Shark Week: Week Twelve Player Rankings

by FTF Staff on Dec 28, 2010 10:00 AM PST in Shark Week Player Rankings

"Shark Week" will be a piece that runs every week on Fear the Fin, where Plank and TCY will track the progress of the players over the course of each week. The players are listed alphabetically, the arrows will indicate the change on a weekly basis. We will also keep track of our top five Sharks players each week.

Big stick tap to Japer's Rink, whose weekly feature called "Capitals Ups and Downs" helped inspire this series. In fact, we pretty much stole it entirely.

Goalies___________	Trending	Notes
Antti Niemi		The tandem goaltending has worked out well for San Jose as of late; before Niemi's third period issues against LA he had been playing well. Even in that game, he kept the Sharks in throughout the tilt as they were thoroughly out shot and out played.
Antero Niittymaki		Niittymaki's complaint over his lack of starts didn't fall on deaf ears. He has seemed to regain the starter's role from Niemi, and has responded nicely. He hasn't allowed more than a goal in either of his last two starts and has brought his save percentage back up to .910.

Defensemen_______
Dan Boyle		Boyle hasn't played less than 25 minutes per game since the 4-0 win against Ottawa in early December. Although that affected his offense early, the defense is back at full strength and Boyle gets to do more of what he does best. Score. He has five points in his last five games.
Justin Braun		It doesn't seem fair that Braun lost his starting job, but with Huskins and Murray healthy there isn't any room for him. There is the possibility that they roll with seven defensemen (Joslin got the nod against LA); McLellanhas shown that's an option, in addition to possibly giving Braun some time on a forward line.
Jason Demers		He's a good player, and no one is going to say he isn't. But with this team's defensive issues, he's not being allowed to shine offensively as much as we'd like. In his last four games, he has just three shots, even though he's playing more than 19 minutes per night.
Kent Huskins		Huskins has looked slower than slow returning from injury; it just doesn't appear that he's up to game speed yet. He's only played more than 18 minutes once since returning from injury.
Derek Joslin		He was chosen to fill in as the seventh defenseman against Los Angeles on Monday, and responded with a -2 in 9:47 of ice time. We'd assume it's Braun who fills the role next time.
Douglas Murray		Like Huskins, he hasn't looked the best since returning from injury. The team needs his physicality and his minutes.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic		Even though he was also -2 against Los Angeles, he's been leaned upon to play big minutes. We're hoping that his recent offensive resurgence will continue.
Niclas Wallin		His minutes have been down as he's been asked to babysit the rookies most of the time. Still, in 10 games December, he's only been a minus player twice.

Forwards__________
Ryane Clowe		His physicality is still there, but he hasn't been scoring as often as he did when he was named player of the month in November. He has two assists in his last six games... surprise surprise, both on Couture goals.
Logan Couture		He's scoring goals at a clip not seen since Alex Ovechkin's rookie season. Not only a candidate for Rookie of the Year, but also Sharks MVP.
Benn Ferriero		Just three points in December. He's back with Couture and Clowe, who as a line created the best (if not only) chances on Monday. Hopefully he regains his scoring touch.
Dany Heatley		Just two points in his last five games and one shot against LA. He has to pick it up.
Patrick Marleau		Marleau had a three game scoring streak going (2G, 3A in the span) before his team was shut out at the hands of Jonathan Quick. A relief to see him playing well.
Jamal Mayers		Jamal being Jamal?
John McCarthy		Apparently has been nursing an injury for some time, but hadn't impressed in recent minutes. Could lose his spot to the next callup.
Jamie McGinn		A goal would be nice, but he's always giving it his all out there. Gets him points in our book.
Torrey Mitchell		Out with an injury, not expected to be serious.
Scott Nichol		Still a faceoff dynamo, but he's been missing some of the tenacity that made him such an important part of the team last year. The scrap against LA might help reignite his fire.
Joe Pavelski		Thank god he's scoring again. Six assists in his last five games. Has made his line mates Setoguchi and McGinn relevant. Update: Per WTC, Pavelski is hurt and will not make the trip to Minnesota. An up arrow formerly replaced the injury marker.
Joe Thornton		Was a big part of the team's recent four game winning streak. However, he was also a big part of the loss against the Kings. Thornton needs to be more consistent. Too many errant passes intercepted last night.
Devin Setoguchi		Good to have him back, and he's playing with that physical streak that makes him dangerous. Still, he needs to score goals to be effective.

Fear the Fin's Top Five, Week 12

Logan Couture (15)*
Dan Boyle (9)
Joe Pavelski (3)
Antero Niittymaki (2)
Ryane Clowe (9)

*The number in parenthesis tracks the FTF Top Five over the course of the 2010-2011 season. Five points for a week in first place, four for a week in second, etc.

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Elvis and I were talking about the whole Thornton thing last night...

…he really hasn’t played huge since the suspension, and other players are not showing the fear they used to over crossing him. Until he can get over the fear of hitting again, he’s not going to be the same Joe he was. Hopefully this won’t take 30+ games to manifest itself.

As for Niemi, I never thought I’d say this, but he was the best Shark on the ice last night. Oh, wait, let me reprase that, he was the ONLY shark on the ice last night. Possession, time in our zone, and sloppy puck work were really pissing me off last night. I could hardly blame Niemi for going home in the 3rd. He was doing it all, and doing it pretty well.

Scoring depth just sucked. Seriously sucked.

(Those that were there: I was the one yelling “GAWDDAMMIT GUYS, BRING THE EFFING PUCK DOWN TO THIS END!!!” all through the 2nd.)

Since we were there, I missed to post-game with T-Mac, but I’m pretty sure we all know how that one went.

"Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it."
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by Noctro on Dec 28, 2010 10:51 AM PST reply actions

He was unamused.

"Skillet, we just spent $64,000 in that bar. So we're gonna have to get jobs to cover up the fact that we rob banks" -Mouse Fitzgerald

by joe579 on Dec 28, 2010 2:00 PM PST up reply actions

by Old Kentucky Shark on Dec 29, 2010 11:04 AM PST up reply actions

I remember a few seasons ago, Thornton had a nagging groin injury and couldn’t do anything right. He couldn’t protect the puck on the boards and all his passes lost some zip.

Considering how soft his errant passes have been in the past month or so, I’m thinking he’s gotta have something affecting him. That skill doesn’t just disappear overnight.

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by Mike Chen on Dec 28, 2010 11:18 AM PST reply actions

Whatever the source, I hope he shakes it off...

…we need our Captain back.

"Never start a fight, but ALWAYS finish it."
Bleeding teal since 1997
Noctro is a HORRIBLE stenographer...but he's a GREAT SJ Sharks Fan!!!
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by Noctro on Dec 28, 2010 11:26 AM PST up reply actions

We need our star playmaker back.

The soft, wide, no look, no communication, no-play-there-anyway garbage passes are slowly nibbling away at my soul.
Needless to say it got absolutely chewed on last night, after which the Sharks proceeded to floss with my spirit.

"That's my dummy!" - Joe Thornton, Brian Duffy
So, the caterpillar has emerged from its cocoon as a shark, with a gun for a mouth.

by CloweMyWord! on Dec 28, 2010 12:01 PM PST up reply actions

And those are those Shark teeth being flossed too! Your spirit has been ripped into tatters!

"Skillet, we just spent $64,000 in that bar. So we're gonna have to get jobs to cover up the fact that we rob banks" -Mouse Fitzgerald

by joe579 on Dec 28, 2010 2:01 PM PST up reply actions

Only 2 up arrows among the forwards

And I think the up given to Patrick Marleau might be a bit generous, but whatever.

For a team whose strength is supposedly its scoring depth, that’s very troubling. Not a good week in Teal Town. Given the number of divisional games and conference games coming in these stretches, I’d like to see more players trending up.

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What Jay Leach is to the San Jose Shark's Defense, I am to Fear The Fin's Mod Squad.

by ElvisVF101 on Dec 28, 2010 2:13 PM PST reply actions

Eh, Marleau actually scored a couple goals…which for him lately is an improvement. I’m not sure the up arrow means he’s playing well. He is not. But he did play better than the week previous, so he gets a green arrow.

This team’s highly paid players need to start playing like highly paid players. That rookie Couture is scoring like a 7 million dollar player, and our actual 7 million dollar players are playing like 1 million dollar rookies is not a good trend to have. LOVE Couture playing well…but HTML needs to get themselves to Couture level. It would be foolish for the team to count on Couture scoring at Ovechkin rookie levels all season.

"If you can accept losing, you can't win." ~Vince Lombardi
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by ZeroIndulgence on Dec 28, 2010 3:20 PM PST up reply actions

Marleau is playing better, and deserves the up arrow.

Remember, it’s on a week to week basis. And a three game point streak with 5 points in those games is worthy of the old up arrow.

Fear the Fin: "I've always said that if you don't have the motivation within you... It's not Doug Wilson's job to motivate me. I've got motivation within myself, especially going through some of the experiences that I had last year." - Nick Petrecki

by Matthew_Taylor on Dec 28, 2010 3:39 PM PST up reply actions

McCarthy has been injured

The reality of his injury became apparent when he didn’t replace Mitchell in the lineup last night. DP mentioned in Working the Corners yesterday that McCarthy hasn’t been practicing, so I’d go ahead and replace the down arrow there with another red cross.

Maybe this will mean a Frazer McLaren sighting in Minnesota. Seems like a long time since we’ve seen the big guy.

by Timorous Me on Dec 28, 2010 3:32 PM PST reply actions

Thanks for the heads up. Must have missed it.

by Matthew_Taylor on Dec 28, 2010 3:37 PM PST up reply actions

Damnit Sharks, I wanted you to make it rain green arrows not grey lines...

I suspect we’ll see a couple of Worcester kids in the coming days, since the injured list has blossomed again (Mitchell and McCarthy and now Pavelski, with Heater supposedly sick). I doubt they’ll count on Joslin and Braun to both fill holes since last night didn’t go so hot and Braun was held out for Jaws. No ideas on who it’ll be though.

I just talk a lot and somehow accidentally say things that sound smart. It’s all smoke and mirrors, I tell ya.

by Auth0r on Dec 28, 2010 3:44 PM PST via mobile reply actions

THEY COULD ALWAYS JUST CALL UP CHEECHOO!!!

THAT’S HOW IT WORKS, RIGHT? JUST CALL HIM UP?

Haha, seriously, though, it does appear we’ll need a center for the 3rd line. Not sure who’s looking good in Worcester…maybe Zalewski or Desjardins, if they’ve looked good. To be honest, I haven’t payed much attention to the Baby Sharks this season.

"If you can accept losing, you can't win." ~Vince Lombardi
The Jody Shelley of FearTheFin's Mod Squad.
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by ZeroIndulgence on Dec 28, 2010 3:49 PM PST up reply actions

You don't even know how hard it was to fight the urge to make a Cheechoo joke earlier after seeing the comments on WTC.

I haven’t watched the kids recently, but Desjardins has good chemistry with DaSilva, Couture, and McCarthy, so he might be an option if we need two guys and choose to also try out DaSilva. Could lead to reuniting the Crazed Rats when McCarthy gets healthy. I think Marcou is an option, too, but he’d probably only get 4th line minutes and I’m pretty sure he and Nichol, even if we threw one of our giant prospect d-men in there, might cause that to be the shortest line in the league.

I just talk a lot and somehow accidentally say things that sound smart. It’s all smoke and mirrors, I tell ya.

by Auth0r on Dec 28, 2010 5:50 PM PST up reply actions

Coyle with a goal against Slovakia! Go prospects go!

"Skillet, we just spent $64,000 in that bar. So we're gonna have to get jobs to cover up the fact that we rob banks" -Mouse Fitzgerald

by joe579 on Dec 28, 2010 6:47 PM PST reply actions

Assisted on the first two goals, too.

Kid’s having a good night.

I just talk a lot and somehow accidentally say things that sound smart. It’s all smoke and mirrors, I tell ya.

by Auth0r on Dec 28, 2010 7:05 PM PST up reply actions

BOOO

Dirty Slovaks are trying to sabotage our glorious team!

"Skillet, we just spent $64,000 in that bar. So we're gonna have to get jobs to cover up the fact that we rob banks" -Mouse Fitzgerald

by joe579 on Dec 28, 2010 7:09 PM PST up reply actions

Saw that.

I’m hoping Coyle can get some points off this long major PP.

I just talk a lot and somehow accidentally say things that sound smart. It’s all smoke and mirrors, I tell ya.

by Auth0r on Dec 28, 2010 7:13 PM PST up reply actions

Couture's well deserved green arrow

As I am forgetting that Monday ever happened…a word about the game on the 23rd with Phx…I know he gets some knock for not getting the assists the other forwards may have he did a heck of a job forcing some penalties and really being a pesky guy during line changes…love the hustle there.

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by jbpeterson on Dec 28, 2010 10:52 PM PST reply actions

Marleau- green arrow deserving

I agree with the green arrow on Marleau. Except for Monday, he has played 10 times better than he did the past 4 weeks beforehand. His speed is coming back, he’s in front of the net a bit more, and his shots are quality. It’s a WEEKLY ranking system guys- Marleau has done better this week.

We all know the HTML needs to step it up a couple notches… but tonight’s another game and hopefully we’ll see it come to life. :)

GO SHARKS!

by winthecupsj on Dec 29, 2010 8:35 AM PST reply actions

Any thoughts on Huskins and Braun switches?

If Huskins isn’t playing so great…. But I haven’t seen the games since I’ve been travelling, we’ll see what I think tonight.

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by ninakix on Dec 29, 2010 10:05 AM PST reply actions

RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE

WHY IS BRAUN BEING SENT DOWN?! WHYYYYYYYYY!!?!?!? ON WHAT PLANET IS THIS ACCEPTABLE!?!?!?! IT’S NOT
GRRRRR
RAGEEEEEEEEEEE

KEEPER OF CAPSLOCK AND TEETH, FANGIRL REPRESENTATION ON FTF
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by ninakix on Dec 29, 2010 10:51 AM PST reply actions

Eh, they weren’t playing him anyways. I’d rather he at least gets playing time in the minors that sit around the press box up here.

"If you can accept losing, you can't win." ~Vince Lombardi
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by ZeroIndulgence on Dec 29, 2010 11:18 AM PST up reply actions

The pragmatist in me agrees with this.

The jersey-wearer in me says it’s a crime against humanity.

I just talk a lot and somehow accidentally say things that sound smart. It’s all smoke and mirrors, I tell ya.

by Auth0r on Dec 29, 2010 3:14 PM PST up reply actions

Where's the game day thread?

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by AmazinglyGraceless on Dec 29, 2010 11:17 AM PST reply actions

Demers and Huskins

“He’s (Demers) a good player, and no one is going to say he isn’t.”

…ummm

He could probably defend against me pretty well, but that’s the only sure bet I’d make with him. When is this experiment going to end? IMHO Braun, Moore and Joslin have all showed more responsibility with the puck then Demers or Huskins, and less propensity to have to tackle a breakaway from behind because they where out of position. Guh! This is why I hate the +/- stat. These 2 look fine on paper, but I have a sense of impending doom whenever they are on the ice…and it generally comes to fruition.

by SouthBayernMunchen on Dec 29, 2010 9:06 PM PST reply actions