Predictions

[sjrules99]

So, training camp is officially beginning... I thought it would be interesting to get predictions of how this season is going to go, since there are so many different ways it could from complete disaster to cup contender.

Which do you think?

1. Total Flop. Miss the playoffs badly. the Unproven elements like Jones and DeBoer dont really work out. The young guys dont really step up as Hertl, nieto, tierney, karlsson and company remain as they are. Jumbp and patty continue their decline. Martin gets hurt, Mueller still looks like an AHLer, dillon still stinks, and the D collapses too.

2. Just missed: In the Po hunt until the last few games, narrowly missing. The young guys step up, and the team is improved, but just not enough to get in amidst a tough western conference.

3. Sneak in. They make the PO's barely as a wild card team largely because Jones stands on his head, the youth picks it up, and they scrounge enough Shootout wins to sneak in. Then eliminated in the 1st round by a #1 seed like a Chicago.

4. Solid Contender. Deboer restores the chemistry. Jones lives up to his touting. The youth make huge strides as Hertl returns to pre-injury form, nieto uses his speed well to pot 20, Karlsson and tierney solidify themselves as bona fide top 9 forwards, and maybe even donskoi or goldobin step in and make a big impact. The D is steady as mueller ande Dillon make nice strides and martin complements Burns nicely while braun and pickles make one of the best shut down pairings in the NHL. They dont win the cup but they qualify as the equivilent of a 4/5 seed, win a round or two, and make noise in the POs.

5. Stanley cup finals, and maybe win. Deboer pushes all theright buttons, Jones wins the Vezina. The youth not only step up, but emerge as stars. the PK goes from worst to first with ward, martin, jones, and deboer/boughner fixing it. Marleau has a bounce back and jumbo continues his possession dominance. Everything goes well, and the team explodes.

Whatcha guys think? 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5?

 

[sjrules99]

To answer my own, I expect #3, possibly #4.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Hertl - Thornton - Pavelski
Marleau - Couture - Ward
Wingels - Tierney - Nieto
Torres - Smith - Goldibin

Burns - Martin
Vlasic - Braun
Dillon - DeMelo

That was the top lines and D pairings to start camp.

 

[sjrules99]

funny thing: today, I was at the SJ giants game, and there was Roy Sommer, Joe Will, Tim Burke, and the rest of the barracuda/scouting brain trust. I didnt get a chance to talk to 'em, but I really wanted to ask Burke what he liked in Meier as opposed to Rantanen. I guess it might not have been so welcome a question at a san jose giants game

 

[sjrules99]

Hertl - Thornton - Pavelski
Marleau - Couture - Ward
Wingels - Tierney - Nieto
Torres - Smith - Goldibin

Burns - Martin
Vlasic - Braun
Dillon - DeMelo

That was the top lines and D pairings to start camp.

Yeah I saw the article. Cant imagine he isnt gunna give Karlsson a starting role after his 13 goals and 24 pts in just over 1/2 a season. He was on pace for like 23 goals and 40 pts per 82 games, and with basically no PP time (only 1 pp point). I figure Torres wont be in the lineup as he recovers and Goldobin likely needs to work on his D and burying him with Smith on a 4th line makes zero sense to me. I think this is just a day one line combo...

I also doubt demelo starts over mueller. The way dougie sucked mueller's dick this offseason, talking about how much better he now is, how much bigger and stronger, he's gotta figure that mueller is in the top 6 and Demelo is a top pairing dman on the Cuda.

 

[li0lsh]

2 or 3. Pacific is too tough for us to not be a wildcard IMO

 

[MrChangoT97]

Always, CUP or bust.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Yeah I saw the article. Cant imagine he isnt gunna give Karlsson a starting role after his 13 goals and 24 pts in just over 1/2 a season. He was on pace for like 23 goals and 40 pts per 82 games, and with basically no PP time (only 1 pp point). I figure Torres wont be in the lineup as he recovers and Goldobin likely needs to work on his D and burying him with Smith on a 4th line makes zero sense to me. I think this is just a day one line combo...

I also doubt demelo starts over mueller. The way dougie sucked mueller's dick this offseason, talking about how much better he now is, how much bigger and stronger, he's gotta figure that mueller is in the top 6 and Demelo is a top pairing dman on the Cuda.

Karlsson is injured. I haven't seen or heard what or how serious but he hasn't skated for two weeks. Only thing I've read is he's expected back before the season starts.

Mueller will likely start in the AHL barring injury to a LD. DeBoer is a huge proponent of playing dmen on their strong side and with Vlasic, Martin, and Dillon on the left there isn't a place for Mueller. DeMelo and Tennysson will most likely be your #6 and #7 dmen. I'd really like McNally to take that sixth spot but I doubt it happens.

 

[sjrules99]

yeah, I saw about karlsson, makes sense...

about mueller, obviously possible, but it would be surprising to me to see mueller out of the lineup given how high dougie is on him. I guess we'll see...

mcnally is definitely an interesting wild card. I feel much much better about the D this year than last. I expect dillon and mueller are better. Demelo could be solid, mcnally could be good too. Its not a D Depth that will wow anyone, but with martin and the youngins, they should be signicantly better than with a clearly not ready mueller, barely skating offensive balck hole hannan, and howitzer having defensive not having Irwin.

From what I gather, Karlsson should be ready but the start of the year.

 

[Cbrower91]

I think its a playoff year, unless Jones completely shits the bed and gives away games like Nemo did last season. Jones could be Holtby west which would be massive for this team. Karlsson injury could be big, i really like what he brings to the table his overall hockey sense and his ability to knock pucks down when he's on the forecheck is something the sharks havent had since Ricci/Sundstrom era, and he goes to the dirty areas to get his goals. I think hes 50-60pnt guy over a full injury free season on the top line.

The defense looks solid not spectacular, as SjRules always bemoans theres still a lack of offense from the backend past Burnzie and Vlasic. Braun could chip in more and maybe Dillion now that hes in the bottom pair.Muller is going to be good real good but i think a year in the AHL would do wonders for him, he needs to put on some weight for the style of game he plays.

You have to like the depth at forward this year though, i think Teirny is only going to get better, he reminds me a lot of Pavelksi just bigger and faster and that cant be a bad thing. Not sold on Goodrow, though he has all the makings of a potential power forward maybe Joel Ward can help with his development. Hertl is obviously going to be an Xfactor how he plays this season is likely going to determine his career potential.

Im not expecting much out of Ralphie but if he can get 10-15 goals and stay healthy ill be happy. Neito itll be instersting to see what he does either hes going to break out this season or become Torrey Micthell part 2 Ben smith i like what he brings hopefully he shores up the scoring on the 4th line

 

[sjrules99]

I think its a playoff year, unless Jones completely shits the bed and gives away games like Nemo did last season. Jones could be Holtby west which would be massive for this team. Karlsson injury could be big, i really like what he brings to the table his overall hockey sense and his ability to knock pucks down when he's on the forecheck is something the sharks havent had since Ricci/Sundstrom era, and he goes to the dirty areas to get his goals. I think hes 50-60pnt guy over a full injury free season on the top line.

The defense looks solid not spectacular, as SjRules always bemoans theres still a lack of offense from the backend past Burnzie and Vlasic. Braun could chip in more and maybe Dillion now that hes in the bottom pair.Muller is going to be good real good but i think a year in the AHL would do wonders for him, he needs to put on some weight for the style of game he plays.

You have to like the depth at forward this year though, i think Teirny is only going to get better, he reminds me a lot of Pavelksi just bigger and faster and that cant be a bad thing. Not sold on Goodrow, though he has all the makings of a potential power forward maybe Joel Ward can help with his development. Hertl is obviously going to be an Xfactor how he plays this season is likely going to determine his career potential.

Im not expecting much out of Ralphie but if he can get 10-15 goals and stay healthy ill be happy. Neito itll be instersting to see what he does either hes going to break out this season or become Torrey Micthell part 2 Ben smith i like what he brings hopefully he shores up the scoring on the 4th line

I do bitch about it and I still think its in the top 3 issues with the team. The 2nd PP unit's failures is a clear result of the lack of pop from the back end. I actually think the #1 factor in LA's struggles was the loss of Voynov. While martines is a solid offensive Dman behind Doughty, Voynov was really a major threat and losing him changed the whole D. The fact that he is off to russia will really hurt LA again. I would not be surprised if they miss the POs again.

I think the sharks are still maybe 1 solid top pairing, two way Dman from being a top contender. That said, apparently Dillon worked a bunch with a shooting coach and another skating coach, so maybe he makes some strides from liability last year, to 2nd PP unit and solid top 4 this year. it seems a stretch, but actually his numbers prior to last year indicate that its a real possibility and show why dougie obviously really likes him to give him his money. he had 6 goals, including two shorties, and 17 pts with zero PP points. If he had a regular PP shift, he'd likely add 10-15 pts to a season total bringing him in around 30 pts. I think a breakout year on the 2nd PP unit is a remote, but existing possibility. It would be great to see him bust out...

This year, the depth at forward and D is way better than last year. The goaltending and coaching is a questions, but the upside is larger than the downside on both, I would say.
All depends on the development of the young guys. Karlsson, Tierney, Goodrow, Nieto, and Hertl are all 25 or younger. Add in couture, wingels, and smith as 27 or younger, and thats likely 8 of the top 13 forwards 27 or less. Marleau, pavs, jumbo, and ward may be the only 30+ forwards in the lineup on a regular basis.

The D is a bit more experienced, but martin will likely be the only guy above 31 and aside from burns at 30, all the others are 28 or younger with dillon, mueller, tennyson, or demelo all 25 or younger.

Add in Jones and stalock at 25 and 28.

In other words, the sharks are likely to play the majority of the year with just 6 players who are 29+, and just 4 players 32+. That's a very very young team, and of course if Ward, Jumbo, Patty, or Pavs gets dinged up, the replacement is almost assured to be 25 or younger. If these youngins dont play well, it's gunna be very ugly. However, if they do, the sharks could be awesome and could be well set up for several years going forward.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Good to see Donskoi is really impressing so far. Was the best of the young guys the first two days IMO. Was on Thornton's wing with Pavs a bunch yesterday and by the reports today too. If he could slot in that position and let the Sharks run a 3rd line of Hertl-Tierney-Nieto that would be huge.

Side note I think Ryan Carpenter may take the 4th line center spot as the season goes on.

 

[sjrules99]

Good to see Donskoi is really impressing so far. Was the best of the young guys the first two days IMO. Was on Thornton's wing with Pavs a bunch yesterday and by the reports today too. If he could slot in that position and let the Sharks run a 3rd line of Hertl-Tierney-Nieto that would be huge.

Side note I think Ryan Carpenter may take the 4th line center spot as the season goes on.

Why would carpenter get that time? I suppose a rash of injuries opens up spaces for all kinds of guys, but the sharks seem pretty deep for carpenter. I suppose they dont have a ton of grinder types, but they have lots of guys who play both roles (karlsson, smith, brown, torres, and Goodrow all fill that role, so it would see that 3 of those guys would need to be hurt (which is quite possible actually)

You think Jevpalovs might see NHL time? His name doesnt come up much in discussions behind donskoi and goldobin (and Goodrow I suppose too). However, he sure lit up jrs (granted as an overager), and I thought he looked pretty good in the prospect scrimmage. I gather that chartier and sadowy are headed back to jrs, Oregan to BU, but I figure those names might reappear shortly along with Meier and Roy this time next year. Jevpalovs should get a shot at a top 6 forward spot on the Cuda, so it will be interesting to see what he is.

 

[sjrules99]

I would also like to see if langlois is NHL material. He also stood out to me at the prospect scrimmage.

 

[23sharks]

To answer my own, I expect #3, possibly #4.

Same here.
I think the forward depth is better than it's ever been. Picking up Martin makes the D much better too.
I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Why would carpenter get that time? I suppose a rash of injuries opens up spaces for all kinds of guys, but the sharks seem pretty deep for carpenter. I suppose they dont have a ton of grinder types, but they have lots of guys who play both roles (karlsson, smith, brown, torres, and Goodrow all fill that role, so it would see that 3 of those guys would need to be hurt (which is quite possible actually)

You think Jevpalovs might see NHL time? His name doesnt come up much in discussions behind donskoi and goldobin (and Goodrow I suppose too). However, he sure lit up jrs (granted as an overager), and I thought he looked pretty good in the prospect scrimmage. I gather that chartier and sadowy are headed back to jrs, Oregan to BU, but I figure those names might reappear shortly along with Meier and Roy this time next year. Jevpalovs should get a shot at a top 6 forward spot on the Cuda, so it will be interesting to see what he is.

Carpenter would get that time because he's earned it and is the best suited prospect in the organization to take that spot. His skill level is very underrated and he was excellent all last year in a shut down roll for Worchester. Ben Smith is very good in that role but it's doubtful he has a future with the Sharks beyond this season and I think they will look to Carpenter to move into that spot.

 

[MrFlyingV]

#2 or #3. Anaheim, Calgary, LA, Chicago, Minnesota, Nashville are better than the Sharks. If Marleau / Thornton continue to fade into old age I think it will be #2.

 

[Cbrower91]

I realize the canucks iced an AHL team tonight, but after watching Jones play, i have zero reservations about this guy. He is going to be a stud, his downside mobility is unreal and seals the off the lower half the net off better then anyone then i've seen in a long time. He tracks the puck well in low and tight and for a big goalie that's a huge advantage, not to mention his agility in those situation is no joke. Great lateral mobility tracks the puck good, has quick legs, His only weakness is probably his glove/blocker in that he doesnt catch a lot of puck as much as knock them down and blocker saves arent really directed as much as reacted too. Of those two things nabby can probably help with the glove not so much blocker lol as that was nabbys greatest weakness

 

[Cmon_WTF]

Mueller, Goldobin, Karlsson assigned to the Barracuda. Sharks roster is set. Pavelski got the C with Thornton and Couture getting the A. No rotation on the A's this year.

Donskoi - Thornton - Pavelski
Marleau - Couture - Ward
Nieto - Hertl - Wingels
Smith - Tierney - Goodrow/Brown

Vlasic - Braun
Martin - Burns
Dillon - DeMelo/Tennyson

Jones
Stalock

 

[Likewall32]

Mueller, Goldobin, Karlsson assigned to the Barracuda. Sharks roster is set. Pavelski got the C with Thornton and Couture getting the A. No rotation on the A's this year.

Donskoi - Thornton - Pavelski
Marleau - Couture - Ward
Nieto - Hertl - Wingels
Smith - Tierney - Goodrow/Brown

Vlasic - Braun
Martin - Burns
Dillon - DeMelo/Tennyson

Jones
Stalock

Is Karlsson still injuried?? If not why the heck was he sent down? Everyone was all over his nuts last season including management... I was super excited for wednesday with our F lines with Torres & Karlsson... Now after seeing this lineup Im not really excited at all... Hertl being wasted on the 3rd line again. Not a fan of the move to C, and Tierney being wasted as 4th line C... Hertl should be line 1, Tierney line 3, Donskoi line 3, Nieto line 5... I also dont like Mueller being sent down just cause side D-side was full...