Sergei Samsonov to try out with the Sharks

Hey Jawheads,

So this is an interesting possibility.  This worked out decently for the Sharks last season with Brad Winchester.  So my question is what had Samsonov been doing the last season.  I honestly thought he was playing in the KHL, but I haven't found any information on this, so hopefully someone can enlighten me.  

If he's still the fairly slick skater that I remember, I can see him being a decent scoring threat for the 3rd line to occasionally jump into the top 6 whenever McLellan needs to jumble the lines when they hit scoring droughts.  Nothing is in concrete, so we just have to wait and see.  He does have Igor Larionov as an agent so there is something of a connection with him to the Sharks now.  

Here's to hoping there isn't a lockout and we see training camps open soon. 

I'm hoping Captain's skate sessions start soon, too. 

As always,

Go Sharks! 

Sharks sign Brad Stuart for 3 years

So the Sharks signed Brad Stuart for 3 years at 3.6 million.

This is a solid signing and very affordable.  I'm still curious as to what this does to the D-core.  My best guess is that Braun/Demers spend more time in Worcester to continue their development.  There may be a trade involving a defenseman, but I'm not sure if that happens.  I wouldn't expect it, but there may be more changes coming this week up until the draft.

Sharks Trade for Brad Stuart

Hey there Jawheads,

The Sharks acquired Brad Stuarts rights by sending Andrew Murray and a conditional 2014 7th round pick to Detroit.  

The Sharks made the early move to acquire a solid defender.  I remember he was very highly touted when the Sharks drafted him years ago and he played well.  I think his offense never really amounted to what was expected, but he's been very solid in his own end and provides a good pass out of the zone.  So he's a good pickup for basically a 7th round pick.  The conditional pick is contingent on the Sharks coming to terms with Stuart.  He'll sign and for fairly cheap.  He's made it quite public that he wants to come back to San Jose, as his family lives there.  Sending Andrew Murray is fine as he probably wasn't going to be resigned, anyway.  So not much is lost here and this gives Doug Wilson stability heading into the draft and free agency.  

The Sharks defense now looks something like:

Boyle-Murray

Vlasic- Burns

Stuart- Braun/Demers

Stuart could even find his way to being on the same line as Burns or Boyle depending on what happens with the other defensemen. So this got a bit more crowded and leads me to believe that other trades could be coming through as this opens some doors for the Sharks to decide who they want their core defense to be centered around for the next few years.  

I wouldn't be surprised if Boyle or Vlasic is traded.  I don't wish to see either gone, but I could see it happening.  Though, in all likelihood, the 6 defensemen here just became a lot more solid and could potentially be one of the more accomplished than other units in the league.  Doug Wilson has basically made their defense a non-issue.  The forward core has some questions to be answered, as well as goaltending.  

This should be one of the more interesting off-season for Sharks fans and I am quite excited to see what changes are made.  

As always,

Go Sharks!

Prospect Profile: Taylor Doherty

Hey Jawheads,

I actually wrote this piece before the Wingels profile.  It just went up and I thought I'd let you all know.  He's an interesting prospect.  He's big, real big.

So check it out here.

Let me know what you guys think.

He really has an opportunity to make the team in a season or two as a bottom line stay-at-home defender.

As always,

Go Sharks!

Prospect profile: Tommy Wingels

Hey there Jawheads,

I wrote a piece on Tommy Wingels and you can find it here.

I've been enjoying writing profiles for Dobberprospects.  So check it out, it's free and a great resource for all prospects.

I'll have another one up for Taylor Doherty coming soon.  So stick around.

As always,

Go Sharks!

Wrath of the Titans

I wrote a piece called Climate Change awhile back.  Well, I got a lot of positive responses for it and was asked to write one for even more teams.

So go here: Dobber Hockey Roto 100

Let me know what you think people.  It's free and you get a great resource, plus my awesome writing.

Enjoy!

And as always,

Go Sharks!

Profiling Prospects

Hey Jawheads,

I'm now doing some extra work for DobberProspects.com which is an area of Dobbersports.  It's a great place to learn about hockey at just about any level.

So my first piece went up today about Dmitri Orlov.

Here is the link: http://prospects.dobbersports.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4520:dmitry-orlov&catid=914:washington-capitals&Itemid=164

Hope you enjoy it folks.  I will also have another article coming up soon that is like the Climate change one, but even bigger.