Is It Time For Yaroslav Askarov To Get The Call Up For The San Jose Sharks?

9 comments

1. Absolutely time for Askarov if Vanachek is hurt.

2. Don't leave the front of the net.

3. What better time to get his first NHL start than a team like Detroit that can't shoot to save their lives. He could probably get a 6 shot shut out.

4. I really liked the toffoli-wenberg-dellandrea line. What needs to happen but wont, is Guschin, bords or graf on the celebrini-smith line

5. Elite south park reference

6. Looks like Pickels is back.

7. I am not in agreement with having more games with W. Smith and Celebrini on the same line. IMO this is a recipe for disaster for the sake of a short term thrill.

   1) This does no favors for W. Smith and will IMO not help in his development in the long or short term. He needs a more experienced PAIR of experienced linemates as his defensive game is no where near where Celebrini's is.

   2) Putting Toffoli with that line will not help as Toffoli, for all his goal scoring prowess, is playing a slower pace game. He is a scorer and not that great on the defensive end. They need a defensive forward to make up for W. Smith's defensive woes (as an 18 year old rookie that is still learning) and the occasion where Celbrini has his own rookie moments. Without breaking up the "Lund" line there is no forward the Sharks have that can fill that role on the LW.

   4) The "Lund" line does score but many nights gets caught in their own end and gives up a lot of shots and goals. Mainly they give you more than they give, but if we are being honest, that is a 50/50 proposition. It also makes the Sharks a one line team.

   IMO the lines should be:

   Eklund – Celebrini – Toffoli

   Referred to as the "70's" line by a lady on another podcast, this lines works. It has the best LW the Sharks have to and provides one of the best two-way playmaking forwards the Sharks have.

   He works behind the net in the offensive zone while Toffoli works in front of the net. Leaving Celebrini to create the way he has in the NCAA (if you watched his games at Boston Univ.) and keeps him from taking more hits than he should.

   Because I do think that W. Smith needs talent to help unlock his potential, IMO this would be line 2:

   Zetterlund – Granlund – W. Smith

   In this case, W. Smith plays on his natural side (RW) and has the benefit of having two forwards that compliment his game. He also could still play center on some shifts and take faceoffs when Warso deems it to be smart.

   Zetterlund is listed as a LW so he could move to his natural slot. He plays a North-South power forward game. He allows W. Smith to stay where he should be (he has enough of a time getting up to game pace, physicality, etc.) and is fast/physical enough to create space for W. Smith by backing up the defensemen or moving them out if the way (we have seen what he was doing in the offseason, he is a beast). He also hustles back as well.

   Granlund can do what he has been doing since joining the Sharks. Be a good 200 foot player who plays intelligently. He also has a great defensive game and is a playmaker. Allowing W. Smith to expand what he can do in the offensive zone and possibly shoot more when possible.

   He also allows W. Smith to make mistakes because of Granlund's mature game. He is excellent at taking faceoffs (and this leads into my second point) and is a great teacher on the ice.

   If you watch him he is always talking to his linemates before the faceoff and, at times, on the bench. As he (IMO) was critical to developing Eklund last season when they were on the same line, I think he can help W. Smith as well.

   I am not saying I think that right now W. Smith is our sixth best forward. What I am saying is that W. Smith has improved enough in his short time with the Sharks that he should be playing with better talent than (no insult intended) Goodrow and Kunin or Wennberg for that matter.

   Just an opinion.

8. As to not starting games well. IMO, their issue is not that they do not start games well. It is that they seem to be able to play two good periods and for one period, for whatever reason, they play like crap. It is a matter of consistency which is always a struggle for young teams.

   The Sharks are playing two 18 year old's in prominent minutes, three rookies on most nights and six players that are 25 or younger who play under a rookie head coach (the youngest in the league) with a total of 12 new players that play most nights.

   The new players are Thompson, Celebrini, W. Smith, Toffoli, Liljegrin, Walman, Ceci, Goodrow, Dellandria, Grundstrom, Wennberg, Vitek.

   That is half the goalie tandem, half the defense (with Liljegrin playing all of seven games with the Sharks ) and half the forwards ( with your key player missing almost the entire start of the season).

   I believe this team will get more consistent with time. We are starting to see the results as they are changing the culture but the loss of Celebrini threw a monkey wrench into the plan.

   It seems to me they had settled into their lines and roles until Celebrini came back and now that he playing the coach needs to adjust the lines for him. That will take a good dozen games IMO.

   My hope is that the tinkering ends in a couple weeks and we finally get some solidity with the lines combinations. Then I think their timing will get better, their play will improve, the scoring will increase, and they will play more of a solid 60 minute game.

   But like I have preached since GMMG took over, we as fans must be patient as you have stated yourself. It is the process and not the results. The great thing is that we are already seeing the results of GMMG, both in the NHL and the AHL.

   The future is teal!

9. Last comment. I would prefer (now that they have recalled Askarov) that they start Askarov on Wednesday rather than Thursday.

   1) Blackwood I expect to be in goal tonight.
   2) Blackwood is the more experienced goalie and should start (IMO) on Thornton's night.
   3) Buffalo on Wednesday is the easiest opponent between them and Colorado and I want Askarov to have the best chance to success.
   4) On back-to-back nights I think GMMG might have a "development" day for W. Smith or Celebrini on Thursday and I would like to see all three on the ice together.

   I understand that Thursday would mean more ticket sales with Askarov but I do not think the Sharks should care about one game's ticket sales and think more about seeing as much of their young talent on the ice at the same time as they can get against a weaker opponent to give them the best chance for success.

   Just as a note, I also hope that Thompson and Thrun play on Wednesday with Askarov, Celebrini, Smith, Eklund, and Zetterlund. All players that are the future of the Sharks.