Sharks Mid-Season Awards, Trade Predictions

Sharks Mid-Season Awards, Trade Predictions

Welcome to the Chanel hockey Now podcast I’m Shang Pang editor-in chief of San Jose hockey now you can also find my work at MEC sharks and on Twitter on changor Pang and I’m keeg MCN you can find me on Twitter at hallor hockey at my website half-wall hockey.com or at

San Jose hockey now happy happy New Year everybody welcome to another episode of the San Jose hockey Now podcast yeah another another week another losing streak for the shark so when will this ever end but anyway we have a a fun episode today not all doom and gloom uh we’re doing our

Sharks midseason Awards which sounds like a lot of Doom and Gloom actually but it’s not just Awards we’re also going to talk about uh we’re going to predict the trade we’re going to talk about our sleeper prospects and also kind of our surprising prospects for

This year so we’ll uh kind of shed uh kind of kind of kind of kind of kind of look toward the sunny side of things too but also too we will talk about the reality of the Sharks we have a most disappointing player award too that looking forward to because there are so

Many candidates for that that’s so many great candidates I think there’s a I think it’s the Golden Globes tonight as well so this is all fitting for oh perfect yeah yeah um we’re also Al this week going to get into a couple things we we’ll briefly touch on that the sharks are bad

Uh and they keep losing since we last talked they’ve lost to Colorado Detroit wpeg and Toronto in four straight games um we’re going to mention the uh World Junior Championships and some of the outcomes of the the Sharks prospects I do want to say though we’re going to

Have a longer episode on this probably next week um with um a special guest that will maybe two special guests too so we have topics yeah to help decode what what happened dur the World Junior Championships but we’ll we’ll touch on it briefly um talk about the kaded trade

River that was out there this week although it seems like it uh might mirror the Blackwood trade rumor from a month ago um the uh snika Jack snika going to S getting sent down to the Barracuda and why that uh seemed like it made sense uh some IR updates uh cachur

And Benning and then finally we’ll talk about All-Star hurdle and our mid SE season awards so it’s GNA be a long show all right where do you want to start Shang sharks are bad yeah uh actually it maybe may not be that long because what

Can we say about this uh the Sharks keep losing uh keep losing in different ways um I think uh the the games that uh after our last podcast the at Colorado on Year’s Eve Detroit Winnipeg and Toronto all lost in different ways um I find ways to lose yeah the sharks are

Are defending better in General um but uh yeah there is something that is missing in terms of just the realization kind of and I I wrote about it a little bit yesterday I you know quoted a miracle um that uh what Kurt Russell said as her Brooks that team isn’t

Talent enough to win on Talent alone and the Sharks to aand uh I don’t think I don’t think that that’s quite registered yet and so until that registers I think their performance is going to be very very up and down but mostly down uh I think that if they can

Start to play with sort of a um all hands on deck compete attitude and outwork their opponents they’re still not going to win a lot of games but uh it’s going to be a bit more respectable it won’t be like last night against Toronto where it was four to one but

Really four to one with I think seven or eight toron I’ve never seen a number like that I wonder if that’s the most uh ever tracked if you look at the NHL playby playay sheet there were post and and crossbars I didn’t even know happened uh like I thought it was five

By the end of the game someone came up to me uh Ryan Leong a Sports Radio Service A buddy of mine he said no actually they just said on the broadcast that Hy just said it was six and I look at the angel play byplay sheet and I’m

Pretty sure there’s seven or maybe even eight just keeps going up and up yeah and one and and In fairness there was one from hurdle I think hurdle had had something that they called the post so so seven for Toronto and one for the sharks so okay okay

So goalie’s best friend um but yeah that game was just very lopsided in terms of the talent disparity and and um Quinn even mentioned that as well right like he said something similar to that effect yeah and and so the the sharks have to just find find a way to

Um just just just reach a more consistent level of competitiveness no one is expecting to to win a lot and I guess if you look at the first 11 game losing streak that they’re half been improvements it’s not as ugly uh Quinn actually made a point of reference that

That that Toronto game would have been maybe one of the better games of their of their of of of their zero 10 and one start and actually he’s not wrong I mean what the sharks are doing I guess better this this time around uh is that they’ve cut that shots against down

Dramatically um Toronto rolled out to 183 first period shots Advantage but after that though the the Sharks actually outshot them 20 to 17 I think it was or something like that so 20 to 16 so these are kind of like small you know Small Favors small victories moral victories really meaningless victories

But um it doesn’t feel as uh and it’s not even a fill thing you see on the ice it’s not as bad as it was but as bad as it was before it was literally worst hockey team ever bad before yeah and now they’re just playing

At worst team in the league in this current year kind of kind of level this game would be 11 to one and if this was during the The First losing streak yeah it would have been 11 to one and Al Tonto would have also had four more

Posts on top of that right yeah right been knocking on the door for worst loss ever so yeah I’m still trying to form what I guess because we I we talked about this last episode about the team needing to play better defense and I think

Um by and large they they have since we we talked Colorado even though they were shot out shot by a lot but I thought they competed and they defended pretty well Detroit they actually outplayed Detroit and they they should have won and that’s actually a game uh that the

Gold hitting disappointed him Kenan let in a couple that that uh that he’d wanton back the the game against Detroit reminded me of a lot of the games last year that they lost before the trade deadline were um it felt like they were outplaying the opponent and their

Bending be it Rymer or k last year which just leted in that one one or two soft ones and the game would still be close but he just couldn’t close the gap and they couldn’t afford to give up those one or two soft ones uh the wiip game

Was kind of funny because they were awful the first 15 minutes um like the Toronto game kind of and um then they picked up their play and they played with Winnipeg or maybe arguably outplayed them for the last 45 minutes and the score came out pretty close you

Know they were in it till till till the end there uh and the Toronto was sort of a different Beast too in a way that even though uh obviously we mentioned the 183 shots disparity but that was a funny one because uh the second and third periods

Felt like the Sharks were closer but Quinn did not like their their compete level uh throughout the throughout the game just wasn’t consistent enough in his mind um and so that that was kind of interesting because you look again the shot counter uh doesn’t look that bad

The the Sharks were a shot counter after the first period I mean doesn’t look that bad the Sharks were able to to to get a get a goal there and keep it close there but uh yeah so those are some of the maybe the subtle things some of the

Battles that maybe they were winning against Winnipeg or uh after the first 15 minutes against Winnipeg that maybe they weren’t winning as much uh against Toronto yeah they’re finding new ways to lose yeah new ways to um I guess not new just kind of I guess rehashing old ways

That they’ve lost before yeah so we just have to kind of figure out I guess um what we’re looking for here and what we’re looking for is still a better play out of the younger players right and it was very up and down I think we would

Agree up and down week for emberson for an ecklin uh so yeah so so so we call it a a a learning curve or whatever right uh the Pains of of Youth um zerland too I think was up and down too um but I guess though that there were ups and we should

Be happy about that at this point so I think they uh I should have done a prediction on when they’re going to end their their losing streak here this is impressive um with like really just not even maybe a few close games in there that like maybe they should have won or

Got a point of but like this is just bad um it feels closer than before because like I said Detroit one they should have won um for sure I even think the was close the the lose the loss that started it all the one zero loss in Arizona they

Didn’t even like how they played but they they were in that game um and and of course that’s the two disallowed goals there right in a third period um so yeah so again it doesn’t feel quite the same and just the strict stats the 010 and one start that was a minus 42

Gold Thrift differential which Pro rates to worse ever in history uh and then this this 11 game losing streak is not uh great by any means it’s I think it’s a minus 31 goal differential but if you do the math that’s just like typical worst team bad you know not historical

Bad you know well we’re about to be past the the halfway point of the season um so we can finally turn those clocks onto tank mode and just talk about does it get worse though is is my question at the trade deadline if they if they are

Able to move move a couple pieces that are quote unquote keeping them competitive right they are right they’re goal tending or even a guy like like like Ferraro um true so yeah can it get worse um and then if you look at the the team that Chicago is

Icing currently the Sharks really do have to worry about like how bad theoretically Chicago can get because their their Bard’s Gone feno’s Gone um for the time being they have like $35 million on injured reserve this year and then their their lineup looks like an

AHL team if you look at it you’re like oh this is a this is a barracuda it’s not sometimes though of course and we’ve seen this in the past and that sometimes uh you have a few less skilled players on your team but maybe you bring in guys

Who work a little bit harder and compete better and they results are better and they won against Calgary today which is yeah I I don’t mean specifically Chicago but I I’m actually talking about the Sharks after the deadline but yeah anyway um not that you know we’re all penciling in mlin celebrini cards

Just yet but it’s getting closer only 25% chance so yeah I am doing a lot more um review of the upcoming draft class and I don’t I don’t think it’s as good as last year’s in general so there is that kind of worry that man if you don’t get that

First round or first overall pick it might not be this might not all be worth it guys do do you think that it’s celini and there’s a drop off like a pretty decent drop off okay yeah because celebrini does does excite me in a sense that uh the his billing and we talked

About I think last week like comparison of of a of anj kopar versus a Patrick Kane and I would I would build around a anj kopar or Jonathan Taves like every day of the week if I had pick one guy as my building block first I would pick

That uh and and pair him with Will Smith and a William eckan instead of building around A Smith or an eckan I would build around a kind of a uh set it and forget it two-way defenseman that or some Center that uh hope is going to be in a

S conversation every year um that’s yeah yeah I think that I wouldn’t say that that’s like certain players you know that they’re going to be very defensively defensive oriented and that like their game is already so polished I wouldn’t say that’s what celebrini is yet but you just know that his brain can

Go that direction right right and you a guy like kopar wasn’t like that at the beginning um so it’s going to be there and I I have a lot of faith in him as an NHL probably next season to be honest so um all right let’s let’s let’s move on

From the sharks are bad because it just makes us sad um and and talk about Team USA and Will Smith um Chang did you watch any of these games did you did you enjoy them yeah yeah I I I I caught a lot of the the the metal games um and uh

Yeah I I I liked I liked what I saw out of Smith I thought that he was one of their better players and both in both those games uh even like just for example like the the the two quick goals that his uh line gave up against Finland

I don’t I watch I don’t see you know those were not things I that oh that that’s Will Smith what is he doing there right I mean he’s not a perfect player he’s you know carolos with a puck um that’s his game right he’s he’s he he’s

A risk he’s a he’s a risk taker right and I think uh that uh you can iron some of that stuff out but I in general I felt pretty good about what I saw out of him uh you know I don’t know if he’s

Going to step in and be a be an impact guy next year but um I think that on his course though I think you I think uh you feel pretty good about his course and in his Improvement because I during the the preliminaries um in the uh the group

Stage I don’t think he had his best games at all and it’s they exactly what Team USA wanted which the third line to dominate the bottom six like on the other teams third line and that’s what they did and Smith was a huge driving factor in that um every game it felt

Like in the um the elimination stage so I love I want to say for him too though that uh uh it wasn’t like he was just dominating like bottom six lines I on a power play he was uh I think in Finland he was he was pp1 at Center I think they

May have switched that up in the in the speeding game but uh he had assist on on a snugger rude goal right um and so definitely I as you said like that that third line to have a third line like that on any other team in this tour tournament maybe even Canada that’s

That’s a top six line right yeah maybe not first on Canada but second line right and then any the other the other teams maybe that’s a that’s a first line right um and so that that speaks to of course uh how deep USA was but I guess what was impressive about Smith was

That that that that he that he stood out even uh in the on the deepest team in the tournament right right that I think I I think uh so even though he didn’t end up being in that discussion of uh you know MVP or whatever um he clearly he chlo was especially in

Those in the metal games Khloe was a a top player and I think arguably the the best player but you know maybe that’s stretching it but he was very much kind of in that conversation at least yeah he made the most of his minutes like it was

It was every time he was on the ice it kind of he had some sort of chance that was you know a high danger scoring opportunity and that’s all you can really hope for from that that stage and and you’re right he stuck out a lot I

Mean not just cuz I was you know staring intently at him the whole time but it was like Wow Smith did what a lot of so I told you one of my one of my I don’t know if they call it a trick or whatever

But like uh I’m not as familiar with the with the prospect stuff as you are and as a lot of people are and so when I started watching these games I actually didn’t know the numbers of the players um and I didn’t want to know and because

I wanted the players to kind of speak to me and stand out sure stand out to me um and I think Smith did do that and I don’t necessarily think the other sharks prospects did I’m not saying that that means they’re bad but like um but to me

It it says something when I don’t know what I’m watching but I was like Hey that guy’s good yeah who is that guy oh it’s Smith there you go exactly you your brain kind of has such good pattern recognition after watching you know we watch thousands and thousands ofe hockey

Games it just is really good at at finding that that moment that sticks out and if you don’t know it’s Smith it’s going to hit you in the face and go oh wow so yeah I liked him a lot I had him in like a B minus originally I’m giving

Him an a he he earned it he earned that gold medal wow really like uh up to okay up to an a from the CU he was he was okay and then throughout the entire uh elimination rounds he was just on it so I’m giving him an A okay okay I’m in the

Christmas giving spirit plus I’m getting everybody else a D minus okay but I want to remind fans too that look we know he’s not the NHL he’s not fanly he’s not Bard he’s not you know Leo carlston um he he’s a of those top four he’s a guy that needed need

Needs time to grow needs space to grow um but I see I see the intelligence there I think that’s that’s that’s a big part of it um and we had we to you we spoke with uh Chris morous uh about his sort of his drive and so if those things

Kind of carry over and the things that he needs work on you know some work on his skating uh uh Puck management things like that it sounds it seems like they there’s a chance that they have a really really good player here I think the big

Like the thing that people mention a lot is he looks like he’s floating a lot or he’s not like defensively responsible and some of that is true but I think it’s more about just he’s inconsistent in games so like one game he will be off it looks like he’s doing nothing and

Then the next game you it’s like he’s playing in these elimination games where he’s on top of the puck and making plays even subtle ones that people you have to go back and Rewind like you you put out that article about how yeah he had a

Tap-in goal but he set up that tap and goal like five plays before that so you know he he’s a subtle player that takes a lot and lot of uh watching to understand I think yeah and you could catch one game where you’re like H this

Guy’s not it you know like why did why did we get get Leo Carlson you know we’re stuck with Will Smith kind of thing and then you watch another one we were like this guy the competitive fire is there like the I can dominate I can

Really you know be the best on this team kind of thing so that’s what gets you excited about Will Smith and this is two you know International tournaments where he’s come out as like a a big star or a big reason for getting gold so I love it

A a for Smith um do we want to do the rest of the grades should we save that for next week what do you think uh I mean just talk Impressions if you want a grade I I don’t know if I if I have grades but you can yeah we can update

The grades yeah let’s do full Camp uh didn’t play like play so I gave him like a B+ or an A minus I don’t remember what I gave him in the uh group stages and then he just didn’t really play after was he dressed he just didn’t put him

Out there he was dressed he shows up yeah he shows up on the box score but yeah there’s no minutes he gets like a shift or two um there he didn’t the last the last couple games though there’s not even a minute I think he 30 35 seconds

In the gold medal game or something like that maybe at the end right they gave him just put him out there yeah okay um so he got basically renzel took his spot at the on that last pairing and renzel did fine um um renel was a first round

Pick and he’s big I think that was another thing that team yose wanted was some size on their blue line uh in the end and po Camp’s not a big guy he plays big and he hits and he’s physical but he’s just not a big guy so well using my

Test for seeing guys on the ice without knowing their numbers um pole Camp was invisible so shame completely invisible I don’t I’m giving him a I’m giving him a b that’s being generous but okay that’s F yeah well I mean he he the games he played in he looked good so he

Looked good okay B minus let’s do that yeah I I’ll I’ll tease this too I’ve been talking to a few uh a few uh NHL amateur Scouts about what they saw at the Royal Juniors and yeah I I’ve heard some good stuff uh about him so let’s move to uh no one’s

Too hard on him for not for being a a ghost the last two games yeah that’s fair um Team Sweden was their opponent in the gold medal game um Team Sweden uh featured Philip EA and Maas havid um speaking of ghost I just I did not see a

Lot from Philip East after like his pretty decent uh Group Play he just looked like he offensively wasn’t very um impactful I guess as the right way to put it he had a few good you know like transition plays he would carry the puckup ice and kind of set up things for

The for his teammates in the offensive zone but then nothing really went from it and I don’t I didn’t remember any or not a lot of high danger shooting opportunities for him either in the gold medal game um so he’s definitely getting a downgrade in terms of uh his um his

Grade because I think he was be or something like that it was definitely a tough metal round for for him um of course he’s hard to miss on ice because he’s he’s so big um but then you have expectations for a guy that big who can

Skate like he can to do more and definitely that was that was lacking um I will say havid though havid is a guy that he he popped out for me in small spaces you know he wasn’t uh he he wasn’t their most heavily used defenseman but uh but I I like I like

What I saw saw out of him yeah havet did and he um he’s uh got a good shot and he um he breaks the puck out well um I wasn’t I’m giving uh hav L to be B said I’m moving all the way down to like a c I think

Okay um because he just from the preliminary okay that’s fair honestly everybody was like except for furong is going to be our next guy um he kind of stayed the same and they only played one game after I I think we we spoke about him so but it might have been his best

Game he had a really good game for for Canada’s elimination game um so but uh Jake Furlong looks good he’s um and we’re moving on from from Team Sweden congratulations to them for their silver medals and oh also we’ve got Halton in and Halton in I I have to say that the

Medal rounds at least didn’t see much much out of him and so that’s yeah after obviously preliminary performance but yeah yeah so basically pole Camp bead and Halton and kind of just went down in terms of all of their grades and then Furlong went up a little bit um and

Smith went up a lot I think hav Li held you would say or I would go held or or a little bit more okay okay anyway we’re GNA talk more about this uh next week we have uh some some fun guests to uh to talk about it and then like I said I’m

Going to talk more about the Insight that that that I got from uh from uh from guys who were there at the tournament and guys who who weren’t but we watching it so super excited um all right we have another Elliot Freedman uh C or goenda Rumor for the San Jose

Sharks it sounds very similar to the prior one for McKenzie Blackwood I think um other than it’s a different person it’s kakan in this time well just guy guy is playing well teams need go ending which all there it is which all which all holds together and makes sense the

Difference with kacin though um and I think that this this might make them more valuable than Blackwood is that kakin is expiring and blockwood is not blockwood has one more year at 2.35 I believe it is and that sounds counter to the first because you want contract uh

You want term on contract at a low aav but gold ending is really Weir that in this way that like we talked about when we did the Blackwood trade podcast that you really don’t know where you’re getting and so teams I think would rather uh take a chance on a cact and

Because hey they know that if he doesn’t work out we don’t we don’t need to worry about 2.75 million on our cap next year whereas Blackwood uh unless Blackwood is exceptional with the sharks this year and obviously in December he had a bit of a drop off right kenan’s numbers are

Actually better than uh than blackwoods on aggregate right now um but anyway um if if Blackwood you trade for a Blackwood and he’s and he’s no good um all of a sudden you’re stuck with it’s not a huge hit but you’re stuck with 2.35 million that you don’t want on your

On your cap you can’t get rid of um and or it’s hard to get rid of at least and so so yeah so so kacan I I think that even though blockwood has a little more of a pedigree uh in terms of just the hype and what people have thought of

Them in the past um that yeah it makes it makes sense it makes sense um I think like I wrote about this week it just comes down to finding a price that both sides find find reasonable and a fredman said in on his podcast that uh the prices for midling goalies they’re crazy

He didn’t specify what the prices were um I think Katherine does follow along you know middling sounds like an insult but basically Eng Golding and Freeman talks about this on the podcast but we’ve talked about this before a lot too that there are your hu your shurkin your

Sokin these are your franchise Superstar goalies that um you you know they’re they’re gold um the there’s a middle class of goalies though that most of the other starters in a show fall into the 20 or so other starters or whatever right and those are the guys that you

Really don’t know where you going to get month-to month year to year etc etc right and that’s sort of why they’re in that middle ground they’re obviously talented enough to have fantastic games wi you games even maybe when you playoff series but uh but they aren’t 50 60 game

Guys that you can just kind of set it and forget it you know you’re going to get a 915 920 save percentage out of them like like a hellu for example um so they’re basically you know there’s that middle class you want if you don’t want

To use the word middling uh there’s a middle class of of goting and those guys you really don’t know what what you’re getting and Freeman also made the the the the point that is 100% correct that even though K has played well this year and he did that teams like him teams are

Interested uh you don’t know you don’t know what he’s going to be if you give him the the the the load if you want to make him your starter or what he’s going to do in the playoffs you just have no no sense of that um because he hasn’t

Done it before and so um so anyway I I think that it comes down to just finding the the right price and if a team will meet it then I do think that the the sharks um I guess I will say that of between kacin and Blackwood if they form

Exactly the same that they I think they would rather have BL with the sharks in this case because then they know they have him another year at a low cost whereas if Ken performs well he’s UFA you know are you really G to give him like just for example a guy that came

Out of nowhere right suddenly he’s making a lot of money Aiden Hill obviously Aiden Hill want a Stanley Cup it’s a different thing uh but like if kin has a good year like what are you prepared to give him how much do you trust them uh last year obviously was

Was was very po for him uh and then his time in Minnesota was up and down there were good stretch there was really fantastic stretches and there were poor stretches in Minnesota so uh so what do you give for a goalie that’s a UFA that you don’t know what you know you’re not

Sure what you’re gonna get out of him and so um so anyway so I guess the the reverse works for the Sharks if they perform again the same that they would rather have the guy with little cost certainty but and I think just cuz he is UFA I

Honestly think that they’re they’re more inclined to trade him but we we’ll talk a little bit about that too right and that’s another small thing too yeah that uh Kenan was a Joe will guy right that’s when Joe will was the inim GM um Blackwood is Mike rear acquisition and

So I think I think that that is a a fair point I think again this is assuming that neither goalie kind of moves ahead of the other over the next month or so obviously black would started off very strong October and November um but then in December he really

Dropped off um and actually uh um kacan is you know a bit ahead of him now in terms of goal save above expected uh raw save percentage not not a huge amount like Blackwood can make up Blackwood has two really good weeks Blackwood can can make up the difference so it’s not like

It’s it’s a huge huge difference but Blackwood was was was pretty substandard in in December so any anyway I’m going to go back to our blockwood trade conversation go ending man you if someone offered you that who who who’s not taking the second rounder for Blackwood right now I don’t know you

Know you tell me right but who yeah at this point it’s it’s not looking too great he’s had a lot of rough games although he had a few past this past week that looked okay right right right he was really good Blackwood was really good against Winnipeg um and

So yeah so I blockwick could turn it around blockwick could have he had a good October November he won player of the month both months granted those are those are fan voted Awards but he deserved it shark team was awful blockwood was the Team MVP through uh through those first two months but

Couldn’t hold together or couldn’t keep it together in December for whatever reason right gending right who can figure it out right and um and that’s and I and I guess that’s my point if someone is willing to give you a premium asset for one of these middle class of

Goalies then you just take it and run and and you you know you sign Arendell or something I don’t know you know I I you might want to go go stronger than that but still you just kind of take it a r someone’s willing to give you mag

You can’t big time it I’m kidding we got to get him a a quality start one that’s true though yeah hopefully by the end of the year yeah so one quality start um but yeah the the the point is someone’s willing to give you a premium outset

Which I consider a second rounder to be you just take it Tak it and run and yeah you’re gonna have a big hole and goal after kakanin if you trade a Blackwood for a second but you just take it and I’d say the same exact thing about

Kakanin uh that you someone gives you I don’t know if the uh I think I think I would take less R kenin just because he’s going to be a UFA and I don’t know if the shark’s plan on resigning him yeah I don’t think they do so so yeah so

I would take a little bit less but again if you get if whatever your price is if it’s met take it yeah that’s fair and and as much as we like to joke that maybe not we but some people like the joke that NHL GMS are stupid they’re not dumb they they

They are craving consistency in their goal ending right now because they have seen what’s happened to like elas samsonoff and you know Campbell and these guys that and and Cal Peterson and like these dudes that were always in that middle class of goal tenders but

Had really good years and then all of a sudden now they’re bad and they have to stick with these contracts for however long so they’re they’re craving a consistent goal Lea for the playoffs and even blackwood’s like mid-season inconsistency could could harm his trade value um even if he’s great at the trade

Deadline they still might be hesitant because of what he does in December or whatever even on a bad team like the sharks so I think they’re going to be looking for who’s the most consistent goenda de that fun that consistent goalie though is uh those guys are are

Like locked under key like the really consistent ones not the ones consistent just this year but the ones that year after year right and so yeah so uh so kakina might be the the most the best asset for that then right because he’s a UFA so the risk is very low right for

For initial jams like you were mentioning so I think he uh we we we’ll maybe talk about him later on the episode yeah but I think it’s a reasonable rumor though I guess I guess a little bit that it makes it makes it makes sense you know I I know I have a

Lot of questions about the Ferraro one just because uh I like Ferraro which I’ve said many times but I don’t think the league likes him as much as even I do and so yeah so uh but K makes sense because again UFA low risk and teams do really need another goalie

So all right briefly Jack sto was sent down to the AHL y uh that’s the uh that’s the headline I think it’s important and it’s it’s my own fault that like I I I didn’t really uh um realize this at first about the the CBA I I’ll admit right that when

I first looked at I thought oh well it makes sense Center goes down coutur is close to already coutur is going to come back um but um like the exact rule is okay if a guy clears waivers which snea did in November after Vancouver waved him and

He plays in uh if he plays in 10 or more NHL games after that that uh when you send him down he must clear waivers if he’s under that if he’s under 10 and Sika is at nine Angel games with the sharks after after he cleared waivers

You can send him down without w without risking him so what this tells me is that the Sharks obviously Sona didn’t do enough that he was guaranteed an angel spot and let’s be honest nine games zero points it’s not even about the points with him he just he didn’t

Create a lot of offense chances right he was just fine defensively um he he is he is fast I think he does have like Fair instincts decent instincts at it but uh even though he’s long but he’s not that strong I think um and and so I think he just was okay defensively

Um so anyway like he he didn’t do enough that that that you have to keep him at this level for sure he did not uh but the sharks like him enough that they didn’t want to risk losing him on on waivers and they think that there might

Be some upside to him still and anyway uh Quinn said something interesting about him yesterday when we were asking about him it just that uh snea has to you know he’s at that point where he has to go down and kind of change his game a

Little bit he has to know that he’s not going to make it exactly as he was and he’s got to change his game and and I asked if n Sturm was a good example of that and Quinn agreed um and what that all means is that basically um you

Everybody and Quinn actually said this that a lot of third fourth Liners in the NHL they were big scorers back in the day be it in the AHL be it in college be it in juniors right for sure yeah and when they get here though they real

Realized well they’re not going to be that guy anymore they’re not going to be the star of their team they’re not even going to be the second line guy right and Sturm is a great example of that Sturm was was a scorer at Clarkson in

College and he comes here and he I think he realizes fairly quickly that okay you know what I what I did at Clarkson that’s that’s not going to cut it here offensively and so he changed his game and he became a mod fourth line Center want to Stanley Cup as a fourth line

Center with the Avalanche it’s so good as as a fourth line Center that he plays 3C for a bad team and he still shows well he represents himself well because he works so hard he always gives that second third fourth effort uh uh uh he’s he’s that kind of guy he’s a standard

Bearer for for that kind of effort that kind of compete um so anyway um Kena doesn’t have to be exactly Stern but K Kena refashion his game um one of the things that I found interesting thing uh when uh uh and I wonder I I’ll ask Jack

About this if he comes back and he’s the game is sort of different but when he first joined the Sharks uh uh it was in Denver he he joined he joined a team uh uh at practice in Denver and I asked him well sort of what are you looking to do

While you’re here what what kind of uh uh you know what what what kind of a game where you’re trying to show the Sharks and of course he talks about oh want to be responsible want to be two-way that’s my game etc etc right

Which I think he did a fair job of but he also said oh I also want to put up some points you know score more points than I did before and of course you want to be more productive he I think he had like one point in Van one goal in

Vancouver in five games uh this this season last year in like 40 games he had like six points right but I wonder if that was a little too much of his Focus though um and I wonder if he goes down there that the focus is just about turning into

Uh the best defensive Center that he can be and if the offense comes along with it then then the better and obviously with Barracuda he’s going to get a lot of offensive touches too so he can build some confidence in that area too uh that

I didn’t see really in in at least with the sharks uh offensive confidence you know he tried plays that just didn’t work that just weren’t gonna weren’t really going to cut a couple plays I wonder about just didn’t even just they had no chance of working that I wasn’t

Sure why he tried it you know that that kind of stuff and so I think I I think I think there’s a chance there I’m not saying it’s going to happen uh because it it usually doesn’t you know after the guy gets waved and whatnot but again there is a

Reason why the Sharks uh uh took sort of the the middle sort of instead of just um risking him on waivers and trying to stay uh competitive at center with keeping him keep him on the team until Couture gets back and then wave them which I sort of thought was going to be

The course of of things uh they’re just going to go they’re just going to they’re they’re they’re going to set him down let him work on his game uh keep him from waivers and uh keep rolling out Luke cunan at Center which I know they don’t want to do but but they don’t

Really have any they don’t really have any other choices right they tried Stena out and uh he definitely wasn’t good enough that he has to stay here sure but and we’ll talk about this guy later but guys can’t surprise you though so don’t discount Sona just based on nine games

Um yeah uh we’re GNA talk about zedin a little later right guys guys can’t surprise you so um so they they like them enough to keep him I guess is the point to to protect him from waivers and so we’ll see if he can kind of refashion his game a

Bit I think they yes they liked him enough to keep him so they wanted to protect him from waivers but also because they did spend assets to get him so quickly they probably were more like we we if we lose this guy immediately to waivers we just threw away a sixth round

Pick for literally nothing well you the point is like they traded even though um it’s not a lot to give up they traded a tangible asset for somebody who was on waivers because they like the guy yeah so even if in those nine games he didn’t show enough of it obviously again to

Keep they want to see if he’s gonna yeah yeah so there’s something that they do like about him that um they think is worth the risk of a six round pick yeah and andan it’s not going to harm the Barracuda either I think he will he’ll

Be good there yeah yeah he he was a point per game player I think over his Asal career uh he’s uh shout out to uh Josh forel who wrote the story about him but I think uh over his as Curry is a point 75 uh points per game player

That’s that’s a that’s a that’s a very good that’s a very productive AHL player and so he’s gonna be fine down there um I think it’s just it too definitely can use it right because they don’t have a baruda right since they they moved bordalo to to Wing they don’t really

Have a a true kind of top centerman right U not that b even was that but like but they yeah they don’t they don’t have that and so Sona they rotate in a bunch of guys and then try but Sona can in theory be a be a top uh top uh uh AHL

Centerman and again in the he can in the little areas show that he’s changes game that yeah I can score at this level but I understand that when I move up that that’s not that’s not what I’m expecting that’s not my that’s not my game at the at the NHL

Level and so maybe that was the the plan of long was I mean obviously you want him in the NHL but you know you got a guy now that can kind of go between um both leagues well not really go between but for an now stay in the AHL and if

You he develops enough there he comes back up yeah I think for sure that was part of the long they needed more centered depths because they’re so injured and all that they needed it anyway and but they I think they kind of knew that Couture and Sturm uh well

Maybe Couture didn’t know actually I cout that was back when he when cout just started skating but Sturm they knew his injury that he’s going to come back at some point it’s not like it’s not like sturm’s injury was a season ending um but um but yeah uh so I think they

They they kind of knew that this could happen with him and so again that’s that’s why after nine games send send send them send them right down and don’t risk him to waivers and if someone does pick him on waivers honestly it shows that hey there are actually other teams

That like this guy too at this time so okay brief updates before we get into our mid-season Awards um Kure maybe sometime soon we’ll see hopefully on a road trip uh uh so yeah we’ll we we’ll see um I think it is good that we actually have some kind of even

If it’s very like nebulous uh or not it’s not a hard it’s not a hard timeline but we have like a hope that it might be in the next two weeks as opposed to before it’s like well we have no idea we have no idea which is really literally

What it was over over the last month and going back to training camp it was just like don’t know we’ll see how he feels don’t know we’ll see how he feels and so now we have sort of a a hope uh that that that that it’ll be during the road

Trip not the not to say so much so that like I don’t know it’s tough uh the exact question that was asked of Quinn was um might there be expectation that he plays on the road trip so the word expected is in there but then there’s also the word might might expected

Possibility probility uh and and Quinn did answer affirmatively like without hesitation so um so I guess I’ll just say that like he Logan continues to look good at practice doesn’t seem to have any setbacks um so yeah so I I do think it is a uh very uh it’s it’s it’s very reasonable

To be hopeful that that that he will be back uh as they mentioned you know sometime on his road trip uh and then Matt Benning got put on season ending IR yep hip hip surgery same injury that’s played him all season uh part of the reason why I want to

Bring him up is I think Matt is very very underappreciated uh he has been dealing with his injury all all all season as far as I understand it from uh from Quinn and that it’s definitely slowed them down this this this hip injury all all season and so we haven’t seen the

The best of him this this year um and we saw a bit of that last year and sure the best of Matt betting is is not a top four defenseman like he was for the Sharks he shouldn’t be playing that but he’s a very good defenseman that I think

Would look great on a bottom I’ve said this before bottom pairing on on a on a on on a playoff team but more importantly though the reason why I I spending more of a moment on it is that I we talked about this I talked with Quinn about this today um of course

After after the Toronto game right Quinn’s big thing was compete I’m just disappointed with the guys compete right and it is worth noting that three of the uh uh three of the shark highest compete guys are out now and that’s Couture that’s Benning and that’s Sturm Y and Benning Sturm and

And I think cunan is in this uh category too they were brought in specifically last summer right and Mike R talked about this to make the team hard to play against to to up there compete um there is no obvious replacement for a sterm you know Sona is

Not as hard to play against as Sturm is or even for Benning right a lot of defenseman have replaced Benning but I don’t know if anybody is quite as sort of again second third effort you know aak hits hard but the little things is is aak doing that I don’t think so I

Don’t think so not yet at least right and so guys like that matter you know for for for the compete in your lineups I think that was an interesting sort of um that that game against Toronto happens that’s the theme of the game compete and hey lo and behold Matt

Benning uh just uh just had season ending hip injury and we’re still waiting on Nik Sturm and Logan Couture to come back yeah the Blue Line we’re going to talk about uh possibly the best defenseman here coming up on our mid-season Awards and it is rough right now choosing some the best defenseman

Because it feels like the not only from injuries but just the depth T is and we knew this going in was was pretty poor and Benning is a was one of the few like this is a NHL defenseman for sure and a guy that um competes well and shows well

And he’s not there so a healthy Benning would be every night in this lineup so exactly and there’s no no question about it so get well soon um hope he recovers well and then comes back for next year because it is it’s a good signing um an

Interesting I know a lot of people got mad at like the term for that signing I think he got signed to a four-year contract was it yeah um but I think it’s you know so far is his play dividends other than the seasoning ending injury this year they had to give the extra

Year to get guys to come over here too that’s that’s one thing that people forget that like don’t necessar want to come to this team once you get the aav down to where if you wave Benning it accounts for nothing against your cap like what does

It matter he’s just a solid and each other keep them you know um okay if you all weren’t aware Tomas hurdle Tomas hurtle tomash hurdle was um named the uh San Jose Sharks All-Star um selection they’re doing a little bit differently there’s like I think 12 that

Are fan voted and then 32 taking a picture of their dog I imagine yeah yeah yeah my uh my wife is is on a plane so anything to do with me it’s uh if I’m doing something on you are you doing this for your dog yes it’s always so uh congrats to Tomas

That’s awesome I think he um it kind of that’s what made me think about the this topic for this this podcast was we should do a mid-season award because I think Tomas hurdle segue into it um is our our midseason uh MVP what do you think Shan yes uh I don’t think there’s

Any doubt about that uh uh McKenzie got off to a good start there but obviously his December was uh wasn’t great and all season even when the Sharks weren’t scoring um you know that that first 11 games or so zero 10 and one uh Thomas hurle would look like the only NHL

Competent forward yeah like clearly NHL skill SK forward skill forward n Nik strm still look look looked good but he looked looked like uh yeah like like a third fourth line forward but Thomas shtle was the only guy that was making plays and anyway so so um so yeah so so

So hurdle is the clear uh clear MVP I don’t think there’s any question I’m G to dig more into it around the allstar break but uh my my suspicion is that the the the area that I’ve seen is that he just beats guys that will again uh with

His with his moves and not of course not 100% of the time and he is not the fastest guy so you can catch him there right but like when he enters the zone or when he’s got the puck for for just a Split Second uh in in in the offensive

Zone down low or whatever not even down low even when he just like said just attacking the neutral zone or or or on entries um he’s gonna beat his first guy he’s not gonna be the every guy because he’s not Conor McDavid but he’s gonna he’s consistantly G to beat that that

First guy that’s going after him and there’s uh more of a respect I think seeing paid toward him too this year too in terms of uh teams are kind of backing away from defending him I think last year uh he could take the puck off of him easier and and so teams weren’t

Respecting him as much but I think this year they’re seeing that this is the thas shto from the past uh from a couple years ago from his first All-Star season from 201819 when he put up uh 75 points I think it was uh that that thas trto that’s that’s basically what we’re

Seeing uh right now and this isn’t to add to the leadership component that has grown this year uh in terms of uh uh you know being able to be more positive and even a more difficult season than last year I think last year at times Tomas had trouble uh being positive because

The losses were pretty bad last year uh heartbreaking losses last year and the team felt like it was close maybe that’s more frustrating when the team feels like it’s close and and it’s a losing close at least before the trade deadline but um this year though in arguably worse circumstances definitely a worse

Team uh Tomas has done a good job just uh staying positive B good body language not getting uh too uh too tight worked up about one play that goes wrong uh so being a good example for for for every for everybody else for the young players obviously guys like herdle and eckan I’m

Sorry uh zedin and eckan uh who have played on a line with him this year eckan right now um so yeah so the whole the whole the whole bit of it uh I I think that toas has been uh very good this year and uh he yeah he he he he

Deserves all all all the praise and uh I’m glad see him come back you know bounce back after a tough year last year it seems uh like he would be the unanimous uh MVP vote like if you’re looking for who’s number two I guess that’s that’s a better argument yeah you

Know that that’s a that’s a good point um number two is harder to pick from um there guys that have had up and down Seasons or guys that have had moments where you can and we can’t we can’t pick the goal tending as an aggregate if you

Pick the go tending as an aggregate then maybe that’s more valuable than even hurdle but probably kind they’re somehow getting like near 900 goal ending that’s for this team is impressive I I think honestly we we’ll move into our next our next thing uh but I would say grandland

Maybe that’s a good pick so if we’re going to do MVP is her at all I’m going to say grandland is best forward I guess because you got to do this like it’s kind of like a senior yearbook style where everybody gets an award you know

No you don’t have to do that I was just wondering who your number two vote for MVP is I it would probably be grandland I think I think so um he he’s uh didn’t start off well but then since then he’s the only one still on a consistent good

Trajectory to to be playing at uh his station like where he is in the lineup he’s he’s meeting that expectation better than a lot of other guys I think right now I would still go with Blackwood for my number two MVP just because he was he was really good in

October and November and whatever points and wins the Sharks got in those month a lot of it was because of him and that’s when the Sharks were still really being outshot by huge margins I think uh you know sharks have kind of calmed that part down the last month or so in terms

Of uh not being outshot like 37 to 20 42 to 18 or whatever right um and so yeah so I I would go with Blackwood and then the next the grin’s a good choice um so my best forward is clearly goingon to be herdle so I I I don’t need to do the

Yearbook favorite not everybody gets not everybody gets a gets a medal here Keegan all right this is high scho this is an elementary school you know it’s it’s it’s picture day it’s uh no it’s I think um the like and honestly they’re not that far off in terms of their stats I

Think grin’s got like 26 points and hur’s got 28 yeah um yeah actually uh if you do the allstar I actually was doing this uh uh um uh for something that that I I actually haven’t written yet but uh granin really started getting hot November 25th at Vancouver game when he

Scored that incredible goal right uh from that date on uh so basically Thanksgiving uh granin I think is like top 15 in the league in scoring in terms of points top yeah like so that’s that’s that’s yeah that’s good you need this team needs offensively give to Talent

Like you know so so much that I’m I’m going to give it to to Grantland for best forward uh for best defense I I would say and this is going to he he’ll be up there for me for for MVP not of course not head a hurdle but I think you

Could make argument for Maro Ferraro among granin and Blackwood I know that would draw audible groans from some our listeners who are not uh for fans but um I do think it is really valid that Faro has been much better over the last six weeks two months in terms of his sort of

His offensive Puck moving play right I think defensively he he I think I think he’s good with what he’s good at he gets he gets beat sometimes he gets uh kind of stretched Beyond his capacity but not all that is his his fault he’s not he’s not Mark Edward vasic in his prime

That’s not his fault um so I think that conning all the minutes he plays and sort of the respectability that he’s helped keep the Sharks especially the last couple of months uh that that he’s helped in that area um that that sounds like a really valuable player right so

Of course he’s to me the clearcut best defenseman I don’t think there’s any question in my mind but in terms of of value um I think there’s an argument for him to to be uh number two I would still probably have herdle obviously number one Blackwood uh granin and then Ferraro

Maybe and it maybe rounded out with Kenan maybe but I think there’s an argument for him so um surprisingly I’m going I’m going to agree with you despite being a noted um Mario Ferraro hater um I don’t hate Mario Ferraro I I I think he you’re I think you’re right

In terms of things that he’s shown this year that he hasn’t before or it’s been a while um his um he’s jumping up into plays a lot more he’s carrying more effectively with the puck he’s showing a little bit more Puck skill than I remember him having in the past few

Years um and my the most interesting stat I have for Ferraro is there is not another single San Jose Sharks defenseman who is averaging more than 20 minutes a night oh yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah which is nuts like yeah that is nuts getting like 22 minutes a night you

Know like a normal first pairing defenseman would or whatever no other no other defenseman on the sharks that reminds I I I saw that s a couple couple days ago uh but then what I wonder about is is is he the only guy in the league

That that is like might I might be yeah we should do I’ll do a little looking around him it’s possible um but it just goes to show like there it’s defense by committee I guess but it’s a really bad committee it’s it’s like a really it’s like a very poorly managed

Committee um but yeah I mean I would say best defenseman obviously is Jacob McDonald um but but I would agree with you I think Ferraro because of where he is on this team and he has shown a little bit more despite a lot of flaws that he does have and he does

Get uh I I don’t know if the word is Right Puck Focus like when he like he despite like teammates going for the puck M like a guy will have the puck two other guys like his own teammates are going for the puck he’ll be the third

Guy still going for the puck and it’s like no you got to back up and to some degree though I would say argue for him that like he some some of these are calculated decisions that he knows because of his skating which we all agree is is a kind of at least above

Average if not a lead trade of his uh but above average for sure well above average that that he can get back on stuff so some of the the risk that he takes I have no issue with because he knows we know that he’s going to be able

To come back anyway I’m gonna cheat and look up this 20 minute stat because I think I can do it uh pretty quickly on my own uh just the NHL filters okay he’s not the only guy I see hean in uh which again how many times have I said said

Said about Dallas I’ve told you guys just as nonsecretors that they are they’ve gotta be kicking themselves should have trade for Brent Burns whatever they they they really hurt themselves yeah they really hurt themselves by by throwing that first at Nils lanquist that was the exact wrong

Guy to throw it at for where they are as a team um Thomas Harley came out of nowhere and was like I’m great so doesn’t matter sure that’s fine that’s fine but he’s not playing he’s not doing anything besides being offensive right I assume right yeah so yeah so he’s not

He’s not a combination guy and why not have Burns and Harley sure sure um so uh let’s see uh cider cider apparently is only 20 minute plus think that wman wman would do it too well I just put 20 so there could be somebody CL might be 19 is or something

Like that right and let me see that could be it uh Seattle yeah feraro on here okay so yes there’s only there’s only two uh uh three two other or cider and and yeah I wonder I wonder who’s gonna eat hein’s minutes isn’t he her or something like that that’s a good

Question question probably Thomas Harley um or Ryan suder right it’s going to be Ryan Suter probably yeah I’m just actually curious since I’m bitching about it will look looking okay you know what Harley does play 19 of nights I’m gonna give give him that uh so I’m being

Too too harsh on him a little bit on on the kill too not too much but a little bit uh as and actually they do have Essa Lindell at 19 uh sudor at 19 or they’re close Okay so they got a couple like around that area the sharks have burls I think that

He’s their second highest but yeah someone’s got to play so best defenseman has to go to Mary Ferraro despite you knows Flaws and All um I have like he he has shown more offense I think as well okay I just want to be lb to the point though okay Nils lanquist traded first

Round pick for him 1454 a night Ah that’s rough come on that’s a rough I sure Harley Harley coming out of like out of nowhere but okay that’s great and all that stuff right that you know that’s why the the the star one of the reasons why the stars are are a top

Their division or or close right but like you could have used that first somewhere else doesn’t have to be for Brent Burns but it could have been somewhere else for sure right and those are the moves that uh that uh that uh um that uh keep you from winning Stanley

Cup so yeah this is this is true they could have used that first round pick on many other things besides a 14 minute a night defenseman yep but all right most improved is our next um superlative our next mid-season award um sh who are you gonna go with most

Improved I’m gonna think about this one for a bit although I think I have my answer okay okay I think your answer is better than mine I’m going to go with the obvious one Fabian zerin um Fabian zerin last year 22 games three assists

Uh a lot of you know I I read all the comments on my message boards because I have to I’m a moderator I’m sorry my website a lot of a lot of hate to toward Fabian and it wasn’t wrong he wasn’t very good um the only

Reason why I sort of like stuck with it is because um the scouts I talked to they liked him they liked him when a trade happened so I trusted that the the scouts I talk to who you know they’re living is is to watch and judge uh the

Game and evaluate guys like this right that they liked him so I thought okay if they like him then uh then then then maybe there’s something there based on what we saw last year if I just judg based on that 22 game sample size I’d be like oh yeah this guy’s terrible

Uh who who you know my career your your pro scouting valuation is terrible whoever you got who whoever you you have doing that um but anyway based on based on the guys I talked to that’s why I sort of uh didn’t rule uh zeter Lin out

I wrote uh I think the only positive story about zedin over the summer and trying to look for why the sharks hard him why Shar traded for him um and so yeah to see to see what he’s doing now um is I think uh again a

Testament to a guy I’m writing a little bit about it but he started off on the fourth line this year he moved his way up uh people always complain when a prospect is put on a fourth line as if that’s a death sentence right and it’s

Not um whether do you get five 10 15 20 minutes NHL if if you are good enough then and those are your that’s your time to show it yeah and a lot of guys don’t and a lot of guys have complaints afterwards oh I didn’t get enough run I

Didn’t get enough time uh and obviously if you give every Prospect 20 minutes a night that I mean sure I’m sure there’s some prospects that could benefit so I’m not ruling that out but I think that’s too easy excuse that a lot of fans I think even players themselves

Use oh I didn’t get the time I didn’t get the chance um I think every time you’re on the ice you you get that chance to show something right and zerland did that and so that’s why he got himself up to playing with hero and now he’s settled in next to granin and

He is I believe second on the Sharks and goals um he has more goals than teimo Meer yeah and while he he may not end up being that player uh second line firstline player when the Sharks uh turn the corner if if the sharks ever do uh

He may not be that player um he has definitely improved right Leaps and Bounds from what we saw last year yeah he’s a useful player um and that’s what I like about the the tradeit because it wasn’t like he’s a throwaway anymore it’s not like we are just dependent on Shakir Madan and

Quinton musy to to buoy that trade it’s like we have an actual NHL him and Oho despite oo’s flaws um to to be in our lineup hopefully for the future and he’s an RFA after this year I was told with zerland the scouts told me that they

Thought that he would be not just a third liner but a good third liner yeah and uh I think we’re seeing that that potential easily yeah because of his phys you know the good part is a guy that you win playoff games with that physicality that he has that he plays

With his uh you know he’s not a he’s not a skilled guy first right he plays by trying to trying to be strong try to knock people off pucks right he’s not like a big hit or anything like that but he’s hard to knock off the puck right

And so that kind of physicality thick right yeah so how much does he bench press right so um so a guy a guy like that who uh can add some scoring touch right um you know what we talked about comps I actually forgot about this one

And obvious this guy was a much larger guy than zerin but he also had the similar game where he was just big and strong and and uh and he could pop in a clutch goal here and there more than a clutch goal here and there was ruson fedenko if you remember remember that

Guy and I know he had a one crazy playoff run with Tampa I don’t think he won the K Smite but he had he had two goals in the Cup Final like the last game of the the game seven cuz I I was small child and I remember um him spe I

Wasn’t that small how old would I have been yeah so so this is this is a guy that I’m looking over his career right like he he scored he mostly he had one season when he popped in 26 goals but that was aberation he mostly was like a

1520 guy he did he did uh over 15 looks like seven times in his career um and uh let’s see and then his his playoff run that’s the one that’s the one I was curious about because I think he did have one incredible playoff run where oh

Yeah he had he had 12 goals uh during the 2004 uh final run uh for uh for he did all of that with like the biggest Shiner on his face cuz he got smacked into the boards I don’t remember when it was it was during the playoff run

Against Calgary and he had this huge bruise under his cheek so he was Popp at all his goals with this huge bruise under his cheek and I always remember that I’m excited by this comp that I just thought of yeah I’m that’s a really good one yeah you that’s a really good

One I think I think it is yeah so anyway yeah he’s a guy that’s 15 minutes a night so he’s not going to be a guy that is on your top line he might be on your second line or even if he’s on your first line he’s a complimentry guy right

It’s you know align with like Vincent laier and like I don’t know who their top Winger was back then but uh Richards and penko as a as as a companying kind of guy but um but anyway so so so if he ends up being being that then that’s that’s an incredibly Valuable Player

Again you know people always uh always confused this like there are guys who are bottom six players and there’s really good bottom six players and so Zin I think does have the potential to be that so um so yeah anyway so moson improves anyway uh who who’s your guy

That’s a yeah zerland is a great answer um I’m going with William Eckland because I have to mention William Eckland on this show somewhere um and it’s not it’s not for the reason that he’s improving in the season per se it’s just that because he’s had up and downs

Um throughout the year but it’s it’s more just like this season in general was the culmination of a bunch of Prior seasons of little bits of improvement from him that that finally have turned him into a uh a real NHL like not just like a Ken you know hack it for nine

Games or eight games or whatever uh has to go back to Sweden has to go back to Barracuda it’s like no he’s a consistent nhlr um there is still up and down in terms of his overall play but there are also times when you get really excited

About the plays that he makes the he can he can win you games in certain times and that’s what you’ve always wanted from William ecklin so he gets most improved just because like all of the previous seasons has have come up to this one where it’s like he’s never

Going to the AHL again he’s going to be an NHL hopefully for a long time with the sharks hopefully I would just argue with that that I think he could have done his last year with the sharks they just held him back for his contract so

Yes they did so this is most improved maybe based on last year but this is I don’t know even last year I think he had he had still a lot of flaws that he’s addressed like his shot specifically is the one that like has stood was I thought pretty good with the

Barracuda I think again that that that that would have showed itself uh here if they gave him more than what was it eight games or whatever they gave him last year eight games he got a couple points um yeah but I’m giving him because it’s a culmination of many

Seasons and we need to mention William ecklin at least otherwise no one was in so now we can tag it that William Ecklund is in the exactly there it is exactly all right um next one is our unsung hero uh this is an interesting one again you’re

Gonna go because I have to think about it okay uh I’m gonna go with h I’m going to keep this one short and sweet I’m going to go with the Nik Sturm I’m sure some of you have heard this stat that that that that is out there that the

Sharks have not won a game this year without niik stur it’s a pretty good unsung hero I think think the record is something like 05 and two without him or something like that I I got to I got a double check what it is but um I wonder if

Hockey references game log will will help me uh help me do this quickly so uh oh they do they do have wins and losses here it’s 0 13 or something like that or ow and 12 okay so they are with Nico they are nine they have nine wins all

Nine of their wins and they have uh is this 13 losses oh 14 losses so they are 94 and three with Nico uh which means that they are without Nico they are zero uh 14 and yeah 04 and zero wow without without Nico strm and of course we actually talked with Nico

About this today and you know Nico was just like you know of course it’s not all me and we we know it’s not all all him right I’m not trying to suggest that but um like I said though with Nico in terms of again compete right he is the

Standard Bearer on the sharks that second third effort right never never gives in never gives up um as much so as anyone you can think of Couture um Benning Ferraro uh cunan or anybody else you can think of right just that standing standard bearer of compe and

Effort at all times um and that’s something that that this team does sorely uh Surly need because you’re trying out guys again no offense to a sta but he’s not there yet right he’s not there yet physically he’s not there yet sort of mentally right his approach

As a player and so guys like Sturm I think are very very valuable uh in a in a rebuild um and so yeah so he he is my unsung hero honestly I think I think if I had to do real answer I would say also Nico term okay um but I

Will give a short I’m going to say Nico St my answer but I will give a short mention to Jacob McDonald and only because I want to choose Jacob McDonald for every single one but if you’re looking for an unsung hero Jacob McDonald is a guy that’s in and out of

The um AHL and NHL for eight years seven years however long he’s been he’s 30 years old um he’s a guy that’s played defense and forward he he injects energy into your lineup he gives you timely goals um I don’t know if you’re looking for a guy that’s

Just he he’s going to give it to your his all every night so I I I can I can argue with you I mean I think I don’t know if I mentioned his statue last week or I know I put in an article that pretty recently yeah yeah that uh he

Leads I know it’s super small sample size and also too he played a lot of forward but yeah he leads the the league actually over hardly when I looked at it last week or whatever or week and a half go he he leads the the league and uh

Defensive uh goals per 60 wow and here’s I was looking at his his career he went from his NCAA at Cornell he had nine points in 31 games as a defenseman his last season in Cornell immediately went into the ECHL for the Elmyra Jack yeah yeah he has an interesting career track

Too for sure and now he’s just you know he’s here sometimes when he’s not injured uh rivid goals in in leading defenseman and goals per time on ice so yeah actually let me tease something because actually uh Josh today talked came to practice and he talked with McDonald and he’s working on something

Uh about I don’t know if you guys are basketball fans but uh they talk about basketball in terms of uh it becoming positionist right like in terms of all the players can handle the ball all the players can play defense uh all the players can shoot right it’s not as sort

Of like siloed like basketball used to be like before you had your big centerman who played defense uh uh you know protected the rim and had good touch offensively but only close to the rim uh and then you had your Shooters you know it was kind of the jobs were

Siloed right whereas um basketball these days you talk about it being less and less like that right you have guys like Victor voma if I’m saying his name right V vama I’m not really sure but he’s really good and he can shoot and he’s 74 or Kevin Durant right guys like that

Or Lebron right like guys who can just do everything out there and so uh so so uh Josh talked to to Jacob and actually David Quinn about whether or not that there’s sort of a future in hockey for position lless hockey yeah and five just five guys like we already see on the

Power play right whereas that’s kind of considered position list but at five on five where you have five guys who are basically good in in every area and can cover for each other and so there isn’t a true uh defenseman there isn’t a true Center that sort of thing right and so anyway

So that’s that’s that’s something I’m really excited about speaking of Jacob I think it was on a 32 thoughts as well recently with oh was it oh yeah they talked about okay a position list they didn’t really say too much but they were mentioning it and that the the biggest

Issue is that forwards have no idea how to defend and that’s kind of like it’s it’s not the The Defenders can’t play like offense these days CU they’re actually getting better at that it’s the reverse that forwards have no idea how to to skate backwards and defend properly David that was David Quinn’s

Exact answer actually and and fun fun fact that that’s going to inform this article David Quinn’s favorite sport besides hockey is basketball so he is uh he he he has a strong opinion about all about all of this so yeah and actually here’s another tease too I asked David

Uh if you had to pick one player passor president doesn’t have to be on your team uh and and you can clone that guy four times to make a fiveman unit out of out out of you know a position lless fiveman unit duplicating the same player

Over and over again who would he pick and I think yeah it’s it’s gonna I think it’s gonna be a fun article so the answer was Jacob McDonald boom all right why’ you swell the article huh it was it all right most okay we’re gonna go from lightheart at the most U

Disappointing player this is a good good T there’s a lot of C very very competitive on the shark very very oh man I I’m G to go first okay I’m gonna say and there’s again there’s many good candidates and people have been disappointed with this player for a long

Time uh I’m going to go with Kevin leank um I’ve watched Kevin leank um for a long time Kevin leank was one of the guys that when I started doing like looking into players with they as they play in juniors and watching like uh games of theirs and and watching you

Know just as they develop into sharks Kevin leank was one of the guys I was super excited about because he was ripping up Juniors and he looked like one of the most dominant Junior players and he was the the years that he played in juniors after he was drafted um and

Then he had like some good Seasons there um highlighted by being on the third line with Joe thordon having 56 points right and then this is so I watch a lot of Kevin Le Bank I’m trying to say this is the most uninspired and boring and terrible I’ve ever seen Kevin Bank play

Not that like he’s he just doesn’t just he doesn’t want to play for this team and I just don’t want him to play for us anymore like that’s how bad I don’t want him to be here anymore is that he just he’s out there doing absolutely nothing

Like he’ll occasionally you know have a rush or two or he’ll he’s not like he’s lazy at all it’s just he’s going through the motions so badly that he’s my most disappointing player I just it’s hard to watch basically yeah I mean I wouldn’t

Know if I would go so far as like he doesn’t want to uh play for the but I I would say though that that looks like I have no idea specifically but I would say for sure though that that yes I would like to see him somewhere else

Just for him yeah and yeah it’s he not going anywhere here um of course uh and I talked about this with zerin right there’s like oh well you know you gotta give him chance on a power play got to move him up uh he’s been moved up he’s

Never got up to to the top six this year but he’s been moved up and just nothing has really clicked um so yeah I i’ love to see him elsewhere where maybe there expectations are lower he’s making a Min like minimum uh and then maybe he just

Is used like on your power play uh as sort of a specialist and I can see him actually shining in a roll like I kind of like how um I think Carolina refashioned uh n right uh into a bit of a uh a little bit of a a power play

Specialist and so I think something like that he he can be he can be effective in and flourish and and be and be happy um it is tough uh watching him now um and yeah so I I think uh your uh your your choice is a uh is a pretty uh pretty

Fair choice so yeah I can’t I can’t really argue with it but anyway Nason 12 minutes a night uh overall um which is uh 11th on on the Hurricanes but he averages I looks like second power play unit numbers and uh so so so yeah so maybe that’s a motto for

For uh for for for leank and yeah n is on a 20 goal Pace uh scored 13 last year in 78 games and so yeah so I think he just it’s not all like it’s not all on Kevin leank it’s just the way that he he’s come up with the sharks it’s it’s

Kind of ground all of the creativity out of his game all of the the fun out of his game because he had to to be like an NHL and that the NHL that we’ve got at 28 years old now just sucks that’s to be honest with you he’s not

Playing well yeah so I can’t really speak up to I know he’s trying is a bad suck is a bad way to put it but it’s just not playing well so I want him somewhere else to give him another shot to to maybe have a little bit more yeah

It wouldn’t surprise me again if you put him in the right role that I I can I can see him taking off and like you mentioned uh I think uninspired is is a probably should stuck with that that’s probably better than that sucks so uninspired yeah I think can come on and

Yell at me it’s fine I think that’s I think that that that’s fair though um so yeah I I can’t I can’t really uh I can’t really dis discount it um so yeah do you have anybody else you want to use for this oh yeah I’m sorry yeah there’s so

Many choices it’s a prestigious award but but your your choice is is an excellent one but my choice is duclair and I think with duclair uh what’s been disappointing is just that there was more expect of him I think uh more hope at least now granted he’s coming off of

He last year was coming off of Achilles and um and uh and so last year wasn’t wasn’t a great year for him but the year before obviously scored 31 goals and there was a thought that he’s going get a ton of opportunity with the sharks and he’s

He’s going to get to play with the their best players which he has uh been consistently uh gotten that chance and it just hasn’t um it just hasn’t translated into into uh into the kind of uh I think production uh that that uh that that that we’re

Hoping and I think he still you know provides a positive presence in the locker room there’s a lot of talk about that a month or so ago right um but um yeah to see him get scratched uh basically for effort uh that obviously is disappointed and I don’t think that’s

A move that that uh that that Quinn made lightly um I think he has bounced back from that a little bit um but still it’s just not something is not quite maybe it’s just because the team is bad maybe the losing is getting on him dragging

Him down a little bit um maybe because even though he has decent linemates actually a really good linemate in granin and a developing but pretty good one in zland that uh but somehow maybe because the team isn’t good overall around them that the chances aren’t in

The volume that he’s had in the past and that sort of thing right so there’s a lot of sort of excuses and and and what not right but the point is that I think that more was expected of him and that hasn’t quite happened um and besides you

Know a nice like one two week stretch there right when they were in the east coast um but besides that though I think his uh his play has been um less than it was before uh and again it could be again uh he had that serious injury and

I’m not sure if he’s fully back from that I remember I talked to a couple Scouts in the summer one told me yes he thought he was back the other Scout was like no don’t think so um so yeah anyway so that might be more the reality that

Not that he’s like not trying or whatever but just that that that his game isn’t isn’t back from a very very serious injury that’s a good answer just because there was a lot more expected from declair um than there was from from Kevin so yeah they’re both and there’s

So many good answers on this roster I you know let’s let’s be on let’s talk about it just because I don’t want to single out two guys on this team that uh true that uh um like like Hoffman right even though Hoffman is scoring at at the

Rate that he has scored the last couple of Seasons about 15 goals of course so you look at his pass before that when he was a 30 goal guy and you’re hoping for that um I like a lot of Zena’s game but Zena hasn’t quite um sure I think likes

The N we talked about I talked a lot about this with with with Zena that uh he has to change his game I think he has to think in a different way as a player and he has the tools to be very effective but uh he’s got to change

Change change how he thinks uh Luke cunan who I like a lot as a player but obviously you need more production out of him and um yeah uh bar bonov is a huge one there’s no question bar bonov you thought was gonna be a stable 50p

Point guy 40 Point guy even was on a bad team but he thought he was gonna be stable that hasn’t happened um it’s a lot that’s that’s that’s a lot I think everybody else is about where he expected or maybe better um but those are the guys I mentioned are all the

Veteran guys that have a track record and and you just really expected more from them and um and yeah’s been pretty terrible well vas’s different I I don’t bucket vasic with those guys because look bic’s 36 and I I’ve talked about this I don’t buy that he doesn’t care

And fire that he just is 36 and last year he had a little bit of a bounce back but wasn’t like last year he was he didn’t have like an Eric Carlson like bounce back where clearly all these years it was in Eric it just that his body wasn’t cooperating or something

Right it’s not in vosic anymore it’s not a fire thing it’s just he’s 36 like people need to get that through set it’s not his it’s not his fault that he signed that contract anyone of us would have signed it and then his body his body just didn’t cooperate with

The life of this contract that that’s what happens right to all athletes right um way to to figure out the contract in the next two years but yeah yeah they they’ll need to at some point um I got to say too I you know he’s a great story

But obviously with Ken off they signed him to a two-year contract so I think that they they were hoping for for more now I’m just going after I’m looking at the the the hockey reference uh the the the stat the the the season stats so many disappointments I mean I I was

Hoping for more from bordalo uh I was hoping for a little bit more of a leap um so anyway so I don’t I don’t want anyone to feel excluded into this right I don’t I don’t want Kevin or um or or or or Duke to think that we are we are

Singling him out it’s been a it’s been a team full of disappointments that is why they are 928 and three so yeah I apologize again I’m not apologizing but it’s it’s the facts but uh if you weren’t named then good job if you weren’t named so excellent or you got a

You got a positive uh mid season or a lukewarm lukewarm or you can we’ll talk about a breakout shark in a second maybe you’ll be one of them all right next uh next award to get off the sadness uh a sleeper Prospect for the shark somebody

That um maybe isn’t Will Smith um that you think uh might have an impact on a future sharks team well I think the clear one I’m gonna I’m gonna go with the I’m gonna take the easy one from you and I know that you you you have a

Better one anyway a deep a deeper cut than than me is going to be furong uh I don’t think anyone saw him uh uh not only making Team Canada but also excelling for Team Canada and uh I I’ll give one tease out just because I I took

The easy one that um one of the scouts told me the the words were better than than lstr better than Eric Carlson wow no Nichol it’s better now or right that’s a good question um but uh anyway the the the word is uh for him Savvy that’s that’s

What he used with Furlong and he says uh again you know he’s a scout so he’s gonna be cautious in his praise could overachieve and make it and but Savvy was a word that that I I liked and so um yeah so I’ve been hearing good things

About furong for a couple years now if you guys remember one of my top 10 lists I think the mid-season top 10 list last year before uh the Muk Mulan And thrun Trades I had Furlong as a fringe top 10 guy and that’s that’s why I keep hearing

Stuff like that and so even though he doesn’t pop out to you uh physically right like even at Dev Camp right doesn’t look like he’s doing like like a ton rookie face off right he’s not he’s not jumping out but of course defense are are more subtle uh they don’t they

Don’t jump out like forwards do even like bottom six forwards will jump out more than a more than a future like middle pairing bottom pairing uh uh defenseman right and so um anyway though so but I keep hearing good things about him so I trust the people that I I uh I

Uh I hear these things from and uh Jake has shown uh showed at the road Juniors why people uh people are uh talking him up um even though a a call back to our first ever San Jose AO podcast the reboot with Tod marshan who also

Mentioned Jake furong by name um so and the things that I I look at with Jake furong that he does really well is he boxes out really well um he lifts sticks really well he plays defensively uh smart and he also like he cuts off attackers really well so like

When people are coming at him he justes just keep backing up and waiting for the play to happen he goes at defender or attackers and he he angles really smartly stuff that like modern day nhlers do um where they don’t just keep skating backwards and and wait for the

Play to develop they they attack and they try and cut off angles and and and he does that pretty well for right now um again he’s not going to put up your you know tons and tons of points but if you get your to to get another Jake in

There if you get your Jake Middleton out of Jake Furlong it’s a really good player I mean it sounds like he plays really like I know it’s a cliche but he plays defense the right way it’s just a question of if the body will uh develop right the skating and and the

Physicality uh the size will will de the strength will develop with his uh Savvy kind of defensive play yeah if you watch like just when um like when Jake when Fong’s in the defensive Zone and like he’s waiting for a point shot to happen he’s always putting his stick underneath the the guy

In front stick and lifting it up like immediately he does it so quickly and so like uh just thinking ahead of where the play is going to happen that I just smart stuff Savvy it’s a good word I like that Scout whoever that Scout is

It’s a good scout a Savvy Scout if SA SC I may say so yeah um all right that’s our oh I didn’t name my sleeper oh my gosh I do love Jake furong um and there’s a couple answers here right Eric p camp had a a really

Surprising year um uh let’s not forget cam who is sort of the Forgotten second round pick right even though he’s a high pick like I think people have kind of Forgotten like that yeah uh that the shark slid him quite quite a bit and he’s got a bit of talent yeah yeah he’s

A sleeper for sure because there’s like the other guy in college Will Smith is kind of eating all the spotlight yeah yeah and then the other guy second round like Cav they get to play in Royal Juniors right so yeah so um I’m going to go with Ethan Cardwell although Shakir

Muk Mulan is is still a good one but he’s not really asleep everybody knows M Mulan uh Ethan Cardwell he’s um he’s one of the leading scorers for the Barracuda I think he’s got like 19 points in 30 games this is his first pro year after

Spending a couple years in juniors um he as well is one of these guys that plays um a projectable game over overall he’s got a bit of skill he’s got um decent skating um he he thinks the game well and he he for checks aggressively and

That sometimes is all you need is if you have a motor that doesn’t quit and you have enough skill and enough skating you can make it in the NHL so he’s a guy that like because he is producing right away because there’s guys that and he’s not producing amazing but he’s producing

Enough guys like Co and wisat and and um even like rasa all these guys that don’t put up any points in the AHL it doesn’t bode well for their ability to translate to the NHL even if they were higher picks than than Cardwell or whatever um so because he’s able to hit

The ground running and he is looking comfortable in the AHL right now I think there’s enough to work with that he could he could really make it into the the NHL eventually as it depends on what role but I’m not going to say that he’s going to be like a first line forward

Right it’s just like enough that where he was selected that he could make yeah wasn’t he like selecting the fourth I believe right he’s a fourth rounder he was an over Ager when he was selected as well right right right right uh I I is he strong enough and fast

Enough yet I that’s one I watch those are my my main concerns not not yet yeah not yet he’s not big either he’s only like 510 511 he’s bigger than Gan and bordalo but um no he needs more time for sure it’s just it’s good that he’s already producing right now because his

Game isn’t just like um I don’t know juniores I think no I liked him actually uh I I didn’t mention this but uh and I’m kind of ashamed to admit it but as you guys know it’s been a really kind of like a a tough year for me personally I

Haven’t been able to watch a Barracuda live I haven’t gone to Barracuda game live until last week which I really I really ashamed to admit it because I just I I I I make it I make it a point to watch like uh I don’t I don’t

Know if the years that I was covering the Sharks I don’t know if there was a writer that was at more of the the Barracuda games at sap Center you used to do those double headers and stuff so it’s really easy to do to do both and

Then that was before I I I I got a dog and also obviously yeah everything with h with with my father-in-law and and my wife but so I haven’t been able to get get get to any games live I’ve watched them on TV but like uh or on HL live HL

TV whatever they call it but uh but um watching live though yeah Cardwell is definitely a guy who who stood out in in in a positive way not like he was amazing but like yeah I noticed him I I didn’t need to know his numers yeah like

I know this guy yeah so I think that’s that’s my sleeper as a guy that’s good for a first year guy for sure yeah absolutely uh this is a slightly different one it’s most surprising Prospect um well I’m going to go uh you can go this this can go positive or

Negative so I’m going to have a surprising Choice here because usually when people talk about most surprising they talk about positive right I’m going to say though in a negative way though that Beast Dead uh is is disappointing overall because um sure um just uh just all all all the all the

Tools that that he has um I was looking for uh especially in the gold medal game I don’t want to put it all one game but it seems to be a con connected to his uh his shl play this year right which has also been a step back from last year um

But just that kind of assertiveness just that kind of you know take over uh with uh with with kind of your tools right um and so yeah yeah like and that could doesn’t mean just to skill you know skill up people maybe he doesn’t have quite enough skill for that but man you

Know in a world juniors a guy who 6’4 and can move like him like you can dominate physically at least and not again that doesn’t mean running people through the boards or whatever right but like just being being being hard on the puck and things like that right and so

Yeah so I I I I I I think that uh and this is uh also when I say most uh or surprising but just sort of like that it’s been disappointing it’s just that there so much expected I think of him after last year right and that yeah like

Uh he had broken his way into like the top like I think there was an argument before they traded for Muk Mullan that he was the shark’s second best Prospect he definitely moved ahead of bordalo for sure right and bordalo was sort of the the facto number two for a really long

Time after Ecklund right and so yeah so to to see um I guess uh a guy that had been at such an upward and kind of not not to say he had to continue exactly but doesn’t feel like it’s going upward now now there’s a little bit of a

Dip and not a huge dip you know he’s still he’s still on a silver a silver medal winning R Junior’s team right but he’s gota he’s got to bounce back with something right uh uh whether it be at this season or in the playoffs or or or whatever because right now it’s a

Yeah was hoping for more out of him for sure it’s a yeah very fair assessment it was it was trending in the direction of because of his size and his position and everything you’re you’re thinking this is like your middle six center or second line center after last year and then

This year none of the offens has really panned out and and it it I don’t know he’s just not aggressive enough offensively I think is is a way to put it and I don’t know if if that’s really going to start to develop hopefully it does but you’re right again continue

Yeah like sorry didn’t RUP we talk about like guys like Sturm right like I’m not a guy I don’t care about okay so you’re not producing offensively okay are you doing other stuff out there true and so that’s that’s where I think he’ll have to figure that out at some

Point not not yet he’s young right but at some point if the offense isn’t there that’s fine but you can still be a very valuable effective I think he is I mean he he can transition the puck well and he has um he’s enough defensive smarts I

Think he he can develop into that role it’s just you really wanted to to be like the steel where it’s everything kind of comes together and there’s a lot more offense to him sure so that’s a good that’s a good pick for for surprising I’m going to go positive and

Go with Eric pole Camp um as a surprising Prospect um first um like Eric pamp was um drafted as an over AER um and he I think he won like USHL defenseman of the year but again he was an overages going to college at beiji state

Which is not a well knowns College um The Mid State Beavers the midgy State Beavers and the guy makes the gold medal USA World Junior Team and he shows out on the World Junior Summer showcase so well that everybody kind of notices that there’s something there with this player

And when I watched him it yeah like it stuck out to me in the same way light it was he’s aggressive he’s he defends well enough he’s got a killer shot and he he he’s looks like a guy who’s going to put the work in and I really like that

Prospect so going most surprising is Eric pamp okay uh cuz just cuz I didn’t like when they made that pick I was like I know who that is but it’s not like I it’s not like the most uh I just didn’t think that that was going to be the the

Pick there it took me it took me at least like a month or two months to to stop spelling his name e r i k because the Sharks I think we’re in middle of Eric Carl in trade rumors so I ke I kept typing his name

Out uh ik pole Camp yeah so anybody that can get me to watch a bji State Beavers game that’s surprising um but I yeah I’m really excited for for his continued college career and where he goes with this because he does have some tools that are

Interesting um in a killer shot so guys thank you for for hanging on for for so long we just have two more categories there are some fun ones we have a breakout second half shark and we’re going to predict the trade so just so you guys know yeah that we’re getting

There yeah award show it’s not going to last forever like some some award shows all right breakout second half shark these are predictions more than they are Awards um that’s why they’re at the end here oh man uh you you should go first because I still have to think

About this one okay uh I yeah actually didn’t know my my answer uh but I’m gonna uh maybe it’s a little on brand uh or or not but I’m gonna say Ferraro okay all right with the Ferraro I have liked his Puck movie enough over the last

Couple months that I’m and maybe this is just wishful thinking but if this is for Real if what we’ve seen and again if you’re like for if you can’t acknowledge that like he is doing a lot better with with that over the last couple months he’s doing kind of what I think sharks

Fans always hoped he could do since uh you know since he came up um I think he’s been doing that over the last couple of months I mean not every decision is great obviously it’s not always going to be I know people are going to bring up the the the turnover

In Vancouver that led to a go right but by and large though most of his offensive decisions like there’s there’s a lot of good in it and it’s um never going to be a lead offensive defenseman but but I’m going to I’m going to I’m

Going to say that uh end of the season well I don’t know if he’ll still be with the sharks but let’s say uh uh let’s say he gets to what’s his career high in points maybe he sets a career high is that maybe that’s not saying anything let me

See oh it is it is saying something his career high is 17 in 2020 21 he’s at 12 now right yeah he’s at 11 I think yeah he’s at 11 right now um so I’m gonna say then that yeah he gets to 20 points maybe 25 even so but I’ll just I’ll keep

It conservative for myself uh keep keep it at at 20 but I overall it’s not even just about the points though it’s just that he keeps showing sort of the improve offensive game that’s that’s a real thing of his now and his defense stays the you know about the same right

Which is uh there’s good and bad with it right like I always say he’s very good one-on-one Defender he does get he does get lost in the team uh Team kind of what he should be who he should be covering but on a bad team I think that’s challenging I don’t blame him

That much for that anyway so uh two other guys I thought about I’m just goingon to throw out shout to them is that um I did predict Zena as a 20g goal candidate at the beginning of the Season he’s not gonna make that because yeah

He’s got score a lot of goals to get to 20 uh but I really do like pieces of his game which I wrote about a couple weeks ago I just think he really needs that mental shift which I don’t know he’s quite there yet uh if he does get there

Then uh I I think that he can be a very effective like third line type player um and then the the last guy uh and I don’t know if I’m kicking all your guys I just want to mention actually uh I I’ll let you go ahead because you you might have

Picked this guy so uh so I’ll mention after you wait who’s the last guy oh you want me to say it then okay I didn’t want to take your guy okay uh so it could be thrun uh I I I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of thrun the last half

Dozen games or so there was a stretch there at the beginning of this losing streak that I wrote about at least in my game notes that he was making some really poor Puck decisions and uh I think that if the Sharks hadn’t gotten injured or whatever that he might have

Either been sent down or sat a game or two but they kept they kept going with him and what I like is that they kept going with him but he wasn’t overwhelmed he got better sure and I think by and large uh obviously uh you know the

Toronto game was a bad by but by and large his his play has has stood out to me the last five or so games or whatnot and it’s the kind of the the thrund um that I thought uh would would break camp with the sharks and be so good that that

They couldn’t send them down and I think we’re seeing that the last uh more or less the last few games or so and so um so yeah I I think in order of of of I think I was kind of between fararo and thrun for my my my second half Breakout

Out um Zena’s sort of like I like his pieces but it’s been so long that he’s still kind of has the same sort of uh um I don’t know uh uh mental blocks on the ice that that he he had back in Detroit so I’m not so so so convinced on on him

But uh for for all to do what he’s doing the level competition that he’s facing even if it’s just been for you know six weeks two months or whatever right I mean I think that is that that is something that is worth uh recognizing um and uh thr yeah so so

Those those those are those are my uh my my guys all right I’m gonna pick three then because you three okay you don’t have to pick three I’m gonna go with Ryan Carpenter uh breakout I like I just think that it would make just a ton of sense that if

For some reason he just gets hot and okay put up like like 10 15 points somehow in the second half or something like that and okay um because exactly yeah when when when the Sharks waved him and he went to Vegas and he I remember because I was covering him and

People were talking him up and I was like well look at his track record I don’t know about that but anyway he had uh the expansion year uh he had 14 points in 36 games uh during the Vegas expansion year nine goals in 36 games that’s not bad at all that’s almost his

Best offensive production ever so but he did it once I guess maybe not twice but he did it so so breakout candidate that might you know he’ll probably get waved in a month and I’ll be wrong but I think um I can afford to wave him to be honest

True I think he’s one of their their few forwards yeah few Center yeah yeah um my second one and this is going to be tough because he did not have a good game yesterday uh is Ty emberson okay um I know you love Ty so yeah I do love Ty uh

He he came back from injury and um I I liked a lot of what I saw on in the whipe game I think there was a lot of smart reads defensively he was um aggressive and and picking off uh passing Lanes he made smart decisions to

Try and break out the puck most of the time um and then it kind of I feel like the Toronto game like his confidence just like looked horrible like he he looked scared when he was trying to to PR the puck out he looked scared when he was trying to complete like dangerous

Passes and I don’t know and then also defensively he he looked a little bit lost and was just trying to do just trying to make the too simple of a play that that Toronto is just kind of like running circles around him so it it’s tough I think he’s he’s still a young

Guy a young defenseman but he has enough traits there and and I like his skating and his Mobility enough that and I’ve seen good defending from him that I think that it’s possible that he could be a breakout candidate he just he had a really that’s I think that’s that’s a

Good one for uh for sure I will say that before he got injured uh uh in New York that um I think Quin has said that like he thinks that that time he got hurt and I don’t think this is It’s faint praise because the sharks aren’t

Very good very deep defensively but I think he meant it when he said that emberson was at that point he thought that he was playing like the second best defenseman on the Sharks after Ferraro of course um so yeah I I I I I think Quinn did mean that and so I think

That’s that’s that’s a good that’s a good that’s a good choice hope he resets his a little bit because yeah I’m sure he well that’s sort of the the thr thing right like uh reason why thr is on his list is because I saw and I I thought

That thr had that matur I’ve always I’ve talked a lot about the maturity difference between a thrun and I think a mugad Dulan and that’s part of what I saw with thr that I thought that he would be able to kind of not internalize his bad games too much and come back

From it and looks like thrun has and maybe Emerson has that in him too so we’ll see and also Jacob McDonald is our no I’m kidding it’s our last breakout C no it’s I’m going to choose keep scoring at this rate that’s going to be crazy so

Yeah he might score 20 goals if he gets healthy my real one is is kappo kak and I think um he’s going to go on a little bit of a goalie run whatever goalie run I he’s been on a nice run in December so yeah I think he’s going to kind of just

Take off until he’s no longer a shark in February um but he’s the breakout second half shark classic play play play your way out of out of last place s good for you just like Teemo last year so exactly that’s going to be cppo um good on them

Um and we’ll get whatever we get uh speaking of uh predicting trades uh let’s predict the trade let’s let’s start here what what do you wanna what do you want to predict Shan well speaking of U of of coo I have him going for a third round pick basically um and

I landed on the third uh first because I think the second is a little too premium for a for a a UFA guy who uh like Elliott mentioned and it’s we can see it just we don’t know what he’s going to do as as a starter or in the playoffs we

Really have no idea but I think for a team that’s looking for really good insurance and a guy who has the talent uh potential to to be uh to be good at higher level competition uh coo is a pretty good a pretty good pretty good choice and again because it’s UFA if he

Doesn’t work out then you just you just wash your hands of it and the third round pick is like the sort of the um the the new tradable high pick you know I think second round is considered premium to to to trade away unless you really really like a guy and you really

Think this guy is going to be your starter uh whereas the third is a little more kind of in between uh where it’s good enough to entice the Sharks but it’s not good enough that you that the team that’s trading that pick feels like oh this is too much or this guy better

Be really good or uh or like I’m gonna lose my job or something like that um and so yeah so so so cppo cppo was my second I uh we pulled up uh actually some comps so I don’t know why I I deleted oh here

You go okay so so here’s some comps for our third these aren’t all deadline deals so I know that deadline makes teams a little crazier still don’t think it’ll quite a second unless he goes on that incredible run that you’re talking about but um so during the summer um

Vancouver uh acquired a Casey the Smith a little more expens or I’m sorry cpp’s a little more expensive Casey’s at 1.8 uh but he is also going to be a free agent at UFA at the end of this year U but anyway um Montreal got a third round

Pick and they took on Tanner Pearson’s contract and I think you had a pretty good suggested trade in terms of the sharks taking maybe Sam Sam sonof off of Toronto’s SS right and uh also a guy that’s expiring but you take the money off and then you get a nicer pick in in

Exchange right so uh so so that’s that’s that’s one that’s one comp that’s in the same range another comp in the in the range of uh was uh got go back okay vly huso that’s a summer trade of a couple years ago but uh St Louis had Bingington they didn’t

Have space for whoo Detroit saw him as yeah this guy maybe can’t start for us they weren’t I don’t know if they were sure about that but they they liked him enough and there wasn’t a huge interest in H I imagine and so they got a third

For him and so that that could be around that area and we have saw one more that I think was just about right for uh for for for Cle uh from I think three years ago was it the Ric one which one was it

Oh yeah Ric one yeah yeah it was uh uh Ric thank you yeah rck uh uh going from Calgary to Toronto for a for a third round pick I believe and you know rck uh just the leaf just needed a good insurance net minor right uh back back

Then I think uh one of two uh kind of 1 a 1 B guys was HT Campbell or um or Anderson and so yeah so so they traded for for Ric at the deadline again prices are a little crazy at the deadline CLE has a better resume than rck Ric I think

Was purely a backup a good one but purely a backup in Calgary um so so yeah so so I think a third is is going to be about right and so anyway that’s that’s my prediction um I think that I do think that internally I would

Get I don’t know this for a fact but inter that Blackwood is a little ahead of of CLE in terms of they had to pick one or the other like if you make the exact same offer for Blackwood as you would Ken in and again you know it goes

Back to what I said that uh that Mike reer acquired Blackwood he did not acquire Cel yep I it’s gonna it’s going to happen like now that we’ve talked about it it just makes too much sense yeah um mine I’m going to predict very granularly Alexander barabanov is going

To get traded to the Boston Bruins a fif a fifth round pick and a sixth round pick okay for and also Jason Magna who’s playing in the Providence brues okay detailed is fifth a six and Jason Magna coming back to the shks for Alexander barana why why why do they

Need Magna is it a swap a contracts it’s a contract swap thing it’s an NHL contract thing and then the other the reason for I Boston Boston’s like bottom six is so bereft that’s a good word that’s an SAT Word if it’s the right word of um scorers it’s just it’s bad um

Like they have Matthew press as their third line Center which is great he’s doing fine for a rookie um but and their fourth line is like yakob Lao loo Oscar Steen yeser boquist um Johnny Beacher and a bunch of guys nobody can score a point is basically what and Trent

Frederick who’s actually doing pretty well but I think like they could use another scorer um in their bottom six okay that’s kind of my answer and also I just think it would be I don’t know it just feels right to me bar Bon off’s going to

Go uh to the Bruins they have enough face punchers and they need like one little finesse skill guy they’re gonna add Bar B off boy uh a fifth and six is a far reach from the people telling me that that he was going to get a a first

Or a second which i’ I wanted to a long time I wanted to say like a fourth and it’s possible that he gets like a fourth but he he really has not played well enough to to deserve more than uh a couple late round picks or you’re not

Predicting that that in uh the next month or so that he picks up his game a bit maybe I mean he’s he’s what seven points in 20 games I don’t know I don’t think he’s going to pick it up to the to the level

That uh he might get like a high pick or whatever I don’t think that’s possible just because teams also now know again NHL James value that consistency thing right they now know that he’s had this he he’s pretty much a late bloomer anyways and now he’s had a down year in

This late blooming like is he going to help you maybe but yeah my question with all that though is um uh I Mike I always question and that’s why I always despite his production I always uh question what he would get on a trade uh in a market

And of course like I I mentioned many times the the scouts I talk to right they’re not sold on him in terms of uh that’s a play driver that’s a guy that can drive a line right and that’s why when I talked with them they always said

Maybe a third I mean this is when he was being at his most productive right and you put him if you’re Boston and you and you acquire him to be on your third line and those are his Lin mates right like is he gonna you know how much offense is

He is he going to contribute there I don’t I don’t I’m not really sure um um so anyway that that’s that’s what I wonder but anyway we are kind of seeing this now though that I think we are seeing this now um that when he’s away from a hurdle uh there’s

Not you know there’s some nice plays here and there but there’s there hasn’t been a lot of offense and maybe I’ll turn around right but like sure um but right now though yeah we’re seeing a guy that’s not driving a line so yeah and that was always the kind of thing too is

Never was that they never had like a a standout skill other than he’s a smart player and he uh he’s good at transition he protects the puck well um you know he’s got some some crafty moves when he enters the Zone he’s I’m not saying that

He’s he’s all like he’s all made by hurdle or whatever right I’m not suggesting that but is there enough when he’s a away from your very best players that he’s doing enough on a night to night basis to drive offense and drive positive play um to keep him in the

Lineup right and I don’t know on a good team if if if that’s if if that’s a certainty you know we’ve seen that he’s a decent complimentary player but yeah I think there was a time when bar bov should have been traded and I think they

They passed that window um so it’s well I I would say the argument I would say for them there is again I’m not convinced that there were some like great off there be better than now obviously but but I think again if you were thinking oh a second for sure a

First possibly dreaming you’re dreaming uh you know again I T say this so many times offensive one-dimensional Wingers they are they don’t get a lot um so that that’s the case you know maybe if he was a center then it might make a difference but he’s not so now he’s getting a fifth

A sixth and Jason not even Jacob no it’s Jason Magna who’s looked good on the Providence Bruins yeah I can help out the Barracuda playoff run I guess exactly no it’s a just a contract swap that I just had to pick a team with a weak bottom six and I

Picked Boston and I mean you could pick a few teams that are kind of topheavy but well um that’s that’s a good team team to to to pick though because the the sharks have guys that maybe can help like a duclair could help right maybe on

On a better team less expected of him maybe maybe he could uh he could find his game right we talk about cunan right having those attributes that that that uh that that playoff teams like even if he’s not producing a lot so those are a couple guys and you know declar is sort

Of defense or to add to his value too declar has done it before too obviously last year with Florida uh being a a big part of of a team that went to the went to the final so you know maybe he’s a guy that just needs a um a different

Surroundings right to get to get him going so sure or maybe yeah maybe bar bov finds a a linemate like higher in the lineup and that’s how you can remove a top six Winger and put him in your third line that would actually do well

There as you insert Bar B off in there and on your second line and try and build some dep that way but sure like herdle exactly if you had a hurdle which you know yeah anyway um all right any other any other last minute trades um at this rate maybe not because the

Way this team is producing and yeah c bar bov I mean duclair Hoffman Le Bank girl all ufas um yeah we’ll have to see what we can get I imagine it’s going to be some draft picks but I don’t think they’re going to be very high the one you you pointed out

Earlier and I’ve talked about too is I wonder if there’s a market for grandland um because the grandland that we’ve seen since uh since uh no mid November there should be a market for a guy like that because that that guy is a easy to see I

Think and he’s making 5 million that’s not bad at all and again uh not to be uh not not to be a Ron hexal apology but there’s a reason why uh Ron hexall traded a second for him because that’s this is the grandland that I think he he

Must have seen that he hoped that he could add to the Penguins and obviously out tra him back to the penguin that would be hilarious that would be hilarious oh my God fans would be so mad um actually I can tease this I’m pretty sure I’m wunning in grin story now about

Some of his excellent plates taking a while there’s a lot of video and stuff to it uh and then I did a long interview with with with with M too and uh I might start it uh uh um I might start it uh Eat Your Heart Out

Pittsburgh I love it uh yeah I wonder if there is a a uh a market it’s just the nobody wants to be the team that did what Pittsburgh did so nobody’s going to pay a second for him probably yeah I do wonder about that and also it’s not the

The the first time obviously that he’s had a tough transition toam trade deadline right Minnesota Nashville years ago so I wonder if that sort of reputation now he has that he’s a guy that takes quite a while to get acclimated right um obvious and even with the sharks right start off slow but

There were injuries involved and all that stuff so I don’t want to judge him too harshly on that but yeah so I do think that that and that’ll lower his value and then then there’s less of a point for for micer to make that trade right if you’re just trading him for a

Third round pick or fourth it’s kind of like yeah what’s the point you know uh we we the cat BAS we don’t need a cap space and he is so vital right in the development I think of of of their young Wingers um so yeah yeah so I don’t know

Yeah I don’t know if the value will be there just for those kind of uh red flags or whatever um but if again the player that he’s been uh since mid November that player is definitely worth a second round pick at his contract so maybe even better but

Again that’s not that that’s not the only way the GMS are gonna judge it obviously so I do wonder how G is gonna approach this deadline because I don’t know if he I mean last deadline he does he was kind of trying to pick up as many late picks

As possible and was trying to get like nickel and diing for a fourth or a seventh or whatever hopefully he does that again because I I find it fun but we’ll see I I mean I think he’ll try just that the team isn’t cooperating right so overall I mean grin’s

Cooperating but he’s got a two-year contract but yeah H kin is too let’s give kin credit um um let’s get Jacob McDonald to a Stanley Cup team let’s get him on like already been on one he’s already been on one so yeah I know but

Let’s get him let’s get him on like um I don’t know Tampa or something I would love it though if if Jacob has a lak career Renaissance as a br like a Bren Burns light yeah I love it and I could just keep using the jaob McDonald hype yeah yeah yeah because

Over all right let’s get out of here this has been a long episode um uh next week well probably next week we’ll have our our full world junior Championship breakdown plus some other stuff but uh anything else to say Shang nope all right have a good week everybody Bye

Welcome to the San Jose Hockey Now Podcast Mid-season Award Show! We hand out all sorts of awards, as well as predict a breakout candidate and predict some trades for the back-half of the season.

But first, there’s more!

Sharks are…bad. (02:30). Sheng and Keegan briefly recap this week’s losses and how they keep finding new ways to lose (03:15). We talk about the status of the Tankathon for this season, and a little about Macklin Celebrini and the upcoming 2024 draft (10:30).

We discuss the ending of the WJC and the play/grades of Will Smith, Eric Pohlkamp, Filip Bystedt, Mattias Havelid, Jake Furlong and Halttunen (12:58). We plan on having a longer episode recapping the WJC in the coming weeks, with some expert opinions as well.

Sheng and Keegan dive into the Kaapo Kahkonen trade rumor from Elliotte Friedman (24:00).

Jack Studnicka was sent down to the AHL this week (33:40), and why a CBA detail forced the Sharks’ hand on this move.

We have some IR updates on Logan Couture and a season-ending move for Matt Benning (42:30).

Tomas Hertl is an NHL All-Star for the second time (47:30), and why we think the selection was obvious this year for the Sharks.

Finally, it’s our mid-season awards. Find out who won the following from both Sheng and Keegan:

Mid-season MVP (48:10)

Best Forward (52:10)

Best Defenseman (54:20)

Most Improved Player (1:00:50)

Unsung Hero (1:09:00)

Most Disappointing Player (1:15:40)

Sleeper Prospect (1:25:55)

Most Surprising Prospect (1:33:30)

Lastly, we have a few predictions for the last half of the season. Who are the second-half breakout candidates for the Sharks? (1:38:50).

Finally, Sheng predicts a Kaapo Kahkonen deadline trade, including some historical comparisons (1:47:20) and Keegan predicts an oddly specific Alexander Barabanov trade (1:51:45).

Thank you all for watching, listening and subscribing on YouTube!