Over the upcoming weeks I will be evaluating the players on the Sharks roster who have played in twenty games or more. Players will be given a number between 1-20 for their high, low, and overall. The high being how well they play at their best and the low is the opposite; the overall is what we get out of a player on the season long average.

Dan Boyle’s name was sent around the rumor mill last spring when it came to Sharks who were on the trade block and he didn’t like it one bit. Boyle has emphatically stated that he wants to remain a Shark and I for one believe him.

Make no mistake about it even though Boyle’s time on ice per game is down from a league high 26:14 in 2010/11 to 22:47 this past year he is still the leader of the blue line in San Jose. With the maturation of Vlasic and Braun along with the Brad Stuart signing Boyle hasn’t had to play the tough minutes he used to…which is a wise way of using the talented offensively skilled puck mover. If he has to play against the opposition’s top scorers he can, but he isn’t as effective at shutting them down as he once was.

Some people have made a big to do about his age and that at 37 years young he is on the downside of a stellar career, and it is hard to argue against that, however Boyle still plenty left in the tank and is one of those guys that will likely being playing in the NHL at forty.

The coaching staff has done a great job at slicing his ice time, yet he still seems to be out there in all the important situations. He is the quarterback of the power play, can if required kill penalties, and as we saw against one of the league’s top defenders Ryan Suter he still has the moves as he undressed the Wild’s Norris nominee before he filled the net on one of the year’s best end to end rushes.

Boyle’s expertise are still so well respected around the league that he received an invite to Canada’s Olympic camp this summer and could land himself on the 2014 team competing in Sochi this year. The big ice surface along the puck handling and moving skills that are required to be successful in international play are right up his alley.

There are plenty of reasons why fans and we in the media like Boyle.
First off he leaves his heart on the ice most nights.
He is often very frank and to the point in post-game interviews and doesn’t sugar coat things.
He won’t hesitate to call himself out but never his team mates.
He dazzles and entertains with the man advantage and gets himself out of some tight jams in the corners.
He isn’t shy to mix things up every now and then by dropping the gloves which always gets kudos especially from a guy who makes his living with soft hands.

Player High Low Average
Dan Boyle 17.5 13.5 16

James Sheppard is the other Shark featured today and the one thing that stands out in his career more than anything is his ATV accident that occurred September 7th 2010. That seems to be a crutch on his career.

We are referring to a former first round draft pick that was taken 9th overall in the 2006 draft. This guy lit it up in junior hockey scoring well over a point a game, and he used to play with an edge and earned his respect from all players not just the talented ones.

Shep as his mates call him hadn’t impressed anybody with his numbers in the NHL prior to his accident that fractured his patella or after, but that isn’t to say he wouldn’t have become a player who broke the 20 goal mark a few times in his career. Now that magic number that forwards are measured by seems like a distant dream.

Sheppard’s accident kept him out of the NHL for nearly three years. Last season was his first back and he failed to impress. Any player who misses that much time away from the game will not make an impact right away and may never come close to reaching the potential he once had.

James was part of the Heatley Setoguchi deal with the Wild two years ago.

The reality of the Sheppard situation is that most people would never be the same after that kind of an accident and even though skating is one of Sheppard’s stronger attributes the strength of that knee makes me wonder if he will ever fully trust it.

He is often a half step behind and never really appears to be fully engaged or committed, and after an accident like that who can blame him. It could be that his mind is still adjusting to the speed of the game…or that he just doesn’t have the confidence in his body to fully thrust himself into the situations that playing in the NHL demands.

Sheppard will have an opportunity to play this year on the fourth line and with injuries possibly the third, but unless he really shows the coaching staff something his chances as a top six are done. I can’t help but feel that this is a make or break season for the Halifax, Nova Scotia native and if he is unable to show more it will be the last time we see him in teal.

Player High Low Average
James Sheppard 13 9 11

Next to be evaluated are Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Raffi Torres.

Keep your sticks on the ice,
Cam Gore

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