If you’ve ever tried to grow a bonsai tree, you know it’s one of the must frustrating and patience-testing activities known to man. An extremely slow process without any guaranteed results, the seeds have to be stored away in a cool, shady spot for months at a time, requiring the perfect conditions to grow. Too damp and they’ll rot before they can sprout, too dry and they’ll wither in the soil. Meanwhile, you long for the day you can do a Mr. Miyagi-esque pruning of your mature bonsai tree and you’re unknowingly waiting for a reward that will never come.
Waiting for the maturity of an NHL prospect isn’t much different. Some have been rushed to the NHL too quickly, severely hampering their development, while others have lingered in the minors until their confidence erodes and they disappear from the prospect radar altogether. Either a player needs the talent to overcome any obstacle or the conditions have to be just right to foster growth. However, like the bonsai tree, there aren’t any guarantees that a player will live up to expectations and achieve NHL success.
Sharks prospects Logan Couture and Nick Petrecki were sent to Worcester yesterday, and they’ll continue their development with the Sharks’ AHL affiliate for the near future. Neither player had appeared in more than a few professional games before the start of a training camp, but both were tabbed as candidates to earn roster spots with the big club this season.
Yesterday’s news might be seen as a demotion by some; an indicator that both players have underachieved to some extent by failing to compete at an NHL level. Others might see it as a step in the process; a necessity that will make them better players in the long run and help them build confidence. We can also speculate that their salaries might have played a role in the decision, since both players have cap hits of over $1 million and San Jose doesn’t have the space to accommodate them. Ultimately, everyone can agree that they simply weren’t ready for the speed and skill on display at the NHL level, and for a couple of 20-year-olds there’s nothing wrong with that.
Whether it’s fair or not, players are always compared against others in their draft class. Ten players selected in the first round of the 2007 draft have appeared in NHL games including Max Pacioretty, who the Montreal Canadiens selected with the first-round pick they received from the Sharks in the 2007 trade deadline deal for Craig Rivet. Coming off a decent rookie season that saw him net 11 points in 34 games, Pacioretty is penciled in as a third-liner for the Canadiens this season.
It’s cruelly ironic that the Sharks now have three first-rounders from the 2007 draft in their prospect system and none of them appear NHL-ready, while their original pick is lighting up Habs camp this season. Couture and Petrecki have been joined by Patrick White, who was drafted 25th overall by the Vancouver Canucks and has already been labeled a bust after two lackluster seasons at the University of Minnesota. Unfortunately, he might be a seed that just never grows. We’ll have to wait and find out.
When it comes to Couture and Petrecki is there cause for concern? Should we write them off because they haven’t accomplished as much as players like Sam Gagner or David Perron? Hardly. While major junior and college have their differences, remember that it’s a huge jump from either of them to a full-time spot in the NHL and both players will make the jump in their own time. You can’t rush the development process any more than you can force a bonsai tree to grow more quickly, so fans just have to wait and hope that their patience is rewarded.
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There was a lot of power play work during a short morning skate today at Sharks Ice. It was interesting to see Jason Demers playing the point on the top unit with Boyle, Heatley, Thornton and Setoguchi. He has to have the inside track as the team’s sixth defenseman at this point, because Derek Joslin hasn't shown much at either end. Tonight’s game should help clear things up a little more as we’re eight days from the season opener.
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You won’t find two assistant coaches anywhere who look more alike than Matt Shaw and Trent Yawney. They could be twins. I swear, I spent the first day of training camp thinking that Yawney was everywhere, and the real explanation is better than my initial idea of cloning for coaching purposes. Honestly, this isn’t a knock on Yawney, but if the Sharks decided to clone him rather than Boyle or Marleau it would be a terrible misapplication of that technology.
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Assuming Jamie McGinn is a lock for the opening night roster, Couture’s departure leaves Frazer/Fraizer/Fraiser/Fray-zhur McLaren and Benn Ferriero as the two young forwards battling for a spot.
McLaren is a big, tough kid and the heir to Jody Shelley’s throne. At 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, he’s a lot to handle in front of the net and can chuck knuckles with any other 21-year-old out there. His skating is coming along, but McLaren doesn’t have far to go to fill Shelley’s boots, and a rough-and-tumble game against the Canucks tonight should help Shark fans see where he’s at.
Ferriero has been a star in preseason, and it’s a credit to the Sharks scouting staff that they picked him up and gave him a shot. Of course, the Sharks don’t stray far from their comfort zone (i.e. Ottawa 67’s) and they noticed him because they were in the rink watching Petrecki’s development at Boston College and Ferriero was a teammate. However, he’s a talented kid and hard worker who’s earned a long look and might play his way into a part-time NHL role.
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Not sure on the exact lines for tonight’s game in Vancouver, but Moore, Vlasic, Boyle, Heatley, McGinn, Dandenault and Hinote took some extra conditioning after the morning skate, offering a clue that they won’t be in the lineup tonight. That means Manny Malhotra should be playing, and it will be interesting to see who fills that spot on the top line with Thornton and Setoguchi.
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Want a place to discuss the latest on the Sharks? Join me for the SharksBuzz Postgame Show at approximately 9:30 p.m. PT. We’re going live after every Sharks road game this season, so tune in and join the conversation at (724) 444-7444, talkcast ID# 74909.
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