray has done for San Jose.

It's going to take one helluva performance to crack the top six, but I'm sure Murray will at least make the team as an alternate. Beyond that I'd have to chock this one up to a coin flip.

*****

Devin Setoguchi, Rob Blake, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic are three notable San Jose Sharks who will not be making the trip to Vancouver. If Setoguchi and Vlasic continue to progress and grow their games (in the defensive and physical categories respectively), a date in 2014 could be in the cards.

Until then, and until December, it's just going to be a game of wait and see.

Go ~~Sharks~~ Team USA.

Sharks 4 Canucks 2 In A Snoozfest

Sean Zandberg — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 06:23:41 -0000

It was hard to give the Canucks much hope of winning this game against a superior team and in a back-to-back game scenario. The Canucks started well but started mentally breaking down after the first period. That was quite evident in period 2, where they offered the Sharks 3 consecutive (lazy) penalties in the first 7.5 minutes: hooking, hooking and holding by Samuelsson, Edler and Daniel Sedin respectively. Damned Swedes! (haha) Dan Boyle scored the go ahead goal on the Edler penalty, and the Sharks went into a defensive shell after that. They outshot the Canucks 15-4 in that period.

Canucks were 0-for-4 on the PP. Yes their power play looked lame.

Sharks were 1-for-5.

Lots of turnovers, bad passes, and inability to get the puck to the net by the Canucks after that. If I could single out one player, I'd say that Mathieu Schneider did not look good out there.

On the positive side, the game was close until the 17:25 mark of the 3rd when Manny Malhotra put the Canucks out of their misery. I thought Kyle Wellwood and Jannik Hansen looked especially good tonight. Wellwood scored a goal and an assist and was a team-best +2. Hansen scored once, had 3 shots, and was an even +/-. There was a brief stint where Hansen played with the Sedins and looked good. Might be worth giving him a chance on line 1, AV.

The Big 3 Sharks players (Marleau, Thornton and Heatley) were limited to 1assist (Thornton) and 5 shots.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: The crowd at GM Place sounded lifeless. At one point I swear to God I could hear a Wellwood bowel movement. Sure, there was a wave and a short-lived "Go Canucks Go" chant with less than 10:00 left in the 3rd, but that doesn't cut it, boring game or not. The team was in need of some form of boost and the crowd could have offered that.

"You'll find more cheer in a graveyard"

BOXSCORE

HIGHLIGHTS

MY 3 STARS:

1. DAN BOYLE. 24:34 played, 4 shots, 1 goal, a PP freak

2. JOE PAVELSKI. 2 assists and 5 shots.

3. KYLE WELLWOOD

Oilers vs. Sharks, 11/27/09 - Riding Shotgun Has a Whole New Meaning

Derek Zona — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:30:11 -0000

via sportslogos.net

SBNation's Sharks vs Oilers game page

Fear The Fin

Do former Sharks come back to haunt the current team? A statistical analysis.

An outstanding cartoon from Couch Tarts.

A Copper & Blue favorite, Joe Pavelski, avoids answers to 20 questions.

"Intent to blow" has created an unholy mess.

It's Torrey Mitchell time!

COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCH!

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Doubtful

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Jody Shelley	other-excused	11/27/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Rob Blake	arm	11/05/2009
Devin Setoguchi	leg	11/16/2009
Torrey Mitchell	knee	09/30/2009

Shark Sandwich - Hawks 4, Sharks 3 (OT)

McClure — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:40:34 -0000

Eight of eight points against 3 top conference foes and one truculent opponent? Yeah, we'll take it. Tonight's win wasn't pretty, but an ugly win is still a win.

Things started off well enough with Brent Sopel (yes, BRENT SOPEL) notching his first of the year on a one time feed from Jordan Hendry who won the puck down low skating at forward tonight. Fresh call-up Bryan Bickell provided a nice screen on a shot that Evgeni Nabokov never saw. The Sharks answered later on in the period when dickweed Dany Heatley took a feed from Joe Thornton on a play that the Hawks should have cleared the zone on, but Jason Demers made a nice play to cut off Troy Brouwer receiving the exit pass.

Early in the second, we got to see the numbskullery we had been missing from Ben Eager, where he somehow managed to earn an extra two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty from his scrap with cro-magnon Douglas Murray. On the ensuing power play, the Sharks broke the Hawks streak of 18 straight penalties killed when Demers picked up a loose puck in the left circle on a broken play. It was a shot Huet did not get over to his post in time to cover. Forty-five seconds later, Patrick Marleau got a pass from Joe Pavelski in the slot, where he was left alone in a defensive breakdown, and was allowed to get two cracks at the net, the second of which he punched through. For the rest of the period, the ice was tilted in the Hawks favor. Patrick Kane picked a corner over Nabokov's glove to cut the deficit in half. With about a minute and a half to go, John Madden tied things up after skating through four Sharks to bury a rebound of a shot that was generated between he, Andrew Ladd, and Troy Brouwer. There was a scare in the middle of the frame when the puck squirted behind Huet and the Sharks had thought they had scored, but there was no indication on the ice, and the war room in Toronto determined no goal.

The third period was a rather tenative affair, with neither team generating much offensively, almost playing as if they were resigned to the fate of overtime as teams once did in the pre-lockout era. The Hawks ended things quickly with a great shift from Troy Brouwer and Jonathan Toews, who won the puck after hard work in behind the Shark net, with Toews finally able to slip it to a pinching Brent Seabrook who shot the puck through Nabokov for his second of the year, and second OT winner. Ballgame.

The Hawks were without the services of Kris Versteeg tonight, who was likely banged up after getting demolished by Jeff Finger on Friday night. Bryan "Don't Call me Travis" Bickell filled in admirably, and proving to be basically the left handed version of Troy Brouwer, which isn't a bad thing to be at this point.
Glad to see the Hawks hang tough and win over the top team in the league with basically half of their top 6 out for tonight's game (Bolland, Versteeg, Hossa).
Niklas Hjalmarsson continues to impress with his patience and smarts in his own end. As we've mentioned before here, and in the Indian, pay attention and marvel at his knack for absorbing a hit to make the correct pass. Additionally, he had a nice break up of a rush by dropping to a knee and taking away a passing lane.
Coach Q broke form and got way less matchup happy in the second period when the Hawks were down two goals, in an effort to generate some offense. Of course, with the score knotted in the third, John Madden once again resumed shadow detail on Thornton.
It wasn't Huet's best night, but he made a gigantic save on Scott Nichol in the waning seconds of regulation, so credit has to be given. All we as fans have asked from him is to just make the key save, and there was none bigger in the contest than that one.
The Hawks again limited one of the top offensive teams in the league to just 23 shots.
EDIT: John Madden was 9-0 on draws. The man love grows ever stronger.

Player of the Game

Though realistically, the honor should have gone to Patrick Marleau, who was everywhere tonight, you don't really think we'd pick someone from the other team, do you? So in that case, I'm going to go ahead and hand this out to Hammer, who was again rock solid tonight, in spite of being -1. Stats be damned, I know what I saw.

Turco's Stonewalling of Sharks Leads to Stars' Rally ; Shootout Win

Brandon Bibb — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:58:17 -0000

More photos » by Ben Margot - AP

about 1 month ago: San Jose Sharks' Dany Heatley, left, races to the puck in front of Dallas Stars goalie Marty Turco (35) during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

Browse more photos »

It's late, so of course this recap is going to be brief.

But the number 1 star of the night was clearly Marty Turco. He kept the Stars in it having only allowed two second period goals from Dany Heatley and Ryan Clowe. He shined during the third period, particularly with the game on the line after a late Mike Modano slashing penalty put the Stars a man down.

But he saved his best stop of the game for the second round of the shootout. Dan Boyle executed a series of splendid dekes to get Turco out of position. Or so Boyle thought. When he went to backhand the puck and tuck it inside the near post and Turco, the Stars' netminder flopped onto his back and with a last minute desperation move, kept the puck out with his glove hand.

And after Ryan Vesce had made it five consecutive shooters from both teams to not dent the twine, Stephane Robidas finally notched the first shootout win of the season for the Stars with an absolutely sick snapshot over Evgeni Nabokov's left shoulder into the top corner of the net.

Other quick thoughts:

Once again, why doesn't the league use replay to correct mistakes on high sticking penalties? In the second period, they whistled Steve Ott off even though replays never conclusively showed he high sticked. Then in the third, Joe Pavelski was victimized when officials called him for high sticking James Neal, even though it was obvious that the Real Deal was the victim of some friendly fire from the stick blade of Nicklas Grossman.

The Sharks were able to take advantage of that phony call on Ott. But fortunately for the refs, the Stars weren't able to do anything with that late power play off the flat out bogus call on Joe Pavelski.
"Crankshaft" appears to be a very appropriate nickname for San Jose's Douglas Murray.
No doubt James Neal had a very strong game tonight for the Stars. And when he tries to take games by the bull horns like he did tonight, the Stars will be successful more nights than not.

But dare I suggest that if he continues to get chances in the shootout that he find another move since the one he has, while effective at beating goaltenders, keeps ringing the post?
Speaking of Neal, I thought it was somewhat fitting that his goal canceled out the fluky goal that Ryan Clowe scored. And it continued to be fitting when Mike Modano's blast canceled out Dany Heatley's snipe from close range.
Sure, San Jose deserved that 2-0 lead by virtue of their domination of the middle frame. But the first period was evenly played and the Stars dominated much of the third period and deserved to have this contest tied at 2-2 going into OT.
About that ugly 1 for 34 against San Jose's penalty kill dating back to last season. Yeah, might want to get that one sorted out at some point during the season series, Stars.

Not like they weren't getting chances. But like Razor mentioned, when they did get chances on the man advantage, those chances fizzled into nothing without Nabokov having to do much to thwart them.

At the very least, I want the Sharks' best penalty killer to actually be the best penalty killer if the Stars are to not score on the man advantage. That rarely happened last year. Or tonight for that matter.
Remember that point I made to Sevy two weeks ago about how good a job fighting does to bring closure to issues on the ice? Exhibit A from tonight's game certainly has to be Krys Barch's fight with Brad Staubitz.The Sharks' tough guy came in a little too late for the Stars' liking on Tom Wandell.

Barch challenged him to a round of fisticuffs, they settled right then and there. And you didn't hear another word about that hit for the rest of the game.
There's a part of me that actually feels sorry for San Jose. Because no matter what they accomplish during the regular season this year, nobody in the hockey world outside of San Jose will give a damn until about the Sharks until they at least advance to the Western Conference Finals. And for some, that might not even be enough.

Islanders Gameday: How I Learned to Stop Feeling the Fin

Dominik — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:45:08 -0000

Well, let's try this again, at home, shall we? Last night was not an impressive statement about the state of things, but it was also a tough-to-evaluate evening when the goaltending never gave the Islanders a chance.

Remarkably, while the Sharks bring far more firepower than the Sabres, their start has been far less impressive than Buffalo's. So, you know: There's hope and all that. But not mammoth hope: Hold your shock, but the Isles' goal differential after five games (12-19) is worse than the Sharks' after seven (21-22). So it goes. Last year's meeting, incidentally, was a 42-save loss for Joey MacDonald.

San Jose Sharks (3-3-1, 5th/Pac) at New York Islanders (0-2-3, 5th/Atl)

7 p.m. EDT | Nassau [gloriously unsponsored] Veterans Mem. Coliseum | MSG+2

Home of whoa, dude, it's just hockey: Fear the Fin

The Sharks are missing Torrey Mitchell and Joe Pavelski, Evgeni Nabokov has started all seven games, and Dan(n)y Heatley is a noted tool. After the 4-1 loss in Washington, Sharks coach Todd McLellan may be shaking things up. Does that include dressing the backup goalie for last year's 30th-place team? That'd be fun.

At the other end of the ice, Martin Biron will be in after being awoken from ex-teammate harassment duty yesterday to mop up for Dwayne Roloson. I'd like to see Jack Hillen get another look, but do you sit Bruno Gervais again or do you take another guy out? Don't think so. Please sit a vet from this subpar blueline. And, dare I mention ... Jeff Tambellini? I doubt the Isles need to "put on the foil" for the Sharks, but yesterday it sounded like Joel Rechlicz would get his three minutes in both games this weekend. Does the undisciplined penalty last night change that? All good things to those who wait.

Neither team did a morning skate -- Chris Botta humorously depicts how inexact that science is (and oh look, Ice Girl tail) -- so there aren't a whole lot of updates flowing through the Interspheres. I don't have much to add beyond that, save for an explanation of why I can no longer feel anything for the Sharks. It has to do with something that rhymes with Fanny Beatley, except it only has one 'n.'

The Rant: How Dan(n)y Heatley Ruined My Shark Empathy

I used to empathize with the Sharks. More precisely, I empathized with their fans. Cool bunch. Expansion success story. Good-guy GM. Avid fans who have climbed near the mountain's peak, only to get repeatedly knocked back by misfortune and the fact only 1 in 16 teams finds the promised land. Islanders fans know the line between "choker" and OMG! Dynasty! can turn on an overtime goal. (Pat Quinn would say it turns on a blown offside call, too, but that's what losing coaches do. Ouch, see what I did there?)

Anyway, maybe my Shark empathy stemmed from the fact the '70s Islanders were "chokers" once, until one day suddenly they weren't. Then for five years they did everything right, in a way no team has done since, and no team will do ever again. Those Isles did things so right, they played so many playoff games (winning 19 consecutive series) and so many Canada Cup games -- that by the late '80s, every important player abruptly retired or met his last legs.

Whether that's the source or not, somehow I even felt for Sharks stars Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau, who as the team leaders draw the biggest "choke" charge for the team's playoff failings. If it's gotta be someone else, I didn't mind if the Sharks made it all the way in the NHL's more dramatic, condensed second season, which is only a third the length of the regular season the Sharks had just mastered. They'd paid their dues.

Then they got Dan(n)y Heatley.

Empathy over. Faustian deal sealed, spirit broken. It's funny, The Hockey News recently ran a cover story ostensibly about the Sharks going for it all with that trade -- a great hockey trade, I might add -- but the piece turned into a four-page defense of Heatley. Lots of talk of his "right" to ask for a trade and leverage his no-trade clause, etc.

All very true, yet all avoiding the point that this is a two-way street, and fans have a right to expect things of players, too. Dude gets a second chance after a massive, tragic mistake in Atlanta, then asks for an out and hardly seems appreciative about all the breaks he caught (how did that community service go, by the way?). Then he gets all the money and term he could ask for in Ottawa, but wants to bail once the going gets rough.

I'm a hockey fan. I help pay the way for these players to live out their dream. If I want to call one of them a tool based on a preponderance of evidence, I have that right and will use it. So: Heatley's a tool. The THN story was probably more directed at their fellow media members who aired the Heatley laundry they'd previously kept in the notebook (intra-profession opining is when the knives really come out), but it didn't read that way. It read like a PR piece to get all of us off his back. Even though he lost the benefit of the doubt long ago (Not that the piece mentioned why.)

Sorry THN, but no: Heatley's a tool. And his presence takes away all my incentive to wish the Sharks well.

Fireside Chats: Eric Lindquist

FTF Staff — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 10:00:47 -0000

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Eric Lindquist has been the play by play commentator for the Worcester Sharks the last three years, and currently assumes the duties of Director of Public Relations and Broadcasting. He also won the Showcase Showdown on the Price is Right, but Plank and TCY were unable to confirm if he kissed Bob Barker upon winning. Mr. Lindquist was nice enough to be our resource for all things related to the Worcester Sharks during last year's run through the Calder Cup playoffs, and has returned to shed some light on the state of the San Jose Sharks' AHL affiliate in Massachusetts. You can catch Eric's play by play for all Worcester's games on WTAG AM 580, and visit the Worcester Sharks site for more info on the team. Enjoy.

With the big club currently having some issues in the defensive zone, we're wondering how well Nick Petrecki is adapting to the professional game. Is he playing against opposing team's top lines, or has Ray Sommer sheltered his minutes while he makes the transition?

Petrecki has played very well logging minutes in all situations and taking regular shifts. He is the only rookie defenseman to have dressed in all three games. Petrecki has a great physical presence on the ice, and received first fighting major against Michael Haley of Bridgeport on October 9th. He showed great emotion after the bout.

Jamie McGinn has been stuck in the AHL-NHL revolving door for most of his professional career. When do you think he finally sticks in the NHL, and what is his ceiling as an NHL player?

McGinn seems to be an all around player that can, and will, do everything to win. He will stick up for his teammates and score that big goal when needed. He scored some big goals for us last season in the playoffs and regular season. McGinn has a positive attitude, and he's still just 21 years old. This guy is a player.

Although it's early, it looks as if the initial plan to rotate Sexmith and Statlock this season is in progress. Do you see that continuing, or does Roy Summer prefer to have a number one goalie? Who do you think is best suited to take over for the NHL club in the future?

It's really too early to tell, but it looks like that both Stalock and Sexsmith will have their time to play substantial minutes in the AHL. Both goaltenders seemed poised in their professional debuts. We are really excited to watch these two guys develop here in Worcester.

Doug Wilson plans to use the "Worcester shuttle" a fair amount this season, and the hope is that it keeps those players hungry to work their way back up to the big club. When a player is recalled from the San Jose Sharks, do you notice a little extra gas in their legs?

The guys in Worcester get real excited with the amount of "shuffle" between Worcester and San Jose. They know that they are all just a real good stretch of games away from playing in the NHL.

Logan Couture has always been compared favorably to Joe Pavelski. Do you see similarities in their styles of play? We were impressed with Couture's all around game in the preseason; is he ready to contribue at the NHL level, or do you see the need for more development?

Logan has great skill, speed and a great hockey sense. He was on the ice late when the Sharks were up by one in Lowell and the Devils had their goaltender pulled. Looks like he will be given a lot of responsibility this year.

What three players have impressed you the most in this young AHL season, and why?

First, Brandon Mashinter. He's had two fights and three goals in three games. He's versatile, too, playing minutes on the 4th and 1st lines. Brandon is a big physical forward with scoring touch. Second, John McCarthy. He's played with Andrew Desjardins and Dan DaSilva on Worcester’s "3rd line". Does the little things real well; he's good in his own zone, and he competes real hard. Lastly, it'd be Daniel DaSilva. Dan has done it all: He's on a three game point streak, has played the body real well, and has shown good energy early in games to set tone.

*******

Go Sharks.

Sharks Gameday: Keep The Car Running

Mr. Plank — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 10:00:28 -0000

	@ 7:30 PST
2-0-0, 4 points		1-2-0, 2 points
5th in Western Conference		12th in Western Conference

Television	CSN-CA (HD)
Radio	98.5 KFOX, Sjsharks.com
Antagonists	The Cannon

Try this one on for size- player X makes the roster out of camp, gets sent down after one game, and then is recalled in time for the home opener. Apparently management decided that skating Staubitz and Shelley for a combined 9:32 of ice time wasn't going to do a whole lot of good in the way of winning hockey games with Joe Pavelski out.

As for the Sharks as a whole, they've been heavily outplayed in the defensive end of the ice; while I'm not a big Nabokov apologist by any means, he has been hung out to dry a lot thus far this season due to some very soft plays in front of the net. I may have labeled the blueline a weakness before the season began, but there was no expectation for it to be this poor at even strength. Learn something new every day.

Three games is a small sample size to be certain, and I've refrained from delving into a significant amount of analysis due to that fact. However, in looking at the roster, there's really only two guys you can expect to make notable strides from where they were last season- Vlasic and Demers. Boyle has never been a defensive dynamo, Blake may regress if anything, Murray has likely hit his expected ceiling, and Huskins is at the point in his career where becoming a bonafide top-four defensive defenseman is not in the cards.

This isn't to say things won't improve- I think they will eventually, but it won't be without the requisite growing pains every team goes through at the start of the year (face it- we're spoiled from 2008). October has it's fair share of road games, and November looks to be a very difficult month as well. With the extreme roster turnover this offseason, I'm betting on more Jekkyl & Hyde affairs in the coming months. Toss in the fact that Pavelski's injury is going to hurt the team defensively (especially on the PK) along with the lack of cap space Wilson has to work with (read: good luck finding an upgrade on the blueline outside of the organization), and well, it's probably best to get ready for a tumultuous ride before we hit December.

Keep the car running indeed. You can think of me when you forget your seatbelt.

At any rate, with Ken Hitchock and his three chins bouncing their way into town tonight, how the Sharks move the puck at even strength will likely to determine where this one ends up in the standing column. Columbus is going to do an excellent job of clogging the neutral zone, funnel the puck carriers towards a specific side, and then stand them up at the blueline. David Pollak of Working The Corners reported that the team worked on battling in tight corners during practice yesterday, and hopefully that preparation pays off tonight. Generate speed in the neutral zone, dump the puck into the far corner where your streaking wingers can retrieve it, and then win the possession battle. It's not going to be a pretty plan of attack, but that's what this team needs to do- grind it out at even strength and not rely on powerplay production to keep them in games.

McLellan will likely use the last change to make sure Rick Nash sees a healthy dose of Vlasic-Blake all night. It would be nice to see Pickles rebound after some pretty porous outings thus far this season, and a solid game against one of the best power forwards in the league will hopefully get his legs going. We need him desperately back there.

Prediction: Sharks win 3-2. Goals by Heatley, McGinn, and Blake, all coming at even strength. Manny Malhotra misses an empty net opportunity at the end of the game on purpose, spoiling his former coach's dinner plans.

Go Sharks.

Tuesday links: Eric Brewer is skating, but can he pick up his kid edition

averagejoe — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:45:09 -0000

The Blues won the Stanley Cup on NHL 09 today. It was a good time. I enjoyed seeing CGI Gary Bettman give the cup to CGI Eric Brewer. So life-like the two of them.

Blues news

We're are closing the book on Sweden. [Blues]
Things learned in this article: Eric Brewer is skating, Derek Armstrong is on waivers and Keith Tkachuk is a star. [Stltoday.com]
Ha ha ... Keith Tkachuk is fat. Don't bother letting them know that Walt jokes are played out, PCS has got us covered. [On the Forecheck]

Hockey news

Only two games yesterday. [Yahoo!]
Not quite a full slate for Tuesday, but it seems like the first "real" day of hockey since Saturday. [Yahoo!]
This Versus/DirecTV kerfuffle is getting old. [Puck Daddy]
Shawn Thornton will fight anyone. [Stanley Cup of Chowder]
Versus does not get along with the Hurricanes. [Canes Country]
Joe Pavelski is hurt. That's one member of my fantasy team down. Last place, I'm coming back to you. [TSN]
Sergei Kostitsyn has agreed to go to the minors. [TSN]
Roberto Luongo did not look good last night. He's playing under a lot of pressure with his fat contract and the small window the Canucks have. [TSN]
From Hildy: Don't mess with Flyers fans. [The 700 Level]

Other links

This is very, very detailed. [Wikipedia]
Some people really are fond of goats. [Ultimate Goat Fansite]
Defaced money can be funny. Who knew? [Holy Taco]

Video

Get ready to hear this in the coming weeks. It's going to be like "On a Boat," but with less T-Pain.

SB Nation - Joe Pavelski

Logan Couture, Great Prospect

Logan Couture - Career Stats

San Jose Sharks 2010 Olympic Hockey Preview: Part Two

Thomas Greiss, Team Germany

#1 / Goalie / San Jose Sharks

Dan Boyle, Team Canada

#22 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Joe Pavelski, Team USA

#8 / Center / San Jose Sharks

Douglas Murray, Team Sweden

#3 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Sharks 4 Canucks 2 In A Snoozfest

Oilers vs. Sharks, 11/27/09 - Riding Shotgun Has a Whole New Meaning

San Jose Sharks Injuries

Doubtful

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Shark Sandwich - Hawks 4, Sharks 3 (OT)

Turco's Stonewalling of Sharks Leads to Stars' Rally ; Shootout Win

Islanders Gameday: How I Learned to Stop Feeling the Fin

The Rant: How Dan(n)y Heatley Ruined My Shark Empathy

Fireside Chats: Eric Lindquist

Sharks Gameday: Keep The Car Running

@

Television

CSN-CA (HD)

Radio

98.5 KFOX, Sjsharks.com

Antagonists

The Cannon

Tuesday links: Eric Brewer is skating, but can he pick up his kid edition