Marc-Edouard Vlasic

CaptainShark

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Sep 25, 2004
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I thought he already put one past Kipper in the pre season, I could be mistaken though.

Yeah, he did score on Kipper and he was well aware of the fact that he just scored on the guy that was traded for the pick that was used to draft him (stated that in an interview) :)
 

Faute

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Jun 17, 2006
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He's completely blown past all my expectations. He looked pretty good in juniors, but he didn't seem nowhere near as polished. I have always questioned his hockey smarts, but so far it looks as if I may be proven wrong. Either Vlasic really improved over the summer or never got a chance to show his stuff while in the QMJHL.

I don't want to sound rude, but how often have you seen him play in the Q? The first thing I notice every time I see him on the ice is how smart he is on the ice. He simply knows how to play hockey.
 

X-SHARKIE

Registered User
I don't want to sound rude, but how often have you seen him play in the Q? The first thing I notice every time I see him on the ice is how smart he is on the ice. He simply knows how to play hockey.

I have to agree there. The first time I saw him was at the ADT Challenge durring his draft year where when he was on the ice, shut down Alex Radulov. That was pretty impressive, and the thing that instantly jumped out was his hockey sense, especially positioning himself in his own zone and making the first pass out of the zone.

Although I never imagined he would be so good so fast.
 

OrrNumber4

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Jul 25, 2002
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I don't want to sound rude, but how often have you seen him play in the Q? The first thing I notice every time I see him on the ice is how smart he is on the ice. He simply knows how to play hockey.

I've seen him play quite a few times, and you are right, he did have good hockey sense. But whenver I talked about him, it was always in comparison to Josh Gorges, Matt Carle, and/or Michael Vernace, and in comparison to those guys (especially Gorges and Carle) it seemed like Vlasic had some more maturing to do. So when I "question" his hockey sense, it was more like: "Is it good enough that he could play in the NHL right now?"
 

LaLaLaprise

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Feb 28, 2002
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Dmen from the Q dont get much respect and among Q fans everyone knew Vlasic was going to be an amazing player...much like Gragnani and Letang...those 3 are underrated around this board, more so Vlasic and Gragnani.

To Q fans, seeing Vlasic do this well isnt a surprise...he was getting little to no respect from most people on here, minus Sharks fans.
 

Pure Rock Fury*

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Dhe was getting little to no respect from most people on here, minus Sharks fans.

You just described every single sharks prospect. I bet if we won the lottery and got Crosby, he'd still be treated like every Sharks prospect.
 

CaptainShark

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All that matters is how they play in the show.

Exactly... I really enjoy reading draft-reviews year-after-year that rip the Sharks-staff for making "questionable decisions", "overpaying", etc... In the end, it all works out well...

When the Sharks selected Carle (they moved up to get him) I remember vividly how that move was called a reach and that Carle would have fallen and blah... Who cares? We made sure we got him and that move looks great now :)

There was also a lot of criticism that the Sharks passed on Parise and selected Bernier 16th OA... Not that Parise is bad or anything, but I am quite happy with Steve :)
 

Sturminator

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Exactly... I really enjoy reading draft-reviews year-after-year that rip the Sharks-staff for making "questionable decisions", "overpaying", etc... In the end, it all works out well...

When the Sharks selected Carle (they moved up to get him) I remember vividly how that move was called a reach and that Carle would have fallen and blah... Who cares? We made sure we got him and that move looks great now :)

There was also a lot of criticism that the Sharks passed on Parise and selected Bernier 16th OA... Not that Parise is bad or anything, but I am quite happy with Steve :)

Tim Burke keeps his own counsel on who to draft and the front-office has enough faith in his judgment to aggressively go after the kids he targets and stick with them as they develop into NHL players.

That's another thing about the Sharks; they trade almost none of their top prospects away. The franchise will trade draft picks or roster players who were developed in the system (Sturm, Stuart, Kiprusoff, Jillson, etc.), but with the exception of Brad Boyes (who was acquired via trade, anyway...and was dealt foolishly in the only truly bad Sharks trade in recent memory), San Jose almost never peddles away farmhands without getting a good look at them on NHL ice first.

Hence all those corny "building from within" avatars among Sharks fans, I suppose. Is San Jose the most homegrown team in the NHL? Gotta be pretty damn close. I can only think of six starters who aren't from the Sharks system: Thornton, Bell, Nieminen, Grier, Brown and McLaren.
 

pkbrux

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Jul 19, 2006
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I've been blown away by how well Pickles has played so far...19 year old defensemen rarely have this type of poise, especially in their own zone. At first I thought he'd just be here for the 10 games and then go back to juniors, but at this point I dont think the Sharks can afford to send him back, he has been on of the best dmen on the ice.
 

Sturminator

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How many points do you think he will be able to put this year (if he stays in SJ all year) and in the future?

It's kind of hard to say. He's obviously got tremendous vision and hockey sense and he passes and skates well, so that suggests that he'll put up points. He's on the 2nd unit powerplay now with Hannan, but unlikely to crack the top unit manned by Carle and Ehrhoff any time soon.

We haven't really seen yet what Vlasic can do offensively. He's playing a very simple, steady game right now - not trying to do too much. When he gets more confidence in his game it's possible that he could end up being a 50-60 point guy in his prime, or he could top out at the 20-30 point level.

Even Sharks fans are shocked at how well Pickles has played, but he's still a 19 year old defenseman, and they are notoriously hard to project.
 

Grizzly Adams

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May 28, 2002
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That's Link Gaetz in your avatar, right?
That be the Gaetz of hell himself.

Also, just to have somthing worth reading in here, Vlasic was out again on the 5 on 3 PK against the Flames. I'm actually pretty shocked that coach Ron Wilson continues to do this. Is he trying to wear him down before he gets sent back to the juniors?

So far he has been able to keep up and has shown very good decision making skills when pressured. Hope he finds his offense soon enough.
 

Falloooooon

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Nov 11, 2004
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How much of a question can there be about sending him back to juniors? I don't see how they can do it, unless they just think he will wear down too much playing in the NHL all season. But, they can control that by sitting him in some games. He is clearly better than Davison or Murray, who would move into the lineup if he gets sent back. So why would they do it?
 

Sturminator

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How much of a question can there be about sending him back to juniors? I don't see how they can do it, unless they just think he will wear down too much playing in the NHL all season. But, they can control that by sitting him in some games. He is clearly better than Davison or Murray, who would move into the lineup if he gets sent back. So why would they do it?

I don't see Pickles getting sent down, either. From what I've heard (hearsay from Q fans) his conditioning is outstanding. From the results of the games it's obvious that he doesn't lack playing strength. Unless Vlasic lays an egg or two in the next six games, I think he'll stick. At this point he's not even the team's #6 defenseman. He's the five and Gorges is the six.
 

Grizzly Adams

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May 28, 2002
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The only reason that I would send him down is to protect the investment. He is a great prospect, but we should be careful not to pull a Jeff Jillson with him. More often than not, players who are brought up to quickly don't reach their full potential.
 

Sturminator

Love is a duel
Feb 27, 2002
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The only reason that I would send him down is to protect the investment. He is a great prospect, but we should be careful not to pull a Jeff Jillson with him. More often than not, players who are brought up to quickly don't reach their full potential.

Marleau and Sturm turned out allright.

Jeff Jillson's problem is not that he was rushed. He was 21 years old and spent a good chunk of games in the A in his first professional season before being called up. Jeff Jillson's problem is that he sucks. Yet another brilliant Dean Lombardi move; his front office realized that Jillson was garbage and dumped him (with Hackett, who was previously acquired for Sundstrom and a 3rd - there were also 4th rounders swapped in the deal) on an unsuspecting Bruins team for an actual, useful NHL defenseman: Kyle McLaren.

Pickles is being brought along much faster than Jillson was. I don't think NHL franchises should keep a prospect up if they don't believe the player can handle a full season in the league, but what about Vlasic makes you think he can't hack it? Allowing prospects time to "get used to the grind" of the long North American professional hockey season is overrated. Tons of young guys go straight from the the CHL, college or short-season European leagues straight into the NHL without a hiccup. Should we be worried about Matt Carle, as well? I know you didn't say that, but it's such a common argument for sending prospects down, I thought I would bring it up.

Vlasic has shown that he has more than enough talent to play in the NHL this year. To be honest, of all the rookie defensemen I've ever seen in a Sharks jersey, Vlasic makes me the least nervous. Barring a major setback in his play over the next six games, I think he's a Shark this season.
 

pkbrux

Registered User
Jul 19, 2006
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Yes, if players are brought up before they are ready, it can really be detrimental to their development...

...But Pickles has shown nothing that leads me to believe he is up here too soon. He hasnt made any defensive blunders, which is amazing given his age. The team cant afford to send him down, he has been too good.
 

CaptainShark

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Sep 25, 2004
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Fulda, Germany
Also, just to have somthing worth reading in here, Vlasic was out again on the 5 on 3 PK against the Flames. I'm actually pretty shocked that coach Ron Wilson continues to do this. Is he trying to wear him down before he gets sent back to the juniors?

He will continue to do this as long as he thinks that pickles will do a better job then the other d-man available... ;)

Remember all that talk of "you have to earn your roster-spot" and "you have to earn your ice-time"? Pickles is doing just that... And RW is sticking to his word that he doesn´t look at age/status, etc... He said sth. like "if a 10 year old came to camp and blew me away, he would earn a spot in the lineup" :D
 

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