An Opportunity for Friesen?

Rudy beat me to the punch, but yes, Torrey Mitchell is out for two months. That's pegging his return in late November. This will muck things up a little bit but this gives an opportunity for Jeff Friesen to grab a roster spot.

I'm guessing this won't affect Todd McLellan's top two lines, but the current would-be third line of Mitchell with Marcel Goc and Mike Grier on the wings is obviously mucked up. Goc, however, is a natural center and shifting him over would make sense for the time being. Who takes the spot on the wing?

Well, of course Tomas Plihal could work in there, or they could experiment with Devin Setoguchi for a little more offensive punch. (Setoguchi remains a wild card as the lineup shakes out) However, if we're looking at this to be a defensive unit based on speed with some scoring ability, that's what the old Friesen used to specialize in. He obviously didn't really do that in his stints in Washington and Calgary, but let's just assume things go well for Freeze (he's looked pretty good in camp so far) and they've gotta slot him in somewhere.

It makes sense, though it'll obviously create a logjam of forwards when Mitchell returns. Still, it's better to have too much depth than not enough.

Besides, wouldn't it be cool to see good ol' Freeze in teal?

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.

Sharks All-Time Players: Mike's Take, Part 1

Gee, that subject is kinda grand in a Star Wars: Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back kind of way.

I'm taking RudyKelly's challenge of coming up with a "Best Of" team (plus, there's not much to talk about right now and my own blog and business are waiting for server repair). I'm doing something slightly different, mostly because so many Sharks players have had up-and-down seasons, so I'm going to pick a single season to represent each player.

Also, you'll notice that the centers and right wings far outweigh the left wings. There really haven't been too many spectacular left wings in Sharks history (Ray Whitney became a great player after the Sharks dumped him). Perhaps Milan Michalek can change that some day.

1st Line:
C-Joe Thornton 05-06
MVP, league's leading scorer, and catalyst for turning a stuck-in-neutral San Jose Sharks into a league powerhouse, Joe Thornton will probably go down in history as one of, if not the most talented forward in Sharks history. From day one, Thornton was an absolute monster, and his first season in teal provided so many memorable "holy crap" moments -- from his booming slapshot off the post in his first shift in Buffalo to his total undressing of Washington's defense and Olaf Kolzig -- that the memory of Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart, and Wayne Primeau faded pretty darn fast.

RW-Jonathan Cheechoo 05-06
In 2005-06, you couldn't tab Thornton without mentioning Cheechoo. As Thornton's triggerman, a fully healthy Cheechoo (something that hasn't happened much over the past two seasons) fired off so many spot-on one-timers fed from Thornton that an early goal had you thinking, "Maybe he'll get another hat trick." But Cheechoo wasn't a one-trick pony that year; while groin issues have prevented Cheechoo from being able to be as scrappy as he could be, a good chunk of his goals in 05-06 came from being persistent all around the net for rebounds, second chances, and "hit it till the damn thing goes in" goals.

LW-Jeff Friesen 97-98
Ten years ago, Friesen was the projected franchise and future captain; seemingly on the upswing, Friesen broke 30 goals for the only time in his career. In that season, Friesen used his speed, hands, and wrist shot to become the Sharks' most dangerous weapon. He'll never recapture that, but we'll always have our memories of #39 speeding down the wing past opposing defenders.

By the way, did you hear Freeze is back in San Jose on a tryout?

2nd Line:
C-Patrick Marleau 05-06
While Marleau became captain and the go-to guy in 03-04, it wasn't until after the lockout when Marleau put it all together. Before the Thornton trade, Marleau was seemingly the only Sharks player that was effective that season; after the Thornton trade, Marleau became even more deadly with defensive pressure split between the two centers. while Thornton had Cheechoo on his wing, Marleau wound up with rookies Milan Michalek and Steve Bernier -- and even then, he propelled them to one of the best lines in the Western Conference that season.

RW-Owen Nolan 99-00
By the time 2000 rolled around, Owen Nolan was a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate. While ultimately potting 44 goals, Nolan was a force in all aspects -- special teams, hitting hard along the boards, and scoring goals through sheer force of will. That year, Nolan finished fifth in Hart Trophy voting and solidified Darryl Sutter's hunch in making him the captain.

LW-Milan Michalek 06-07
Michalek's sophomore campaign had him working up to star-player status, notching 26 goals and 40 assists, mostly on a line with Joe Thornton. This, much more so than in his rookie year, showed Sharks fans how devastating Michalek's speed could be. In fact, even on a team with Patrick Marleau, Michalek's bursts up the wing made him appear to be the fastest player on the team.

To be continued... (though PJ and Cheechew are welcome to make up their own list).

Ducks Gameday—Two-for-one special, eh?

Thursday: Anaheim Ducks (11-0-4, 1st in west) at Vancouver Canucks (8-7-1, 7th in west)
Friday: Anaheim Ducks (12-0-4, 1st in west) at Calgary Flames (5-7-2, 11th in west)

The Ducks are off to Western Canada, to face Vancouver (the only Northwest Division team Anaheim has never faced in the postseason) and Calgary (who wishes that description applied to them). Edmonton was going to be on the road trip also, but Lauren Pronger wouldn’t hear of it.

Remember that earlier this week the 11-2 Dallas Stars tried their hand at this Vancouver-and-Calgary gauntlet, and came away with but 2 goals scored over 2 regulation losses. These are turning into pretty stingy places to play. (The Sharks, though, won in both buildings scoring a combined 10 goals in the process.)

And while it may appear on the surface that the Ducks don’t have much at stake in these games, here’s a few items to keep the boys interested.

For one, there’s this “record” that Anaheim is set to “break”—the 1984-85 Edmonton Oilers began their season with a 15-game unbeaten streak (12-0-3), that the Ducks have asterisked their way into (with one OT loss). Whatever. I mean, who really cares about the consecutiveness of it all? Being an excellent team has very little to do with never losing; in fact it probably has a lot to do with how you respond to losing, which I await with strange eagerness.

Also, I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have placed one Ducks bet this year, with Temujin, an agitator from West Coast Chaos, and it centers squarely around Ducks vs. Canucks. Nothing will get settled tonight, but whichever team gets the most points from the four regular-season matchups will determine the winner of one choice-of-the-internet t-shirt or hat or something.

But then again, that’s nothing like this bet. Luongo’s record, by the way, is 8-6.

Prediction: Anaheim 5, Vancouver 3. Giguere gets the win. Goals by O’Brien, O’Donnell, Oates, Ozolinsh, and Olausson.

---------------------------------------And Calgary, well, they are a Bizarro-Edmonton. Whereas the Ducks acquired the Oilers’ best player this summer (improvement by addition), somehow Calgary managed to acquire Anaheim’s worst player, Jeff Friesen (improvement by subtraction). As I said at the time, there’s only one way to make peace with Mr. Freeze, to take a deep breath, and say as calmly as you can, “That’s OK, Jeff. Save it for game seven.” Friesen (who may be hurt), by the way, is my entry into Mike Chen’s “Crappy Player pool”, and his underwhelming one assist is propelling me to an early lead.

Of course, the larger issue in Calgary probably remains “revenge for Game Seven”, in which a young Russian shut out the punchless Flames and a young Frenchman took down a punchless Jarome Iginla, disrupting the postseason Battle of Alberta. Of course, then Edmonton took revenge on SJ to disrupt the first-ever postseason Battle of California, and I kind of forget what happened after that.

Prediction: Anaheim 4, Calgary 1. Bryzgalov (who has started each 2nd game of a back-to-back so far this year) re-stymies the Flames, while McDonald, Moen, Marchant, and Moran make Miikka mad.
---------------------------------------Oh yeah, and tonight is round three of the Battle of California:
Round 1: in Anaheim, Ducks 4, Kings 3
Round 2: in L.A., Ducks 3, Kings 2 (SO)
Round 3: in L.A., Sharks at Kings
---------------------------------------Side note: You know, I blabber on from time to time about the Oiler blogs, but really, there’s a lot to like in Canuckville also, from a variety of angles: Canucks Op Ed, Jes Gőlbez, Orland Kurtenblog, (my hero) Tom Benjamin, Waiting for Stanley, Canucks Hockey Blog, Stick in Rink, and the master of statistical magic, Hockey Numbers. (Read them now before they get despondent!)

For Cowtown, you have Matt “the voice of reason” Fenwick, the boys at Hello Hockey Fans / Five Hole Fanatics, and double d(ion). (Go console them out of their despondency!)

A Farewell to the Never-Unmighty

Sorry, stupid title. Any way, here's a little advanced scouting for four lucky teams, who happened to acquire parts of our previous roster during the offseason.

This also will serve as a fond farewell to those who played in the Mighty Ducks’ last days.

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Jeff Friesen, Calgary Flames
Nicknames: Game Seven, Traitor

“That’s OK, Friesen. Save it for Game Seven.”

I must have said that mocking phrase a hundred times this spring, whenever Friesen would shoot wide of the net, or refuse to hit, or generally float around and be useless. You really have to take this sort of cynical approach when it comes to Friesen, because the guy will drive you batty as a fan. He does have speed and can flash a move from time to time, but really, it never seems to come together for him. (He’s one of the few who was already playing Flames hockey before Calgary even signed him.)

The only thing is: the guy is money in game sevens, and that alone should be worth a season of frustration (or at least that’s what you should keep telling yourself). Say it with me, Flames fans, “That’s all right, Jeff. Save it for Game Seven.”

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Joffrey Lupul, Edmonton Oilers
Nickname: Loops

Lupul, on the other hand, is an intriguing story made all the more intriguing by the fact that he’s re-teaming with former Mighty Duck Petr Sykora in Edmonton. What’s interesting about that is I was going to use Sykora as a reference point for Lupul: a right-winger with a wicked shot who can backcheck to some degree but is prone to some dumbish penalties. The differences really are footspeed, which enables Sykora also to man the point on the PP, and Petr is a better dresser.

But on to Joffrey, he did score 28 regular-season and 9 playoff goals, really solid numbers for a ‘sophomore’. However, 6 of those 9 playoff goals came in the first 3 games of the Colorado sweep; he only scored in 2 of the other 13 playoff games. Also a little suspect is how he led the team in playoff penalty minutes, averaging one minor per game.

But don’t fret, Oilfans! Lupul’s growing, and I think he’ll come out a winner. He’s got good puck control and offensive awareness, and will shoot a ton of shots. Kinda like Sykora, except he’s a boring interview. One of those two guys is gonna pot 35 goals, I guarantee that. I just can’t tell you which one just yet.

(Oh, and don’t ask me about Smid. I’m still mispronouncing that name, I’m sure.)

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Ruslan Salei, Florida Panthers
Nicknames: Rusty, Belarooos, Salei of Game, Cirque d’Salei, One horse open Salei

Hoo boy, Panther fans, are you guys in for a 3-year roller coaster! Meet the pride of Belarus, Ruslan Salei. Rusty was the longest-tenured Mighty Duck, having played in Anaheim since 1996.

Rusty is old-school, baby. He’s never even heard of new rules! But he’s perfect to play some tough minutes on your blueline, he likes to ride that edge of nastiness and can be very effective at it also. It will land him in the penalty box with some regularity, but he is certainly improved from the start of last season. Though he lacks creativity, he’s adequate in the offensive zone, and is a really good puck-clearer in the defensive zone.

When Bryzgalov threw his back-to-back-to-back shutouts this past postseason, the one guy who I thought was really playing an elevated game was Rusty. He had some good hits, sharp passes, and even scored two goals. He won’t always have that mojo goin’ like that, but I think you Panther fans are going to love that Belarusian demon (especially if you sit by the penalty box).

Belaroooooooos!!!
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Vitaly Vishnevski, Atlanta Thrashers
Nickname: Vishdog

And of course, the guy who was the next-longest-tenured Mighty Duck, Vishdog has played in Anaheim since 1999 (and only this year did I get a jersey!). Vishnevski, pure and simple, was the victim of a numbers game on our blueline, to the Thrashers’ benefit.

He’s awfully weird-looking, sure, and his English is no treat either. But what separates him from most is his focus, mostly on throwing his shoulder into an oncoming player. And he’s really good at it, too, with vicious timing and accuracy. Sure, he’ll get caught from time to time, but his hits are both effective and crowd-pleasing.

Vishnevski is 26 and in defenseman years, that is still maturing. Even though he’s shown limited scoring, he is a good puckhandler and skater, and I think his numbers will improve.

As for experience, Vishnevski has played more than 400 regular season games, and been part of two serious Cup runs (and on some decently successful Russian national teams, also). I think Thrasher fans are really going to enjoy the Vish show, and hell, there’s another team to watch on the ol’ Center Ice.

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The Ducks have lost a lot of their first-round picks this offseason: Vishnevski (5th overall 1998), Lupul (7th overall 2002), Salei (9th overall 1996), Smid (9th overall 2004), plus one or two more upcoming ones in the Pronger deal.

Before the Pronger deal, I would have told you that only Salei would have been on this list.

Yulp! You better pay off, Prongerboy. You made me write a really long eulogy.

The Selanne-Friesen trade, a Duck's perspective

On March 5, 2001, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim traded favorite Teemu Selanne to the San Jose Sharks for Jeff Friesen and Steve Shields. This perhaps is the biggest shared moment of these two franchises (we don't care that they have Ron Wilson and they don't care that we have Jason Marshall), and it is my belief that it didn't work out all that well for either side.

Friesen wasn't terrible, but he was no replacement for the ever-lovable Teemu, and was moved on July 6, 2002 with Oleg Tverdovsky and Maxim Balmochnykh to the New Jersey Devils for Petr Sykora, Mike Commodore, Igor Pohanka, and Jean-François Damphousse.

(Just to follow the moving parts, the Ducks later traded Commodore and Damphousse to Calgary for Rob Niedermayer. Sykora and R. Niedermayer were both keys to the 2003 Cup run, and arguably the reason we have Scott Niedermayer today can be credited to this trade.)

However, Friesen not only won the Cup with the Devils over the Ducks, but he also managed to score two goals in the decisive game seven. In doing so, he became arguably the most despised former Duck in Anaheim's short history.

Anaheim perception: Here's a guy who not only cost us Teemu, but then underachieved while he was here, only to finally play a great game in Game Seven against us, and all the while sporting his trademark smug-faced grin.

Teemu, meanwhile, didn't suffer too much backlash from Anaheim fans until 2003, when he turned his back on the franchise and signed instead with the Colorado Avalanche along with other franchise fave Paul Kariya. Now that Teemu has returned to Anaheim, all is forgiven, and he might even get two numbers retired (#8 to celebrate his former tenure and #13 to celebrate his resurrection). Paul, meanwhile, still generates a mixed reaction.

Friesen is back now also, having been acquired at the trade deadline for a 2nd round pick, and his re-acquisition was met with less fanfare. GM Brian Burke had of course to that point been on a roll with his trades, so fans accepted it, but many were disappointed.

Jeff's number's this year didn't help, incidentally. He had suffered a groin injury that had limited him to 33 games played for the lowly Washington Capitals, but he had still managed only 3 goals in those 33 games. He scored one more for the Ducks, but even spent some time as a healthy scratch in some critical end-of-season games.

This postseason, Friesen has been good, especially once put in a checking role with Sammy Pahlsson and Rob Niedermayer in Game 6 against the Flames.

My take is that we re-acquired Friesen for one reason: so he could undo the Game Seven curse that he engineered upon the franchise. He is like a classic Darth Vader, who if he could only see the good still in his mechanical frame, could rid this franchise of the dark and evil stench of a Game Seven loss. Only he who wrought such agony truly has the power to purge the demons.

So far, it's worked. We bested the Flames in Game Seven, helped by goals by both Selanne and Friesen (though his was an empty-netter).

You still owe us, Jeff.