To those on the edge....

UPDATE***

I found a similar article by James Duthie of TSN.CA, posted here. I'm glad I'm not the only one to see this!

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=294197

END UPDATE**

In light of the Sharks roller-coaster of performances lately, there has been a lot of talk about replacing Nabby, dumping Huskins, and other premature judgements and solutions. To be fair, criticism is deserved. The goaltending has been abused and it's readily apparent that our defensive core is not as talented as it was last year. While we acknowledge that, we have to keep in mind...it's game four!

We are going to have to accept something as true: the Sharks aren't ready to play regular season hockey yet. The training camp was a short one and there are just so many new players and players in new roles that the team (similar to this blog) has yet to find its voice.

To be thorough (in no particular order):

Players learning the system:

- Malhotra

- Nicol

- Ortmeyer

- Huskins

- Heatley

Players Up From the AHL/Learning to Be NHL Players:

- McLaren

- Mcginn

- Staubitz

- Demers

Playes in New Roles

- Murray (as a top 4 D)

That's half of the roster!

I don't want to make excuses for professionals but as a consumer with a specific end, The Stanley Cup, in mind, we have to be patient for a few weeks to let these guys gel together. As any hockey player will agree, a team will take on a new identity when you start a season with a group of new teammates. The idea of a brand new team being dominant from the beginning is just ridiculous. We are seeing that now. They will probably need at least 10 games to get their feet below them and learn to play together in this system. It's the practical way to assess the team as a whole.

Not everything is on a team basis. As we have seen with the "Worcester Shuttle," some players will not have the 10-game window to prove themselves. I think Kent Huskins will survive the 10-game window but if his play continues poorly for the first half of the season, he will find himself a New York Islander.

Not all is bleak in Shark-land. There are signs of life offensively from the "Bean Burrito" line of Heatley/Joe/Seto. The second line prior to Pavelski's injury was excellent on both ends of the rink. Jason Demers has been impressive for a young rookie. Jed Ortmeyer looks like he is exactly the type of hard-hitting and swift moving third line player the Sharks needed. And Patty has been more-than-impressive on both ends of the rink and on special teams. You have to admire the way he obviously handled himself this past summer by putting all of the bad press out of his mind and focusing on his conditioning. He looks great out there.

Be Patient! We'll get there. The idea is to win the cup! We're in the beginning stages right now and the coaching staff has to get all the boys on the same page before we can assess what they are capable of as a unit. Obviously, this team looks great on paper. Yet, they have been playing together for less than a month and for some players even less! We'll soon see how the paper translates into reality but in the meantime, try not to turn blue.