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Wilson thins out roster on
Sunday
Stalock headed back to Worcester
After polar opposite performances on Saturday
night, the Sharks will have two more games to decided who stays and who goes
before the 2010 NHL Season kicks off on October 8th. General Manager Doug
Wilson made that significantly clearer on Sunday by designating eleven players
for assignment. Most notably, goaltender Alex Stalock and centerman Steve
Zalewski were sent back to Worcester to reduce the roster to 33 players.
With the regular season wackiness that goes along with a season
kickoff half way around the world, the Sharks will most likely carry some
insurance policies with them to Sweden next weekend. While regulars don't
typically see a ton of ice time during the preseason, the Sharks may suit up
many of their regulars in a final tune up in Mannheim Germany on October 2nd.
Stalock's move was no surprise, although he sends a strong message to
the trio of goaltenders still in camp. He'll be a force for the Sharks sooner
than later, which is exactly how Wilson wants it. The Anttii Niemi, Antero
Nittymaki, Thomas Greiss trifecta are all jockeying for the #1 netminding roll,
even though Niemi is the odds on favorite to lock up most of the ice time
between the pipes.
Stalock gives Wilson an instant out next year when
Niemi's contract expires. Training camp simply provided a glimpse of Wilson's
goaltending insurance policy.
Zalewski is an up and coming forward
that made significant strides within the Sharks system last year, and was
rewarded with a brief cup of coffee at the NHL level (3 games) last season.
Eight other players were returned to Worcester, including forwards Dan
DaSilva, Andrew Desjardins, Kevin Henderson, Tony Lucia, James Marcou, and Cory
Quirk. Those players will be joined by defenseman Justin Braun and goaltender
Carter Hutton, who will serve as Stalock's backup.
San Jose also
assigned goaltender Harri Sateri back to Tampere, his Finnish League club.
DaSilva is a jouneyman right wing, who has spent the last eight years
bouncing around the AHL, ECHL, and CHL. His solid year in Worcester led to a
free agent contract this past summer.
Henderson is a large forward who
can provide the Sharks AHL affiliate with some size up front.
Lucia
will start his first season as a professional after 4 years at the University
of Minnesota. The Sharks 6th round draft pick in 2005 will get a shot at
becoming a setup man in Worcester.
Marcou is another collegiate player
that will make the jump to the professional ranks after spending the last three
years at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst. The 22-year old forward
stands a mere 5'7", but has big offensive upside. He averaged better than a
point a game in his last two years of college.
Of the players that still remain on the roster, Tommy
Wingels may be the most intriguing. The Sharks 6th round draft pick in 2008
will most likely end up with the Sharks top minor league affiliate, but he
shown that he's a tough customer. He hasn't shown any signs of showing
opponents on the ice, including his own teammates.
His hit on Logan
Couture during the Sharks Teal & White Game last week was a borderline
cheap shot, but he's playing to get noticed. His 6-foot frame makes him someone
to worry about out on the ice. Just ask Couture.
Defensive tryout
Andreas Lilja didn't hurt himself on Saturday night, turning in a solid 16-plus
minutes of ice time, going +2 on the night. Lilja also saw time on the penalty
kill unit.
Justin Braun is another defenseman who didn't hurt himself
on Saturday night, racking up the third highest number of minutes in playing
time. Defenseman Mike Moore and forward Cory Quirk took bad penalties in the
Sharks 2-1 loss in Phoenix. Both resulted in power play tallies for the
Coyotes.
Camp Notes:
Sunday practices were cancelled,
in lieu of team meetings.
The Sharks will practice at Sharks Ice
Monday morning starting at 11am, then play in Vancouver on Tuesday night. They
wrap up their North American pre-season schedule on Wednesday night at HP
Pavilion against the same Canucks.
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