The San Jose Sharks and the Vancouver Canucks will both play their first preseason game tonight at the SAP Center in San Jose. The Sharks practiced this morning with two familiar faces making their first appearance at training camp.
Pavelski and Donskoi Back From World Cup
Captain Joe Pavelski and winger Joonas Donskoi both returned to Sharks Ice after playing this summer in the World Cup of Hockey. Sharks Head Coach Peter DeBoer was both happy to see Pavelski and hoping to keep him off the ice a bit more.
“It’s nice, tough to keep him away. You want him to take some time off here and make sure he’s rested, but he wants to be around,” said DeBoer about Pavelski returning to the ice so quickly. “He wants to be here, and that’s what makes him special.”
After the Sharks Stanley Cup Final loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, lack of team speed was seen as a large contributing factor. Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson added speed throughout the organization in the signing of Mikkel Boedker, David Schlemko, Marcus Sorensen and Tim Heed during the offseason. It is something DeBoer has mentioned often, and the pace of practice has picked up again as training camp continues.
“I think when we sat down at the end of the season, you always look what did we do well, what can we improve at. I think getting our team speed up a little bit was one of the areas we can improve. And that’s not just personnel; that’s how we want to play too. We can play faster from a system point of view, so that’s on us as coaches.”
“Doug’s done his part and added some speed with the personnel we added, so that’s something we’re going to talk about here this year.”
Pavelski Returns
The experience of playing for the Stanley Cup, even if not winning it, still is a benefit. Pavelski was asked how much it helps to know what it takes to make a deep playoff run as the Sharks begin this year’s campaign.
“I think the biggest thing is you understand as a team. You really need your team. A lot of guys step up along the way,” Pavelski said after participating in the pregame skate. “That’s the biggest thing you take out of that. You’re not going to get a shot next week at it. So there’s that process, let’s not look too far ahead. Let’s get back up to speed here at camp and get everyone on the same page.”
Grosenick Starting In Goal
The Sharks open the game with a roster heavy on young prospects as expected. Troy Grosenick will get the start in net, and while he is not changing his approach to the game, he hopes to continue some of the changes he made during the offseason.
“Same approach, it’s not my first preseason game. So treat it like any other game and go out and stop some pucks,” said Grosenick. “It’s just good to play. I feel like I’ve carried over what I did in the summer into practices. Now it’s about carrying it over to the game. That’s the real test.”
O’Regan To Make Sharks Debut
Long-time prospect Danny O’Regan will make his San Jose Sharks debut tonight. O’Regan finished his four-year NCAA eligibility with Boston University and will pull on a Sharks sweater for the first time after being selected by the Sharks in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.
“It’s really cool. I’m really excited. A little bit I guess I’m a little nervous, but just really excited,” O’Regan said. “To play at the SAP Center and put on the jersey for the first time, it’s definitely something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time just a really cool experience and excited I get to [get on the ice] tonight finally.
O’Regan is playing center almost exclusively at training camp and has often been flanked for much of camp by Kevin Labanc and Sorensen. He has looked solid at the pivot position and during the morning skate had NHL regular Matthew Nieto taking the place of Sorensen.
“I’ve played center most of my life, but played wing a little bit.” So I’ve kind of got used to both, but I like center. I always felt comfortable [at center] and the college experience definitely helped that.”
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