Photos of informal Sharks scrimmage in San Jose
Here are a few photos from the informal Captain's Ice scrimmages players are holding to gear up for the official start of training camp on Saturday, September 20th. A few more photos are posted here.
Takes and trash talk from both ALL sides of the NHL's most obscure PATHETIC* rivalry
* Thanks, Kevin Lowe!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
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10 comments:
PJ's alive! Hoorah! Huzzah!
Again, PJ, I probably say this once every five photo posts or so, but those pictures look awesome. If I had taken those, they would represent the best four photographs of my career.
The black and white looks really awesome, too, and hides that hint of hideous orange really well.
Fantastic pictures as usual. Out of curiosity, where exactly is Captain's Ice? I've seen it referred to numerous times but have no idea where it actually is.
Kind of funny, I was just messing around shooting these with a backup camera and lens at the worst lighted rink I have ever been too. (Sharks Ice in San Jose Gautham, formerly Logitech, starts at 11:30AM). Rink is awesome, lighting bad.
I was shooting next to McLaren and Semenov on the bench, two guys that most people think are going to be on the bubble with Boyle, Blake and Lukowich added to an already deep blueline. If at all financially possible, a healthy McLaren can add a physical element the Sharks need in the postseason. And for all the criticism Semenov takes, he can sit on the bench for 3/4 of a season and still contribute when asked.
There were a couple of faces I did not recognize, but I think the rookies are not going to join the vets until Saturday the 20th.
Hey PJ, I'm curious as to what you think the defensive pairings are going to be.
That looks like Jeff Friesen in the 2nd pic. Would be great to see him back in a Sharks uniform this year.
Just some sidelinks today, probably not worthy of their own post.
1. Happy blog birthday, BoA! Our blog-parents, if you will.
2. Just for fun, I got a real good kick out of Grease Trap's Oilers Preview. A blast.
And yes, that is Jeff Friesen.
Great photos PJ!
Robber Baron, I think that wholly depends on the new coach's evaulation of his roster. I think a lot of people in San Jose are waiting for training camp to see how well different guys play together. A number of dmen can play either side, so the interchangeable parts are many.
There was some talk of Boyle's size after the trade, and I think at somewhere around 5-11 and 195, he is going to run up against his share of large bodies. Boyle with a right shot, and Murray with a left shot would make a good pair. Douglas Murray was along with Ehrhoff the most improved defenseman on the team last year. Not sure what happened in the second round against Dallas, but against Calgary he manned up on Iginla and did a respectable a job. I tried asking Ron Wilson about Murray, but he didn't like answering questions from me unless he was telling me I was wrong about something. Boyle played with Lukowich in Tampa, and the newly signed Vlasic would also be a possibility for top pair.
A lot of reporters and bloggers cited Rob Blake's diminished numbers last season with LA. In San Jose he should play less minutes, get a huge chunk of power play time, and if he can get that booming shot on net there should be a huge number of assists. I would pair Ehrhoff (left shot) with Blake (right shot), so you have one very mobile and fast defenseman paired with a slower but still very good skating larger defesneman (Blake is listed at 6-4, 225). Blake and Vlasic would also be a good pair, but Ehrhoff could learn from a season next to Blake. Learn how not to be last, or near last in the NHL, in the percentage of shots on net.
So if Boyle-Murray and Blake-Ehrhoff were paired, that leaves Lukowich-Vlasic or Vlasic-McLaren. Todd McLellan could also rotate pairs shift to shift a la Ron Wilson based on who is playing better. NHLscap.com has the Sharks 225K over the salary cap, so whether or not they can afford to keep McLaren is an issue. But against a Calgary, Dallas or Detroit in the playoffs, McLaren has the size and the edge to move players out of the crease, something that did not happen last year in either round. Semenov I keep because he is relatively inexpensive and he can get the job done in an emergency while Petrecki percolates in the NCAA.
Those photos are great. I too love the black and white. Even with a nice digital camera I still suck at photography.
After the trade for Teemu, I had a hunch that Friesen would find his way back to the Sharks. If he makes the team, let's hope he's decided to give up on that beanpot that would never work.
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