BY HANNAH PURKEY

In print | Published October 30, 2008

Because of the length of the season, hockey commentators argue about how early one can tell if a team will have a good season or if they will be contenders for the Stanley Cup. Still, with the way the Sharks have started the season, I don’t think anyone could argue that they are not a team to watch. With 7-2-0 so far, this has been one of the best starts for the team since its creation during the 1991 season.

Considering the changes that took place in the short time since last season, this is no small feat. The team this season has a new coach with an entirely new vision for the team’s style of play — a defensive line anchored by several new players — and the loss of some key figures from last year’s team. And all of this after coming off a disappointing end to last season’s playoffs. Watching the team play, however, you wouldn’t know it. There are five things in the team’s first ten games that have helped, or hindered, their success so far.

1. Composure.
It’s a simple concept to understand but not an easy one to show with thousands of screaming fans and an opposing team of some of the best players in the game just waiting to slam you against the boards. And yet, both the returning and new faces of the Sharks have shown amazing composure so far. The team hasn’t been thrown off when the game isn’t going their way; they just keep playing, throwing pucks to the net and putting pressure on opposing teams’ defenses. In their game on Friday against the Florida Panthers, after Ryane Clowe had a power play goal disallowed, what did he do? That’s right; he scored again, legally this time, in the same power play. Having a goal taken away or getting scored on can be a huge mental block for athletes. The Sharks have done an amazing job this season in overcoming that block, and this has already paid off in more than one stolen, last-minute victory.

2. The power play.
Special teams can make or break a season, but so far the Sharks have been strong on their power play and penalty kills. Players like Devon Setoguchi have been aggressive in driving to the net and getting penalties called, giving the Sharks the opportunity to go up in numbers. The best part of the Sharks’ power play this season is its unpredictability. Last season, the team had a tendency to get complacent with the man advantage and became static on the ice. This year, players have been covering enormous space, and defenders, like Dan Boyle, have really been making an effort to get into the attack, essentially giving the Sharks another forward. While this aggressiveness is good, defense on a power play is still important. Short-handed goals should be rare, so letting Danny Brier of the Philadelphia Flyers score two short-handed goals in back-to-back games shows that there is always room for improvement, even on a good power play.

3. Turnovers.
Just don’t do them. Against the Flyers last week, there were three turnovers in the first 15 minutes, two of which lead to goals. It was an extremely high-scoring game, but turnovers just show a blatant disregard for puck possession and sloppy play. What was especially shocking is that the player who was most guilty of this in the Philadelphia series was none other than Captain Patrick Marleau.

4. Big players making big plays.
Joe Thorton is currently under a three year $21.6 million contract. Other team leaders are under similar contracts, and for that kind of money, fans and coaches demand results. It will be key this season for the big players on this team to play like big players. So far, this has not been a problem. Jonathan Cheechoo, who has previously been criticized for his slow starts to the season, is already impacting the team through not only his scoring but also his tough style of play. Marleau has had problems contributing to the team’s offense in past seasons, but this year has gotten onto the scoreboard early and stayed there. Other key players to look for this season include, as always, goal tender Evgeni Nabokov as well as Devon Setoguchi, who, although only in his second year with the Sharks, is already playing like a veteran.

5. Team chemistry.
In professional sports, it can be hard to maintain steady team chemistry with players of such varied ages and experiences, and with such long — and sometimes negative — histories of playing against one another on different teams. However, the Sharks have had no problem learning how to adapt to the changes Coach McLellan has thrown at them. They have stepped up as a team. It’s great to see that when players on teams like the Anaheim Ducks try to push around some of the younger Sharks players, veterans like Jody Shelley, the team’s leading fighter, immediately step in to defend them. In fact, in the second game against the Ducks this year, even Joe Thorton, who usually spends more time on the ice than in the penalty box, stepped up to stick up for his teammates, showing that truly anything is possible this season.

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