Can Sharks live up to preseason hype?

For one reason or another, the Sharks have been receiving a lot of love from media prognosticators this preseason, tabbed by many to either win the West, the Stanley Cup or both. First, the Canadian Press predicted the Sharks would win the franchise's first Cup this season. Then, The Hockey News polled knowledgeable pundits, with the Sharks being the Cup favorite among those media types as well. Soon to follow was EA Sports' simulation of the NHL season, concluding with the Sharks vanquishing Pittsburgh in six games for Lord Stanley. Now even ESPN has bought a pair of teal-colored glasses, with its most popular hockey-affiliated personalities, John Buccigross and Barry Melrose, crowning the Sharks the class of the West, with Buccigross predicting them to finish first in the conference and Melrose proclaiming San Jose the best team in the league. I'll get around to my own predictions in a couple of days and, while I think the Sharks will win the Pacific Division, even I'm not drinking the Sharks' Kool-Aid to the extent that I believe they are the unequivocal Cup favorites. Challenge for Lord Stanley they will, but unless the Sharks' five-on-five play improves to the level that they no longer need to rely on an oft-sputtering power play for offensive chances and the team defense continues to be a strong unit in the absence of Scott Hannan, it's tough to say whether San Jose will drink from the Cup next June. But there's definitely reason for Sharks fans to be optimistic as the season nears, and you don't need a sizable contingent of the hockey media to tell you that.

Sharks Gameday: The Rise of Torrey Mitchell

Vancouver Canucks (2-0-1) @ San Jose Sharks (2-0-1)


I'll admit I knew precious little regarding Sharks prospect Torrey Mitchell prior to this month. Yeah, I read a few stories last March regarding his agreeing to a contract with the Sharks and subsequent stint in Worcester that had AHL coach Roy Sommers giving the forward rave reviews, but I didn't pay too much attention. I mean, how good can a guy drafted 126th overall be, right?

Pretty damn good, apparently, if the radio commentary of "Dictionary" Dan Rusanowsky and David "I have a speech empediment" Maley along with a few Mercury News stories are to be believed. It would appear that the Sharks have once again struck gold with a post-first round pick out of the NCAA, a trend that is evident in the development of Matt Carle and Joe Pavelski.

A University of Vermont alum, Mitchell is dazzling with his speed, skill and two-way effectiveness and, along with fellow prospect Devin Setoguchi, is making a legitimate case for an opening-night roster spot and is sure to get a long look now. Mitchell is scheduled to play between Patrick Marleau and Milan Michalek tonight as the Sharks host the Vancouver Canucks in preseason action at the Tank. A 3-1 decision over the Ducks last night raised San Jose's exhibition record to 2-0-1.

The Sharks announced another series of roster cuts on Thursday and PJ over at Sharkspage takes a look at the remaining training camp roster. Eliminating longshots Tomas Plihal, Craig Valette, Riley Armstrong, Graham Mink, Brennan Evans, Derek Joslin, Brad Norton, Tom Walsh and Taylor Dakers, and assuming Patrick Marleau will stick at left wing, we're left with a depth chart that somewhat resembles this:

Marleau--Thornton--Cheechoo
Michalek--Pavelski--Clowe
Brown--Roenick--Grier
Rissmiller--Goc--Bernier
Kaspar--Mitchell--Setoguchi

Vlasic--Rivet
Ehrhoff--McLaren
Carle--Murray
Semenov--Davison

Nabokov
Greiss
Patzold

I'm not a big fan of playing Marleau up at LW, but Ron Wilson has given every indication that's exactly what he plans to do. I could very well see Marcel Goc and/or Joe Pavelski traded to make room for Mitchell or Devin Setoguchi, but there's a chance either of the latter two will start on opening night anyway, granted they build on already impressive preseason showings with good games tonight against Vancouver.

Sharks score first win of preseason

The Sharks defeated the Ducks in Anaheim last night by a score of 1-0, registering their first preseason victory this year.

By all accounts, goaltender Thomas Greiss, expected to battle Dimitri Patzold for the Sharks' vacant backup goaltending position, was phenomenal. Although he was only forced to make 19 saves for the shutout, several of them, at least according to Mercury News reporter Mark Emmons, were of the acrobatic variety. This certainly is good news for the young German netminder, especially on the heels of Patzold's 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings Tuesday night, when the Kazakh gave up five tallies and bit hard on a deke by the Kings' Dustin Brown in the shootout.

Now, as I mentioned previously, reading too far into preseason victories can yield disastrous results. However, the Ducks, after trimming 18 players from their training camp roster as the team gears up for their September 29th season opener against the Kings in London, save for third-stringer Jonas Hiller stopping pucks rather than J-S Giguere, iced a lineup that very much resembles the squad that will face Los Angeles in that England opener. Sure, Francois Beauchemin, one of the team's steadier defensemen, wasn't playing, but with Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne and Dustin Penner no longer with the team (regarding the first two, at least not currently) and Sami Pahlsson and Niedermayer replacement Mathieu Schneider injured, the Ducks' roster was essentially complete.

On the other hand, while the Sharks had Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo at their disposal (albeit without a competent left wing), Patrick Marleau, Milan Michalek, Marc-Edouard Vlasic et al were not playing, yet the team still defeated Anaheim 1-0.

Again, reading too much into this game is clearly not the smart thing to do, but it'll be interesting to see if the Ducks fare any better Friday when the teams meet at the Tank.

Sharks Gameday: Who says preseason doesn't count?

San Jose Sharks (0-0) @ Los Angeles Kings (1-1), No TV

As a disclaimer, It's unlikely I'll be able to get up a gameday post for every Sharks game this season (What do you think this is? Battle of California?), but when I have time on my hands or a particularly marquee matchup is upcoming, I'll try to post one.

I neither have much time nor does an exhibition game against the Kings constitute a marquee matchup, but seeing as this game will mark the first time our beloved Los Tiburones take to the ice in NHL competition in four-and-a-half months, it's probably worth noting.

But what's even more notable is the general stigma that pre-season is meaningless, a sham, an artificial construct to drive up revenues. While that may be true in that pre-season success doesn't necessarily translate to regular-season victories and players who tear it up in September don't always go on to have big years, where the pre-season is very relevant lies in the determining of roster spots.

One could argue that Marc-Edouard Vlasic would not have made the Sharks had it not been for an outstanding preseason. Vlasic impressed the Sharks brass enough during exhibition season to claim a roster spot, and was consistently the Sharks' most reliable defenseman for the rest of the year. Many other of my training camp queries will likely be answered as the pre-season rolls on. A Mercury News article earlier this week featured a Ron Wilson quote that implied Evgeni Nabokov would start 3-4 preseason games, with the remainder to be divvied up between Dmitri Patzold and Thomas Greiss.

So while the Stanley Cup isn't won in September, the pre-season is extremely significant to depth players jostling for roster spots and with the Sharks still uncertain on who will claim both their sixth and seventh defense slots on the depth chart as well as their backup goaltender, exhibition games this year will definitely be worth paying attention to. But above all, hockey's back, which in and of itself is a reason to celebrate.

Training camp thoughts

Well, that was fast. It seems like only yesterday Chris Pronger was knocking out Dean McAmmond and the Anaheim Ducks were lifting Lord Stanley. Yet training camp is upon us, with the Ducks and Kings setting up shop today and the rest of the league following suit later this week. The Sharks will open camp on Wednesday and are faced with a reasonable number of questions as they prepare for a season which they hope will bring a Stanley Cup to Northern California. Here's a look at five of those queries.

5) Is Jeremy Roenick ready to play?
True, this answer is unlikely to be derived until Christmas at the earliest, but we should get a feel for whether JR is in as good shape as he claims he is in and -- more importantly -- is as concerned with "blending in" as he says he is during camp. Doug Wilson has maintained that those who play the best will play and if Roenick has a lackluster showing at camp, it's possible he may not make the team at all.

4) Can Lukas Kaspar land a roster spot?
Members of the Sharks' braintrust were high on Kaspar when they selected him with the 22nd overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. The Russian forward's transition to the North American game, however, hasn't quite been seamless. While he had an excellent season with the Ottawa 67s in 2004-05, tallying 51 points in 59 regular-season games, then adding 20 in 21 playoff games as Ottawa advanced to the Memorial Cup Final, Kaspar's scoring prowess has been absent in his first two professional seasons in the AHL. While his two-way play has progressed considerably, Kaspar only has 76 points in 154 career AHL games. At this point, he would need a particularly exceptional showing in camp to make the opening-night roster, especially with the signing of Jeremy Roenick. However, if the injury bells toll for the Sharks later this season, it's very plausible Kaspar will see his first shift in the big leagues before the end of this year.

3) Can Devin Setoguchi land a roster spot?
Setoguchi, the eighth overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, endured a trying campaign last season. Injury woes wiped out any chance of Setoguchi making the Sharks, rendering him unable to show up at camp. The Alberta native was then traded from the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL to the Prince George Cougars, where his production dipped initially. However, an extremely strong finish to the season saw Setoguchi post 36 goals and 65 points in 55 games with Prince George, a campaign that was overshadowed by Setoguchi's amazing playoffs. The forward scored 11 goals, 4 of them game-winners and 21 points in 15 postseason games, dramatically raising his stock. Setoguchi will likely compete against Joe Pavelski for the final roster opening and his chances are good. Although Setoguchi's development is significantly ahead of Kaspar's, he is in a similar situation to the Russian forward in that even if he fails to make the opening night cut, he will likely begin the season in Worcester and be the first potential call-up.

2) Which one of Davison/Murray/Semenov will make the team?
Which member of the club's three-headed monster will step up and claim the sixth defense spot? Of the three, Rob Davison has the most NHL experience, but that doesn't guarantee him a spot in the lineup. Alexei Semenov was the club's biggest (monetary-wise) unrestricted free-agent signing, as the ex-Panther and Oiler inked a 1-year deal for a whopping $650,000. Suffice to say, Doug Wilson didn't embark on much of an off-season spending spree. Regardless, all three are large, physical specimen with Davison listed at 6'3", 220 lbs., Murray at 6'3", 240 and the beastly Semenov at 6'6", 232. As in most cases, with size comes sub-par skating ability. Murray is easily one of the team's hardest hitters, but his repeated flat-footedness impinges upon his ability to deliver his trademark, open-ice bodychecks. The pugnacious Davison is a good fighter, but doesn't accomplish much else. He's primarily been a spare part in the equation for the Sharks since entering the NHL and has even been slotted in at left wing for a game or two. However, with Scott Parker gone and Ryane Clowe cast in a more offensive role, his pugilism could give Davison an advantage, although to be fair, Murray's above-average with the gloves off as well.

Semenov is decidedly the wild card here. Drafted in the second round by Edmonton back in 1999, he was named the top defenseman in the OHL in 2001, but mediocre play with the Oilers got him a one-way ticket to Florida in late 2005. A lack of ice time with the Panthers motivated him to pack up and play in Russia last season, but he's back in the NHL now and hoping to do damage with the Sharks. I honestly believe that if the Sharks can inspire this guy, they can have a real gem here. Still only 27, Semenov, who has one of the hardest slapshots in the NHL, can easily turn his career around and become a very reliable two-way defenseman. He's my pick to round out the top six on the back end, but Murray and Davison are capable defenders as well, if given limited ice time.

1) Who will back up Evgeni Nabokov?
For the first time in over a decade, the Sharks enter training camp without a crease controversy regarding who will stop the majority of the pucks for the upcoming season. No Vernon/Shields tussle, no Nabokov/Toskala/Kiprusoff issue, nothing. Instead, a new position between the pipes is in dispute: who will serve as Nabokov's backup? The Sharks brass largely perceives Thomas Greiss as the goalie of the future, but his development would likely benefit greater from 80% of the starts in Worcester than limited action with the Sharks. So with Greiss likely penciled in as the AHL starter, the Sharks' backup job is largely up for grabs. Many teams focus on goaltending in regards to scouting, but for the Sharks, netminder development is more of an obsession. San Jose currently has the likes of Greiss, Dmitri Patzold, Timo Pielmeier, Taylor Dakers and Tyson Sexsmith in the pipeline -- all of whom have the potential to be NHL-calibre goalies someday.

Pielmeier and Sexsmith, while impressive in the Sharks rookies' recent two-game sweep of Ducks' prospects, were just selected in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and are unlikely to land the backup job, leaving Patzold and Dakers. Before his death, former Sharks goalie coach Warren Strelow commented that Patzold was more than capable of handling a job as a No. 2 stopper in the NHL, leading to mass speculation that the Kazakhstan native will play behind his countryman Nabokov this season. That's probably true, but Dakers has a chance as well, and there is a slight possibility that the Sharks will in fact turn to Greiss.