Inaugural Battle of California 2007-08 photo contest

Save for one entry from 2007, vote for your favorite photo on Battle of California this season. There is Marc Edouard Vlasic giving George Parros flying lessons, Craig Rivet pounding Ryan Carter into jiblets part 1 and 2 (do Ducks have giblets?), and Dustin Penner meets ice-ice wins. Unfortunately 2007-08 was a relatively Pronger-Perry free photographic output.



Bonus Photo - Parker vs Parros 2007.

Summer Battle of Northern California reading

Sharks coverage on BOC has dropped off a little since the end of the season, and the fact that Northern California has essentially been on fire for 3 straight weeks does not appear to be a major factor. Drawing on a flaming Wild Wing and a thick low lying layer of smoke for inspiration, here is a short recap from Sharkspage of what has gone down in the land of cheap software and expensive offensive defenseman:

• Max Giese of Sharkspage posted a very thorough 2008 Sharks Entry Draft (ptII) review article, with contributions from several NHL scouts and a few comments by other draft related sources. The first part of the Sharks 2008 Draft Review written by yours truely is available here. Included in that post is a video clip of Darren Pang expressing shock that Phoenix Coyotes first round selection Viktor Tikonov spoke English. Yes, San Jose residents can occasionally be accused of speaking English.


• Free agent defenseman Brian Campbell signs 8-year, $56.8 million contract with Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers sign Patrick Rissmiller. Judas, thy name is Brian Campbell. One problem many fans in San Jose have with what went down is the fact that his departure was a foregone conclusion. Instead of feigning that taking $7+ million with Chicago, Atlanta or Ottawa was a difficult decision, acknowledge the fact beforehand and fans have more respect for you. Campbell is tremendously gifted with speed and skating ability matched by few defenseman in the NHL. He also basically evaporated against Calgary and Dallas in the playoffs. If you are brought in to spark the Sharks transition and move the puck on ice, and you consistently hesitate and take it back behind your own net, there are going to be questions. Major questions for Chicago next season: how effectively will he be on defense, will he transform the Blackhawks power play, and how well will a young team respond to Campbell in a leadership role.


• San Jose Sharks sign defenseman Rob Blake to 1-year deal adding a power-play quarterback, report Sharks are pursuing Tampa Bay's Dan Boyle. A number of Kings fans are noting Rob Blake's declining production over the last season. In San Jose he will play a much different role, as the Sharks will have three solid defensive pairings they can use in any situation. Blake will be counted on more to bomb shots on net from the power play than to provide a #1 defensive role. I have a feeling with Marleau, Thornton, Pavelski, Clowe, Cheechoo and Michalek fighting for rebounds, Blake's numbers are not going to look too bad after 2008-09.


• Veteran defenseman Craig Rivet traded to Buffalo for 2009, 2010 2nd rounders. This is a trade that had to be made for salary cap considerations, but one that nobody likes north of the grapevine.


• Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich, and Sharks general manager Doug Wilson discussed the recent trades on a conference call with local media.


• Sharks Trade Analysis: Blake, Boyle and Lukowich add missing pieces of the puzzle for Sharks power play and playoff problems. A lot of words essentially boil down to the fact that Boyle could have a bigger impact in San Jose than the brief Campbell experiment, and Rob Blake is the type of proven veteran who has been there and done beat up a lot of Anaheim Ducks.


• Defenseman Christian Ehrhoff signs 3 year, $9.3 million contract. This shores up a large chunk of the Sharks blueline for the foreseeable future, but salary cap issues could force a trade for Kyle McLaren. The future beyond Rob Blake is also a little less clear with Matt Carle, Ty Wishart and a 1st round draft selection headed to Tampa. AHL rookie Derek Joslin should be next in line, and will take more of a leadership role in Worcester this season. Hard hitting Boston College fresheman defenseman Nick Petrecki, who won a National Championship this season, remains as the Sharks top overall defensive prospect. The Sharks may need him to regulate at HP Pavilion before the end of his four year run in college.


• Sharks hire Stanley Cup winning Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan to be the 7th head coach in San Jose franchise history. Some fans were a little irrated at the lack of questions asked by the media at the press conference, there is a hand held 6 minute video of McLellan answering questions from the AP's Greg Beacham, a local television reporter, and from Tony Khing of the Sharks included in that post. One rumor has Trent Yawney as a possible assistant coach.

That is all I have for now. War Sandis Ozolinsh for President.

Dan Boyle is awesome (and a Shark)

I say "Dan Boyle is awesome" because that tagline was a running joke between me and Cheechew and some of our mutual friends for a number of years. I've always thought Boyle was a great player and secretly wished the Sharks would acquire him somehow.

And now they have. For (allegedly) Matt Carle, a first rounder, a fourth rounder, and a prospect. Details will be worked out later and made official. The Sharks also get Brad Lukowich in return.

More later on the salary cap aspect of it. This, along with resigning Christian Ehrhoff and Ryane Clowe, will put the Sharks over their self-imposed budget but not to the cap. I imagine Kyle McLaren will be waived soon.

Update: Here's part of the salary-cap answer. Craig Rivet was just traded to Buffalo for two second-round picks.

Your defense is now Dan Boyle, Rob Blake, Christian Ehrhoff, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Douglas Murray, Brad Lukowich, Kyle McLaren.

Present or Future? Carle or Redden?

If you believe TSN.ca (and I have no reason not to) Wade Redden was asked to waive his no-trade because the Sharks called and asked about his availability. Sources claim the offer was Matt Carle and a draft pick. Carle was just signed to a 4-year deal and has the potential to be ...well Wade Redden in about 3-4 years. Doug Wilson has not denied the interest in Redden and has not denied the trade offer. This trade would be similar to trading for Rivet last year. Trade for a veteran D-man who is scheduled to be an UFA after the season. DWilson is betting on getting Redden out of the media spotlight in Canada and once Redden sees California, he would be happy to re-sign after the season (and hopefully a long playoff run). Of course all of this is an ideal situation. The other option would be that Redden turns into Bill Guerin. Comes over in a trade, gets hurt/plays poorly and then leaves after the season to sign with another team, and Carle becomes the next Brian Leetch. It will be interesting to see how Carle plays now that he knows how close he was to being traded to another team.

Guest Post: The Phoenix Coyotes Are Great Self-Esteem Boosters

(My good friend and fellow meerkat enthusiast Megalodon wrote an incredibly long write-up about the Sharks heading into tomorrow night's game. I'm sure P.J. or Cheechew or Mike will come up with something tomorrow, so I figure I'll put this up today. Enjoy!)

"Shouldn't one of us keep watch?" "Nah, it's just the Coyotes."

A lot is still up in the air about the Pacific Division, sure. But after this past week, we can say one thing for certain: the Sharks are way better than the Coyotes. No matter what else happens, nobody can take that away from us. The Sharks seem to have their game back now. I was pessimistic, but what turned things around for me was, strangely, the recent game against Dallas. The Sharks played great in the first period, then they decided to try sucking for a while. That didn't work very well, and Dallas came back in the third. Earlier in the season, the Sharks would have completely folded, and Dallas probably would have gotten another goal in regulation. This time, the Sharks managed to wake the hell up and win in style in the shootout. The team showed perseverance and confidence that was lacking earlier in the season.

Bragging about beating the Coyotes is like Rudy bragging about having a bigger dick than Megalodon.

No team is going to play at their best every minute of every game (except Ottawa, your 2008 Stanley Cup Champions). Against Dallas, the Sharks finally demonstrated an ability to rebound.

That's definitely a good sign.

Douglas Murray, Teal Jesus.

What we are finally seeing now is the team that everyone picked before the season to win the Stanley Cup. Thornton and Setoguchi are doing exactly what Thornton and Cheechoo did - but Setoguchi is a way better player, so the sky is the limit for them. Marleau came out of his coma, Roenick is surprisingly productive, and all the rest of the offensive cast is finally producing like they should. Nabokov is looking like he wants to play 83 games this season if possible. Defense, which worried me before the season, now looks like one of the top squads in the league. Rivet is always amazing, Ozolinsh has been a great spark out there, Vlasic is playing Pronger-like minutes (minus the elbows and the muggings), and Douglas Murray is my new Jesus. (Ed. note- I wanted to change his name to "Doglas," but Meg pointed out that made it sound like he didn't have a dog, and that was sad.) All of a sudden, the Sharks look great wherever you look.

Even when tragedy strikes, they manage to make it a positive. This was in the San Jose-Phoenix game summary:

" FROM THE BENCH Sharks defenseman Craig Rivet, who missed tonight's game with a leg injury, spent the entire game on the bench as a coach. Following the win, his teammates awarded him the game puck."

This definitely shows that Rivet is a great leader on the team. You don't hear a lot about him, but this kind of thing gives you a glimpse of what's going on under the surface. He's been around longer than guys like Vlasic, Carle, or his usual line-mate Murray, and it's clear they're learning a lot from him. I hope he sticks around for a long time.

"INJURIES Milan Michalek (elbow strain), Marcel Goc (back spasms) and Craig Rivet (leg) are all listed as day-to-day."

The Sharks have won their past few games without Michalek. It's great that they can afford to give him time to really heal up, and when he comes back that just makes the team that much better. It's hard to know where to stick him, because the current lines are producing so well, but even on the fourth line he is always a threat.

Goc is a great kid, and his blog rules, but I don't really think he's good enough to be on the team consistently. Maybe that will change.


"LINES
Cheechoo - Thornton - Setoguchi
Rissmiller - Marleau - Bernier
Grier - Mitchell - Roenick
Brown - Pavelski

Ehrhoff - Semenov
Ozolinsh - Vlasic
Murray - McLaren
Carle"


The Thornton line is really interesting, since Setoguchi and Cheechoo are basically the same player (they even look alike). We'll see if it stays like that.

Semenov is clearly San Jose's worst defenseman, and when Rivet comes back it should probably be Ozolinsh - Vlasic, Murray - Rivet, and McLaren - Carle. Ehrhoff will get some playing time at the expense of Murray, but the intensity and physical presence that Douglas brings is missed when he's not there.

***


Expect this in the Ducks game, but with a punch to the groin thrown in.

The Ducks will be first or second in the Division at the end of the year. They've put together some good games recently and seem to have found what makes them win. They're playing physically and the top line is really producing. If the Sharks and the Ducks both keep it up, the battle for the Division championship will be intense.

The way I see it, the Pacific Division has three tiers. First, there are the Sharks and the Ducks, who should both be going for first place. Then you have the Kings, who are a team on the rise, and Dallas, who are definitely declining. It's likely that only one of those teams will make the playoffs at the end of the year, so it will be interesting to see who comes out ahead. The third tier is Phoenix. The third tier is also known as the "Shitty Tier."

A lot of Anaheim's skill comes from their physical play. They can push the Kings around because the Kings have a lot of skilled guys who aren't that big and then some guys like Scott Thornton and Raitis Ivanans who can play physical but who suck at hockey. The Sharks are the team you would design if you wanted to counter Anaheim - everyone is big, everyone can play physical, and you can't push anyone around. Tomorrow, I'm looking for Anaheim's top line to probably score a couple, countered by Joe and Setoguchi continuing their streak. The Sharks have the edge in secondary scoring, though, and Roenick will get a garbage goal to give San Jose the win, 3-2.

Oh yeah, and I sure hope somebody in San Jose is in charge of watching Ducks games, because that top line just keeps trying that "off-the-boards" move. It worked against the Sharks last time and it worked against LA on Thursday. Let's figure out something to do to stop that play, okay guys? And why don't we try that sometimes, too?

That is all. Go Sharks!

Joe Thornton Conference Call Transcript April 3, 2007

The NHL held a media conference call with San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton today after he was named the NHL's second star of the month for March.

DAVID KEON: Good afternoon, everyone. I'm David Keon of the National Hockey League's public relations department, and I'd like to welcome you to today's call. Today's guest is San Jose Sharks' center Joe Thornton. Thanks to Joe for taking the time today to answer your questions, and thanks to Scott Emmert of the Sharks' public relations department for arranging the call.

Yesterday Joe was named "Second Star" for the month of March after leading all players in scoring with 24 points in 14 games. His season total of 109 points leads the Sharks and ranks him second in the National Hockey League behind Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby, who has 117.

Joe needs two assists to become only the third player in NHL history to post consecutive 90-assist seasons, the other two being Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
With 102 points the Sharks are tied with Dallas and trail Anaheim by four points in the race for top spot in the Pacific Division. They visit Anaheim tomorrow, host Calgary Thursday and finish the regular season at home against Vancouver Saturday.
Thanks to Joe for joining us today. We'll open it up for questions now.

[Q] Could you just address the impact that the acquisition of Bill Guerin and Craig Rivet have had on the team?

[JOE THORNTON] Well, obviously, we're pretty young in the back, so Rivet just brings us some more toughness back there. He's pretty rugged. He plays the power plays, the right-handed shot, which we needed, as well. So he fills so many voids that we didn't have before. He's a guy that's been there, done that, and he's going to be great going to the playoffs.

Obviously Billy winning the Cup I think in '95 or '96, he's a good, veteran guy that works really well with Patty Marleau, and he’s another right-handed shot. He's physical, he's big, he's strong and just two very, very valuable pickups that we definitely needed coming down the stretch here.

[Q] I'd like to ask another question. I've got to ask you, last season late you just went on an amazing rampage, and you've done it again this season. How do you explain the late season surges that you have?

[JOE THORNTON] I don't know, it's just -- obviously especially this year, playing with Milan Michalek, he's been playing great lately, and Cheech has been putting the puck in the back of the net. But I don't really know the rhyme or reason that it happens. But like you said, it happened last year and again this year, but I don't know the reason why.

[Q] Just wondering, if what way do you think you're a better player right now than you were last season at this time of the season in which you won the Hart Trophy?

[JOE THORNTON] Well, I think -- I'm having pretty much similar years. Individually I'd like to think I've gotten better each and every year. You know, that's a tough question to answer. I just feel good, I feel confident, and I feel good with my surroundings out here now. Just whoever I play with, I feel very comfortable with who I'm playing with.

[Q] Just one more question. In the last month or so Jonathan has also been a quite a tear. Do you feel like you got him going or he got you going, or do you think it was a bit of a combination?

[JOE THORNTON] It could have been a combination of both things, an also you can throw in Milan Michalek. He's playing great hockey, as well. He's brings so much speed to our line that is so valuable to us. I think we kind of miss Nils Ekman because we had so much speed with him.

But yeah, Cheech has been putting the puck in the back of the net for me, and it just makes my job a lot easier, that's for sure.

[Q] You got to play with Bill Guerin. I want to follow up on that. You got to play with him in Boston, and I wanted to know what influence he had on you maturing as a player and also a person off the ice, too.

[JOE THORNTON] Billy is just a great guy. Obviously I played with him a couple years there in Boston. He's a bubbly guy, a good guy to have in the locker room. He's a veteran guy. We never really played the same position.

I think you can just learn -- he plays that rugged style, but he's got -- he's such a nice goal scorer. But I think I definitely learned a lot as a player from him and as a person. It's good to have him here because we definitely have a young team and he can definitely look at some young guys and point out some pointers that he's seen in the past and help these young guys to become better players.

[Q] And just a follow-up question, what do you want to do to shut down the naysayers of you in the Playoffs and people saying you'll lose again in the Playoffs? What do you want to do? Is that motivating you this year?

[JOE THORNTON] I don't know, I don't really listen to any of that stuff. I think we definitely have a good team, that we can really go for the Stanley Cup this year, and I feel comfortable with this team and I have a lot of confidence in this team. Hockey is a team sport and it always will be, and I think it's a good shot. If we win the Cup, then I don't know if there will be any more of that.

[Q] What did you learn from last year's experience having that two game lead over Edmonton and seeing it disappear and then you guys disappear? What did you take from that and take into this upcoming post-season?

[JOE THORNTON] Well, the team is not done until they're done, until they've lost that fourth game. I think as a young team last year, we all learned together, and I think it just makes us better as a team as a whole.

But you can't take a team too lightly even though they're down 2-0 because the momentum can switch just like that in that triple overtime game that they beat us. Just never take your opponent too lightly, and we won't this year.

[Q] This is playing off a previous question, but do you feel a pressure just to have that like big bust-out Playoff run, both individually and as a team? Does that weigh on you at all?

[JOE THORNTON] Not at all, no, not at all.

[Q] And how do you then carry your -- and another question was the late season surge, so you're on one right now, you're enjoying one. How do you carry that into the post-season?

[JOE THORNTON] Just keep doing the same things, keep doing the same things in practice, and eventually it will spill over into games. Just play consistent. I think as a team we've been playing consistent, as for myself, individually just being consistent each and every night and working hard each and every night. So just keep on doing the little things that I've been doing and hopefully carry it over and hopefully it works in the Playoffs.