At the State of the Sharks, a fan asked if the Sharks would ever be Joe's team since he's been our biggest player since he came over from Boston. Now with Dany Heatley playing on his left wing and an emerging Devin Setoguchi playing on his right wing, the team is counting on Joe to distribute the puck to these two snipers. So essentially, the majority of the offense will once again come through Joe Thornton and his line, which isn't really new but the expectations are now higher than ever. He's already being pegged by fans for a 100+ point season and he's supposed to be helping Heatley earn 50+ goals... The fan at the State of the Sharks asked if it'd ever be Joe's team, to which he gave a sorta mid-length answer with the ending "Yes eventually this will be my team." Patty's been stripped of the captaincy. Joe's been indirectly asked to once again lead this team in offensive production, with the added pressure of supplying a pair of snipers with assists. Doug Wilson defended him this post season and labeled him as "untouchable" to any other team. Sooooo... Is the 2009-2010 season the year we hand the team over to Joe Thornton? Is this finally his team? Or is it still Patty's team?

So as you all know, today was the first day of training camp. All players, with the exception of Heatley and Mitchell, were present and participated in their first day of training camp. There were a few things I noticed that may or may not come into play later on... here we go.

First of all, there were some pairings I thought were interesting. At forward, Todd McLellan grouped Marleau, Pavelski, and Clowe on one line during some drills. That is our potential 2nd line right there. It's the same only you upgrade the LW with Marleau rather than the departed Michalek. The other line I saw was the potential top line with the exception of Heatley. Joe Thornton skated with Setoguchi and Frazer McLaren, so I assume McLaren was just a filler. Halfway through though, McLaren and McGinn switched places so McGinn was on Thornton's line for a while too, but I doubt that was anything significant. Anyway, on defense I saw Boyle paired with Huskins, which totally surprised me because I thought Murray would be paired with Boyle. Speaking of Murray, he was paired with Joslin, which was another surprise. I guess they're going to go with Joslin playing the offensive D-man role in that pairing and Murray staying back to defend.

The other interesting thing was the personality of the players. Joe, as I've heard so many times before, is really a nice guy. He was the first guy we saw when my sister and I arrived and we rushed him as he got out of his car and he signed our jerseys and posed for a picture. He looked like he had just woken up so it was nice of him to be super cool while still being half asleep. Huskins looked like he was reeeeeeeaaaaaaally timid. On the ice he seemed a bit awkward and even after signing autographs he seemed like a really shy and quiet guy. I hope when he gets on the ice he shows a different side and earns that new contract he just got. I'm not saying he's bad, I just hope he shows some physicality and an edge in personality. And finally, Setoguchi seemed like a bit of a douche. He walked out of the locker room on his cell phone and he was kind of iffy about signing autographs. I can see how some would question his desire to stay in San Jose for less than market value next season...

So anyway, that's what I saw at Training Camp today. Feel free to post anything you feel appropriate in the comments below.

Have any of you seen the diahrrea being spewed over at the Sharks page on Bleacher Report?

I read a few of their articles and I wanted to vomit. The stuff they say is so senseless. Some of their ideas and suggestions are of no use to the Sharks. Mind you, I only saw the featured articles on the page, but they seemed retarded to me. For example this one on how the playoff collapse was Marleau's fault. The collapse was as a team. The Sharks didn't lose because one player didn't show up. The whole team failed.

I've always been interested in the Sharks having a line with offensive capabilities, but that was more known for it's defensive prowess and it's ability to shut down the opposing teams' best line. Anaheim used the line of Moen, Pahlsson, and Niedermayer in 2007 on its Stanley Cup run. This year, as far as the Finals go, in Detroit I see Zetterberg's line as being their shutdown line because they're the ones handling Crosby and doing an excellent job of it. So the Sharks got Travis Moen at the trade deadline this season. While it wasn't as big as DW's other trades, like say Campbell or Guerin, it was certainly keeping defense in mind because they say defense wins championships. Having Moen adds grit and defense to a line. Torrey Mitchell is another player who brings energy to the team, plays defense and is great on the PK. Grier is gone this offseason so I won't talk about him (sorry to any Grier fans). Goc is defensively capable, but is not tough enough, IMO. Taking that into consideration, we have 1/3-2/3 of a shutdown line in the works.

I've heard a lot of fans wanting to see more of last year's Worcester call-ups playing full time or at least competing for a spot on the San Jose roster. In my opinion, a lot of these guys still have some developing to do in Worcester. However, there are a few guys that I believe would benefit more from playing in the NHL.

Jamie McGinn is a promising young player. During his time with the big boys he had i believe 2 goals and every time he was on the ice he was giving it his all and skating his ass off. He finished checks and was just all around aggressive, which is something the Sharks need for next season.

I hear everyone calling for Staubitz to be a steady 4th liner in San Jose, but (and I'm gonna hear it for saying this) I believe he still could use another year in Worcester. He's gritty, fearless, and energetic, but he still takes some dumb penalties. Not that all players don't take some once in a while, but Stauby still needs to develop a bit more.

How has Kaspar not landed at least a 4th line role with the team? He was the 22nd overall pick in 2004. Setoguchi was picked in 2005, is 2 years younger than Kaspar, and has already played on the top line and scored 30+ goals. Really, this guy needs to show some more improvement or he needs to get shipped out.

Derek Joslin showed great promise. He was usually paired with Boyle when Luko was out and that really helped him I think. I'd like to see him get another year in Worcester as well, seeing as how the Sharks are pretty deep on the blueline as it is.

So here is where I'd like everyone's opinion. Of these 4 (or any other Worcester Shark you can think of) which would you most want to be playing for San Jose next season?

This season I decided to grow my first playoff beard. It's not the best, but it's there nonetheless. After seeing the Ducks absolutely destroy the Sharks on Thursday I almost considered grabbing my razor and shaving. I'm going to wait though, and see how this plays out. Hopefully Nabby will actually start playing, or McLellan will sit his ass down and play Boosh. Joe Thornton also has to step up and be Joe Thornton in the playoffs. Patrick Marleau was found in game 3, but went missing again in Game 4. After a career year this is how he wants to end it? Wouldn't it be better to end it by raising that Cup over your head in front of all us fans? I'm just a year older than this franchise, but ever since I was a little boy I've wanted the Sharks to win it all. I've seen some good teams as of the last few years, and this was clearly the best, but they're not showing that right now. I pray that all our big players show up at the Tank today and start a 3 game winning streak to take us into the 2nd round. Danny Boyle and Rob Blake have been doing their part and in my opinion are being entirely let down by the rest of the team. So let's hope today's game is the start of the run that's finally going to bring Lord Stanley's Cup to San Jose... otherwise I'm grabbing my razor and shaving...