Mike Chen's Hockey Blog

Category: San-Jose-Sharks

San Jose Sharks discussion

Humble Pie

by Mike Chen on 12/19/08 at 11:21 AM ET
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If you were a child of the 80’s (or if you just have a strange fascination with cartoons from that period), you might recall an episode of GI Joe where Gung Ho, the rugged marine with a porn-star mustache, was being upstaged by a former protege of his. The tension built up to the inevitable fist fight between the two, where Gung Ho’s adversary touting how he was younger, faster, and stronger with each punch. Gung Ho, however, got the upper hand, throwing the cocky whippersnapper down and giving him a good dose of humble pie.

“You forgot one thing,” Gung Ho said. “I’m better.”

That little life lesson (and knowing is half the battle) reminded me of last night’s Detroit-San Jose game. It’s funny how one complete smackdown can make a Sharks fan forget the record-setting start (is it really a start 30 games in?) to the season. Still, the 6-0 drubbing at the hands of the Red Wings showed that the Sharks aren’t invincible, that their system can’t come back and dominate everything, and that they can get run out of town just as easily as they’ve run over some opponents.

Still, this isn’t exactly a bad thing.

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Tags: Detroit+Red+Wings, San+Jose+Sharks,

The Evoluion of BlackArmor (TM)

by Mike Chen on 10/23/08 at 10:00 AM ET
Comments (2)

Big news in Sharkland yesterday. No, not the crazy 7-6 shootout win against Philadelphia that featured countless turnovers and no defense from both teams. Nope, the even bigger news was the announcement of the Sharks 3rd jersey. And guess what, folks? They’ve given it a corporate sponsorship and a ridiculous name: BlackArmor (TM).

(I’m guessing it’s black. And that’s what the leaks out of Icethetics say too.)

So, what is BlackArmor (TM)? Is it a revolution in materials, kinda like how the whole RBK jersey was supposed to make sweat fly off a jersey rather than soak in? Maybe it’s voice commanded, like the way the Batmobile armor goes up when Batman says, “Shields up,” or when the Bionic Six say, “Bionics ON! (on on on on).”

Unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like BlackArmor is any of these things. It’s just a lame cross-promotion with a hard drive company. How Silicon Valley is that?

On the good side, I’ve come across some leaked documents that have the previous 3rd jersey ideas. Unfortunately, they didn’t have big money involved with them, so you’ll never actually get to see these anywhere but here.

Filed in: San Jose Sharks | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink

Hot Starts And Ugly Finishes

by Mike Chen on 10/17/08 at 02:03 PM ET
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“Last year was a little different. We had a bad start and I didn’t play well. This year we’ve had a good start and I’m kind of feeling comfortable and I’m playing better than last year.”

“I don’t think there’s any such thing,” said the coach. “Just play right, and that’s an attitude, a mental thing. Like the Montreal Canadiens in the mid-1970s, when they lost eight games all year. I think they peaked all year. They were the best players, that’s why they won, but if you’re the best players and you do things right, when do you peak? You always play good.”

“Confidence is very underrated. If you’ve got confidence in your ability, and the people you’re playing with, you’re going to succeed.”

Oh, those hot starts. It’s all about good habits and confidence and feeling good about team play. Are those quotes from the 4-0 San Jose Sharks?

Filed in: San Jose Sharks | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Ottawa+Senators, San+Jose+Sharks,

San Jose Sharks v4.0

by Mike Chen on 10/15/08 at 12:55 PM ET
Comments (6)

With a victory over Columbus, the San Jose Sharks have gotten off to their best start ever and Todd McLellan’s short coaching record remains unblemished. It’s difficult to judge things this early in the season but anyone who’s seen a Sharks game so far can tell you that this team is far, far different from any previous Sharks team. There’s a swagger to the whole squad, a confidence that was never there under Ron Wilson.

Under Kevin Constantine (Sharks v1.0), the Sharks were a defense-goaltending squad that overachieved on the backs of miraculous Arturs Irbe saves and Sergei Makarov/Igor Larionov chemistry. The Darryl Sutter days (Sharks v2.0) were about grit and power, almost to the point where skill was being squeezed out—ask Teemu Selanne about that. Even in 2003-04, when Ron Wilson (Sharks v3.0) transformed a bunch of speedy second-liners into Conference Finalists, that was more about system and synchronicity, the proverbial lightning in a bottle. The post-lockout Wilson squads were hit and miss but even at their best, everything seemed like a controlled affair. And these guys under Todd McLellan (Sharks v4.0—hey, the tech speak works, we are talking about a Silicon Valley team, after all)? There’s just a different shine to the whole package, a feeling like all the parts are finally working cohesively together.

Filed in: San Jose Sharks | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Patrick+Marleau, San+Jose+Sharks, Todd+McLellan,

Notes from Sharks Training Camp

by Mike Chen on 09/20/08 at 06:12 PM ET
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Just a few quick notes from today’s training camp scrimmage:

-The notable names on each team consisted of the theoretical second line (Joe Pavelski, Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo) in white and a hodge podge in black (Jeremy Roenick/Devin Setoguchi/Tomas Plihal, Mike Grier/Torrey Mitchell/Marcel Goc). Team white also had Jeff Friesen while team black was the public’s first look at Rob Blake.

Filed in: San Jose Sharks | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Training+Camp,

Marleau on Thornton’s Wing

by Mike Chen on 09/19/08 at 06:16 PM ET
Comments (4)

The ever-vigilant Dave Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News has posted that the Sharks will open training camp with Patrick Marleau on Joe Thornton’s wing. The duo will be flanked by Ryane Clowe, not Jonathan Cheechoo:

Here’s how the top forward lines will look on Day One:

Patrick Marleau-Joe Thornton-Ryan Clowe
Milan Michalek-Joe Pavelski-Jonathan Cheechoo
Marcel Goc-Torrey Mitchell-Mike Grier
Tomas Plihal-Jeremy Roenick-Devin Setoguchi

I’m personally not a fan of putting Marleau and Thornton on the same line together except for the power play.

Filed in: San Jose Sharks | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: Joe+Thornton, Jonathan+Cheechoo, Patrick+Marleau, San+Jose+Sharks, Todd+McLellan,

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About Mike Chen’s Hockey Blog

Mike Chen prides himself in being the only hockey writer integrating puck discussion with both Morrissey quotes and Star Wars references. Since 2004, he’s blogged about all things hockey and currently contributes to FoxSports.com, the Battle of California, and RotoRob.

Questions? Comments? Hate mail? Contact Mike here.