The Sharks already have two official games under their belt but this next game will be the biggest one yet. Why? It's opening night at HP Pavilion and I will get the opportunity to attend the Shark's 2010-2011 season home opener. San Jose along with five other teams had the honor of being invited to open the new season at the annual NHL Premiere in Europe. Stockholm, Sweden was the Sharks city of destination where they played back-to-back games against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sharks won the first contest on goals from Torrey Mitchell, Captain Joe Thornton, and Sophomore Logan Couture. The Sharks were defeated in overtime in the second game with Devon Setoguchi and Joe Thornton both scoring.I can't really preview the home opener against the Thrashers considering that I haven't seen the newly tooled Atlanta team play yet. I do know that they have added a few players from last season's Stanley Cup winner the Chicago Blackhawks and they will be looking to break into the playoffs this year. So instead of my usual commentary on line match-ups and goalie comparisons, let's take a look at what the new season could bring for San Jose.
With the Shark Tank ready to rock and party at both the street party before the game and at the game itself - the Sharks are going to be coming out on the ice with a completely new look. New goalies, new players, new lines, and a new captain all will be making their debut on home ice in San Jose. It was officially announced that Jumbo Joe Thornton would be the next Captain for the San Jose Sharks with Dan Boyle being chosen as the permanent Alternate Captain. As for the other "A", Ryane Clowe and Patrick Marleau will alternate the "A" with one wearing it for the home games and the other taking the honor for the road games. The Sharks made a pretty big splash in Europe with their two new goalies, both Finnish natives, Antero Niittymaki (#30, pictured above) and Antti Niemi. Nitty is getting the call for the game against the Thrashers and I'm excited to see him play. Coming from Tampa Bay, a team that the Sharks rarely see, it will be great to get introduced to the new goalie and see what he can really do. Niemi on the other hand, Sharks fans know well from his days with Chicago. He has a great ability to take away the bottom of the net and is strong on controlling rebounds. Everyone assumes that the pair will split the season, with both goalies competing for ice time. Having the ability to rest a tired goalie and keep a hot goalie playing is going to be a key upgrade from previous seasons when Nabokov was the work horse goaltender who was rarely given a break. As for who will come out on top as the number one goalie? It's really a toss-up but I'm putting my early money on Nitty because he seems to be the dark horse that has some great potential. If he doesn't pan out, Niemi has already proven with his Stanley Cup ring that he is quite capable of taking the reins.
There are some new faces (and some not so new) that will be wearing Teal for the home team this season. Most notably are the rookies from Worcester, the Sharks AHL affiliate, who were able to survive the rigorous training camp - tough guy Frazer McLaren (#68, pictured below) and defensive forward John McCarthy (#43, pictured above). Both have already been seen in San Jose but hope to make it up in the big league permanently this season. Defenseman Mike Moore is another player that has been on the Worcester bus but he has yet to play a game and most likely will be kept on the roster in case of injury to the existing six D-men. Jamal Mayers suffered a pre-season injury and also has not hit the ice but when he does recover, it will probably mean that one of the rookies will once again be sent back to Worcester.
All of these new changes aren't as huge or as noticeable as the new line combinations. The Big 3 are no more - Jumbo, Heater, and Patty will be playing on separate lines. This is a huge move that could help to spread scoring more evenly across the lines. As for the rest of the lines:McGinn-Thornton-Setoguchi
Marleau-Couture-Heatley
Clowe-Pavelski-Mitchell
McLaren-Nichol-McCarthy
Boyle-Murray
Wallin-Vlasic
Huskins-Demers
One of the biggest things that jumped out at me was Jamie McGinn (#64, pictured below) on the top line and Pavelski centering the third line. Usually the top line is your best scoring line, the second line your secondary scoring, and then the third and fourth lines are energy and checking lines. Seeing a top tier player like Pavelski (and Clowe) bumped down to the third line was shocking until I took a closer look and realized that it wasn't really a third line at all. After all, how can you say that a line with Marleau and Heatley, the top two goal scorers, are "secondary scoring". No this is more of a 1A and 1B line-up with Pavelski and Clowe still manning the second line.
Then there's Couture being given the responsibility of centering the 1B line. He did well in his rookie debut last season and this looks to be a breakout year for him with Patty and Heater by his side. Jumbo has some great scorers on his wings as well, especially in Setoguchi who will be looking for a comeback year after an average turnout last season. Ginner will also look to benefit from being on the top line, I pegged him to be one of the players that will get more ice-time and scoring opportunities this season and it looks like I was right. Hopefully, he will be able to make the best of it and prove that he has what it takes to be on the top scoring line. Jumbo is also going to have to shoot the puck more without snipers Patty and Heater by his side and in Europe he did just that, notching a goal a game. Jumbo has a wicked shot but doesn't seem to like to use it, he is quite capable of scoring more than 20 goals this season and with the new lines he might just do that.
For defensive pairings I've got no complaints expect the Wallin-Vlasic combination but maybe it's more of my personal dislike of the two players that has me questioning this match-up. Vlasic used to be a solid D-man until he had his little identity crisis when he didn't know if he was an offensive defenseman or a defensive defenseman. Then after suffering an injury last season, it seemed to take him a few weeks to get back into form. I am hopeful that he will be able to get back into his near perfect defensive position that he once possessed only a few short seasons ago. As for Wallin, he's starting this year healthy so I'll give him a few weeks before I pass my harsh judgment of his abilities and play style. I still feel that the Sharks are lacking a bit of veteran presence on blue-line but Demers has proven that he is a solid offensive D-man if he can just stay consistent.
All in all, it looks to be a good season for the Sharks and only time will tell if they can better their performance from last year. Key changes could be the key factor in how well the Sharks do this season. Their competition is also much stiffer now with a packed Pacific Division. With Phoenix shocking everyone with their playoff run, they will be poised to repeat the feat this season. I mentioned last season that there was a superpower forming in Los Angeles with their young talent gaining much needed experience. This year they look to take the crown from the Sharks as L.A. has been pegged as the heir apparent of the Pacific Division throne. A reformed Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks cannot be counted out either. Plus there are up and coming teams like the Thrashers and Columbus that look to break into the playoffs. Then there is the resurrected Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been one of the worst teams of past seasons, looking to get back into winning form. Last season marked a record for points with a single overtime win clinching a playoff berth or a single loss costing you a chance for the Cup. This season will be no different and every single point will be important for the Sharks and every team looking to earn one of the coveted 16 playoff berths.
As for the coming game against the Atlanta Thrashers, I'm just looking forward to seeing if the Sharks are fully prepared for battle or whether they are stuck in their preseason form. Look for my review in the coming weeks to see how the new players, new goalies, new captain, and new lines fair in their home opener.
