Speculation: 2020-2021: Sharks Roster Discussion Part 5

[tiburon12]

I think you're seeing people kinda hate on him not just because of his contract. It's because he seems to not play hard quite a bit. 2 seasons ago he was a tire fire all season but when the playoffs came he suddenly started playing well again. It seemed like he wanted to play outside of his skill set and he failed miserably at it.

I remember a few years back Marek (i think) talking about how Crosby saves himself for the playoffs, and that was something he learned as he became a veteran. Because of that, I have for some reason etched it into my brain that Vlasic intentionally does the same thing. No proof or basis for this thinking, but the '19 run helped bolster these feelings.

I agree.

I can see where he's coming from...DeBoer's system is great and Meier is pretty much built for it. He must have liked it a lot.

But what he obviously didn't realize is that DeBoer's coaching was often questionable ingame as well as how stubborn DeBoer was with many decisions. Meier also seems to have forgotten that it was DeBoer holding him back for far too long.

I haven't read many interviews like this from nhl players. I think Meier is legit pissed

i read the google translation of the interview and could understand the meaning of his words but obviously not the tone. When you say he is pissed do you mean he is angry with his situation being on a team that fired a good (in his eyes) coach and missed the playoffs? or pissed that the team underperformed and he is using that anger as motivation to kick ass?

Or maybe that kind of context cant be extracted haha

 

[Reggae Shark]

I agree.

I can see where he's coming from...DeBoer's system is great and Meier is pretty much built for it. He must have liked it a lot.

But what he obviously didn't realize is that DeBoer's coaching was often questionable ingame as well as how stubborn DeBoer was with many decisions. Meier also seems to have forgotten that it was DeBoer holding him back for far too long.

I haven't read many interviews like this from nhl players. I think Meier is legit pissed

Thanks for posting this article!

I google translated the entire interview. It's a pretty sloppy translation but it's still very informative. I have never read an interview like this from an NHLer. This completely changed my opinion of Timo. I do respect him and like him a bit more after reading this, he is more thoughtful and intelligent than i had given him credit for, but he does not hold back.

The DeBoer stuff is confusing to me, he sounds bent about wanting more ice time, yet he claims DeBoer wasn't the problem. Maybe he's just being neutral.

Also confused about the everyone running their own show stuff. I wish he would expand on this. They didn't take it seriously, thought they could win and see Jumbo off with a cup, i personally was unaware that anyone thought the Sharks could easily win a cup with last years team. Pavelski was a huge locker room loss, which we knew, and Jumbo will be a huge loss, then he agrees that they were a slow team due to Jumbo.

He seems less than impressed about salary. Due to tax and NHL dues per 1m in salary he only gets $365k and notes that you can't even write off personal trainers and agents.

When the OHL team first had interest in him they called him and he thought it was a joke. He had no interest from North America before that. I find this strange that he was so surprised.

He calls himself a proud Swiss, doesn't want to be an American. He refused to comment about Trump or politics. He says a Swiss stays neutral and does not speak of politics publicly. I appreciate this.

He describes himself as not having a ton of talent but he has the drive and ability to excel. Never tired.

 

[Hinterland]

Thanks for posting this article!

I google translated the entire interview. It's a pretty sloppy translation but it's still very informative. I have never read an interview like this from an NHLer. This completely changed my opinion of Timo. I do respect him and like him a bit more after reading this, he is more thoughtful and intelligent than i had given him credit for, but he does not hold back.

The DeBoer stuff is confusing to me, he sounds bent about wanting more ice time, yet he claims DeBoer wasn't the problem. Maybe he's just being neutral.

Also confused about the everyone running their own show stuff. I wish he would expand on this. They didn't take it seriously, thought they could win and see Jumbo off with a cup, i personally was unaware that anyone thought the Sharks could easily win a cup with last years team. Pavelski was a huge locker room loss, which we knew, and Jumbo will be a huge loss, then he agrees that they were a slow team due to Jumbo.

He seems less than impressed about salary. Due to tax and NHL dues per 1m in salary he only gets $365k and notes that you can't even write off personal trainers and agents.

When the OHL team first had interest in him they called him and he thought it was a joke. He had no interest from North America before that. I find this strange that he was so surprised.

He calls himself a proud Swiss, doesn't want to be an American. He refused to comment about Trump or politics. He says a Swiss stays neutral and does not speak of politics publicly. I appreciate this.

He describes himself as not having a ton of talent but he has the drive and ability to excel. Never tired.

i read the google translation of the interview and could understand the meaning of his words but obviously not the tone. When you say he is pissed do you mean he is angry with his situation being on a team that fired a good (in his eyes) coach and missed the playoffs? or pissed that the team underperformed and he is using that anger as motivation to kick ass?

Or maybe that kind of context cant be extracted haha

I always recommend to use deepl instead of google. Hope I'm allowed to write that since it's free. They even told us to do so at university. It really is better than google, just less languages covered.

Regarding Meier, I might be reading way too much between the lines but I actually had to read it twice because after the first time I couldn't believe what I've just read.

Asked what the Sharks problem was in 19/20 (first question) the first thing he says is that they never found each other as a team. Then he goes on to say that DeBoer is a super coach and that the coaching change didn't help. Then goes back to say that this team could win cups if it wasn't for everyone running his own show.

That's how the interview started and how he answered a pretty neutral opening question. I don't think I've ever seen this. He must be really frustrated and how can you not see this as taking direct shots at coaching and teammates?

Also, the way he talks about the Joe's, and I think he isn't happy that they're not there anymore. I think he was really tight with them, especially with Thornton. If Thornton felt the same regarding coaching then maybe the DeBoer firing was one of the reasons why he left for Toronto.

Personally, I think that Meier is wrong here. Again, I like the DeBoer's system very much and I can see why Meier misses DeBoer...but DeBoer has just become way too stubborn and narrow minded with the Sharks so he had to go. I just hope that it's just Meier feeling that way and that it's not an indication of something being seriously wrong in this locker room. Just found the interview to be really odd. Obviously it's just text so maybe I'm again...maybe I'm reading too much into it and he's obviously also self critical and saying he has to be better and stand up more but I'm finding it hard not to see his comments as him taking shots at coaches and teammates.

 

[Reggae Shark]

I always recommend to use deepl instead of google. Hope I'm allowed to write that since it's free. They even told us to do so at university. It really is better than google, just less languages covered.

Regarding Meier, I might be reading way too much between the lines but I actually had to read it twice because after the first time I couldn't believe what I've just read.

Asked what the Sharks problem was in 19/20 (first question) the first thing he says is that they never found each other as a team. Then he goes on to say that DeBoer is a super coach and that the coaching change didn't help. Then goes back to say that this team could win cups if it wasn't for everyone running his own show.

That's how the interview started and how he answered a pretty neutral opening question. I don't think I've ever seen this. He must be really frustrated and how can you not see this as taking direct shots at coaching and teammates?

Also, the way he talks about the Joe's, and I think he isn't happy that they're not there anymore. I think he was really tight with them, especially with Thornton. If Thornton felt the same regarding coaching then maybe the DeBoer firing was one of the reasons why he left for Toronto.

Personally, I think that Meier is wrong here. Again, I like the DeBoer's system very much and I can see why Meier misses DeBoer...but DeBoer has just become way too stubborn and narrow minded with the Sharks so he had to go. I just hope that it's just Meier feeling that way and that it's not an indication of something being seriously wrong in this locker room. Just found the interview to be really odd. Obviously it's just text so maybe I'm again...maybe I'm reading too much into it and he's obviously also self critical and saying he has to be better and stand up more but I'm finding it hard not to see his comments as him taking shots at coaches and teammates.

Thanks again for more clarification.

The general sense i get from my understanding is that his dream is to play NHL, and he's loving his dream. But he doesn't seem super stoked to be a Shark, now or ever idk? Which is sad and hopefully i'm misunderstanding.

I feel the same about the team comments, i feel like that's a shitty thing to say. Americans/Canadians do not say these things unless they are taking shots. But maybe he is just so straight forward that's how he is. I have a close Russian friend, she speaks like this, very matter of fact, perhaps lacking tact. So maybe it's a Euro thing?

He also talks about his mental strength, which translation is confusing. He says he has used some team provided therapists, but doesn't need one on his own, his is very mentally strong. Maybe you can clarify?

 

[jarr92]

Thanks again for more clarification.

The general sense i get from my understanding is that his dream is to play NHL, and he's loving his dream. But he doesn't seem super stoked to be a Shark, now or ever idk? Which is sad and hopefully i'm misunderstanding.

I feel the same about the team comments, i feel like that's a shitty thing to say. Americans/Canadians do not say these things unless they are taking shots. But maybe he is just so straight forward that's how he is. I have a close Russian friend, she speaks like this, very matter of fact, perhaps lacking tact. So maybe it's a Euro thing?

He also talks about his mental strength, which translation is confusing. He says he has used some team provided therapists, but doesn't need one on his own, his is very mentally strong. Maybe you can clarify?

Regarding DeBoer, rarely will players speak out against a former head coach, especially if they had success with that head coach. The Sharks and TM both had success under PDB, so speaking negatively about him would seem like an excuse for last season IMO.

Regarding the comments on the team, it sounds like what others players have said about players "going their own way when there were down moments." Personally I think this speaks to Couture not being a great captain more than anything else.

What stuck out most to me was when Timo said, "The cohesion of a team shouldn't really be a problem. If Ovechkin throws himself into shots, so can anyone else."

 

[Hinterland]

Regarding DeBoer, rarely will players speak out against a former head coach, especially if they had success with that head coach. The Sharks and TM both had success under PDB, so speaking negatively about him would seem like an excuse for last season IMO.

Regarding the comments on the team, it sounds like what others players have said about players "going their own way when there were down moments." Personally I think this speaks to Couture not being a great captain more than anything else.

What stuck out most to me was when Timo said, "The cohesion of a team shouldn't really be a problem. If Ovechkin throws himself into shots, so can anyone else."

The thing is...the question wasn't about DeBoer. Also, if players take shots at coaches, it's still more likely to be an ex one than the current one. Saying that the coaching change didn't help and praising the ex coach when not even asked about him is odd at the very least.

 

[Hinterland]

Thanks again for more clarification.

The general sense i get from my understanding is that his dream is to play NHL, and he's loving his dream. But he doesn't seem super stoked to be a Shark, now or ever idk? Which is sad and hopefully i'm misunderstanding.

I feel the same about the team comments, i feel like that's a shitty thing to say. Americans/Canadians do not say these things unless they are taking shots. But maybe he is just so straight forward that's how he is. I have a close Russian friend, she speaks like this, very matter of fact, perhaps lacking tact. So maybe it's a Euro thing?

He also talks about his mental strength, which translation is confusing. He says he has used some team provided therapists, but doesn't need one on his own, his is very mentally strong. Maybe you can clarify?

I don't think this is about the Sharks organization at all. He never said anything negative about the Sharks, asked for a trade etc. I don't think we should overreact here. I think it's pretty clear that he's pissed though and that he's unhappy with the coaching change, with the culture in the dressing room and the effort level of at least certain teammates.

Meier is actually more of a funny guy, always smiling and joking. Mostly in a very good mood. I've never seen or read an interview like this where he's taking shots at others, let alone coaches or teammates. Last season must have frustrated him a lot.

Regarding the mental coach he just said that he's meeting with the Sharks ones here and then but doesn't feel like he needs one himself because he never had motivation or confidence problems. Says he's not the most talented player but knows what he can and whenever people don't believe in him, like after his first season in Halifax, it motivates him even more.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

Thanks for posting that article. I read it translated to English. To me, this is just more evidence that the Sharks had major issues in the locker room last year.

 

[WSS11]

Everybody was playing for themselves under Deboer is what I’m reading out of Meier’s comments. Pretty sure even Thornton said a new voice was needed. The team was content and playing stale uninspired hockey so hopefully a new staff and 10 months off was what the doctor ordered for the Sharks to play hungry again.

 

[Lebanezer]

If Meier is complaining about everyone playing their own way whilst praising the former coach, I believe that’s delusional. It was Deboer’s responsibility to get everyone on the same page...

 

[Bowie22]

Deboer is a known player's coach. I'd be shocked if they weren't kissing his ass.

 

[sharski]

they are definitely setting up a timo heel turn

 

[Doctor Soraluce]

I remember a few years back Marek (i think) talking about how Crosby saves himself for the playoffs, and that was something he learned as he became a veteran. Because of that, I have for some reason etched it into my brain that Vlasic intentionally does the same thing. No proof or basis for this thinking, but the '19 run helped bolster these feelings.

Please tell me you're not passing off Vlasic atrocious regular season play as saving himself for the playoffs. I think one of the statisticians had him at basically replacement level the last 2 seasons. He's not saving himself, he's just sucking ass. Crosby "saving himself" is still a top 10 center in the league. Vlasic wasn't even good enough for the 3rd pair half the time.

The thing is...the question wasn't about DeBoer. Also, if players take shots at coaches, it's still more likely to be an ex one than the current one. Saying that the coaching change didn't help and praising the ex coach when not even asked about him is odd at the very least.

Yeah definitely a weird way to respond. Seems like the youngster might be speaking out of turn. Logan called his ass out along with Labanc early in the season for not getting back on defense and giving up goals late in a game. Might be a little butt hurt after that. Maybe he wasn't tired because he wasn't doing his job playing both ends of the ice and got yelled at for it. Little brat might need to grow up a little. ...Or he can be the center piece in the Eichel trade that DW is working on.

 

[Le Rosbeef]

He also brings much of the vitriol on himself. He is a rude and brash individual with a chip on his shoulder every time he speaks in front of a camera. Same goes for Karlsson. When you act like a dweeb on camera, the fanbase is unlikely to give you a break. Right or wrong, that is the only peak behind the curtain most people get with these guys other than what they see on the ice. So add poor play, horrific contract, and poor attitude, there is your vitriol.

Can you give some examples of where he's rude and brash every time he speaks in front of a camera? That's quite a bold statement to make.

I completely understand how someone could be annoyed with his contract from a hockey/cap/business perspective, relative to the value it brings on the ice. But denigrating his character so personally makes the assessment seem somewhat loaded.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Please tell me you're not passing off Vlasic atrocious regular season play as saving himself for the playoffs. I think one of the statisticians had him at basically replacement level the last 2 seasons. He's not saving himself, he's just sucking ass. Crosby "saving himself" is still a top 10 center in the league. Vlasic wasn't even good enough for the 3rd pair half the time.

A lot of them have him below.

 

[tiburon12]

Please tell me you're not passing off Vlasic atrocious regular season play as saving himself for the playoffs. I think one of the statisticians had him at basically replacement level the last 2 seasons. He's not saving himself, he's just sucking ass. Crosby "saving himself" is still a top 10 center in the league. Vlasic wasn't even good enough for the 3rd pair half the time.

of course not, just explaining why I'm not as hard on him and still have hope he can rebound.

 

[Cas]

Do we have any indications as to how the Sharks might construct their forward lines (scoring third, physical fourth, etc.)? I've been scheming who among the various prospects might start.

 

[themelkman]

Do we have any indications as to how the Sharks might construct their forward lines (scoring third, physical fourth, etc.)? I've been scheming who among the various prospects might start.

I dont think we really have any idea. I would not expect Physicality to be a part of this team though. Gregor-Handemark-Noesen could be somewhat of a physical fourth but not really

 

[The Nemesis]

Do we have any indications as to how the Sharks might construct their forward lines (scoring third, physical fourth, etc.)? I've been scheming who among the various prospects might start.

There's really no strong indication. The way things are right now the top 6 is probably some arrangement of Kane, Hertl, Meier, Couture, Labanc, and Donato.

And the bottom 6 will be made up of 6 of Marleau, Nieto, Gregor, Noesen, Kellman, Gambrell, Sorensen, True, Suomela, Handemark, or maybe Blichfeld or Bergmann.

Personally if there are no more moves to add forwards and this is the group we run with, I would like to see:

Kane - Hertl - Donato (I don't love Donato on the first line but I'd rather not have him and Labanc on the same line)
Labanc - Couture - Meier (Meier probably deserves to be on the first line, but see above)
Gregor - Suomela - Noesen (I irrationally like/have hope that Suomela can bounce back to being the Liiga leading scorer/that guy we saw in his first flashes in San Jose a couple years ago. These aren't ideal linemates to do it, though I think Gregor could be a 15 goal guy, but the Sharks don't really have actual ideal linemates for that.)
Marleau - Handemark - Nieto (Marleau doesn't have his hands anymore and Nieto never really did at all, but at least give Handemark as much skating/hustle as he can get to ease him into the league.
scratches: Kellman (for versatility), whichever of Gambrell or Sorensen doesn't get traded (the former can probably fetch a better return, the latter offers more cap relief. Though neither would garner that much interest)

This leaves True, Blichfeld and Bergmann to log good minutes for the Barracuda. It also leaves the Barracuda with like 16-17 forwards who could/should fight for ice time and probably necessitates some loans or trades to sort things out (Bergmann, Blichfeld, True, Chmelevski, Chekhovich, Gabriel, Gallant, Garreffa, Halbgewachs, Leonard, Letunov, McGrew, S. Pasichnuk, Topping, Viel, Weinger, Wiederer, and Yurtaykin are all under Shark/Cuda contract at forward. Chekhovich is expected to spend the whole year in Russia even if the AHL starts up again, and Garreffa, Pasichnuk, Weinger, Wiederer, and Topping are all non-NHL contracts and likely have lower priority in getting ice time. So...

Leonard - True - Blichfeld
Halbgewachs - Chmelevski - McGrew
Bergmann - Letunov - Gabriel
Viel - Gallant - Garreffa
spares: Pasichnuk, Topping
Chekhovich remains in Russia, Yurtaykin and Wiederer are loaned out, Weinger to the ECHL.

total guesses on my part though.

In terms of prosepcts getting ice time it's probably dicey for most of them. Few are ready for top 6 roles and that's where the Sharks have openings. Blichfeld, Leonard, and maybe Chmelevski could push for a gig there if they get off to a strong start, but it's not a guarantee. I feel like they probably have too many bottom 6 veterans to want to displace them to play a youngster at a role they're not ideally suited for (except chemelvski, who could take the 3C role if he shows himself ready.)

 

[Gecklund]

There's really no strong indication. The way things are right now the top 6 is probably some arrangement of Kane, Hertl, Meier, Couture, Labanc, and Donato.

And the bottom 6 will be made up of 6 of Marleau, Nieto, Gregor, Noesen, Kellman, Gambrell, Sorensen, True, Suomela, Handemark, or maybe Blichfeld or Bergmann.

Personally if there are no more moves to add forwards and this is the group we run with, I would like to see:

Kane - Hertl - Donato (I don't love Donato on the first line but I'd rather not have him and Labanc on the same line)
Labanc - Couture - Meier (Meier probably deserves to be on the first line, but see above)
Gregor - Suomela - Noesen (I irrationally like/have hope that Suomela can bounce back to being the Liiga leading scorer/that guy we saw in his first flashes in San Jose a couple years ago. These aren't ideal linemates to do it, though I think Gregor could be a 15 goal guy, but the Sharks don't really have actual ideal linemates for that.)
Marleau - Handemark - Nieto (Marleau doesn't have his hands anymore and Nieto never really did at all, but at least give Handemark as much skating/hustle as he can get to ease him into the league.
scratches: Kellman (for versatility), whichever of Gambrell or Sorensen doesn't get traded (the former can probably fetch a better return, the latter offers more cap relief. Though neither would garner that much interest)

This leaves True, Blichfeld and Bergmann to log good minutes for the Barracuda. It also leaves the Barracuda with like 16-17 forwards who could/should fight for ice time and probably necessitates some loans or trades to sort things out (Bergmann, Blichfeld, True, Chmelevski, Chekhovich, Gabriel, Gallant, Garreffa, Halbgewachs, Leonard, Letunov, McGrew, S. Pasichnuk, Topping, Viel, Weinger, Wiederer, and Yurtaykin are all under Shark/Cuda contract at forward. Chekhovich is expected to spend the whole year in Russia even if the AHL starts up again, and Garreffa, Pasichnuk, Weinger, Wiederer, and Topping are all non-NHL contracts and likely have lower priority in getting ice time. So...

Leonard - True - Blichfeld
Halbgewachs - Chmelevski - McGrew
Bergmann - Letunov - Gabriel
Viel - Gallant - Garreffa
spares: Pasichnuk, Topping
Chekhovich remains in Russia, Yurtaykin and Wiederer are loaned out, Weinger to the ECHL.

total guesses on my part though.

In terms of prosepcts getting ice time it's probably dicey for most of them. Few are ready for top 6 roles and that's where the Sharks have openings. Blichfeld, Leonard, and maybe Chmelevski could push for a gig there if they get off to a strong start, but it's not a guarantee. I feel like they probably have too many bottom 6 veterans to want to displace them to play a youngster at a role they're not ideally suited for (except chemelvski, who could take the 3C role if he shows himself ready.)

I don’t like that Couture line personally. They always got caved in possession wise when put together. If it were up to me, I think you got something like:

Kane-Hertl-Labanc
Gregor-Couture-Meier
Nieto-Suomela-Donato
Marleau-Handemark-Noesen

Other options would be Handemark at 3C, Kellman at either 3C/4C but I just really don’t see a spot where Donato is in the top 6. He is way too much of a shoot first in a top 6 that has 0 playmakers

 

[DG93]

I don’t like that Couture line personally. They always got caved in possession wise when put together. If it were up to me, I think you got something like:

Kane-Hertl-Labanc
Gregor-Couture-Meier
Nieto-Suomela-Donato
Marleau-Handemark-Noesen

Other options would be Handemark at 3C, Kellman at either 3C/4C but I just really don’t see a spot where Donato is in the top 6. He is way too much of a shoot first in a top 6 that has 0 playmakers

I'd go with this configuration too, but man this lineup needs a top-9 forward badly. Kane-Hertl-Labanc, Meier-Couture-Granlund, Donato-Handemark-Nieto/Gregor would at least be passable. Same thing if Gregor-Haula-Nieto is the third line.

 

[themelkman]

I don’t like that Couture line personally. They always got caved in possession wise when put together. If it were up to me, I think you got something like:

Kane-Hertl-Labanc
Gregor-Couture-Meier
Nieto-Suomela-Donato
Marleau-Handemark-Noesen

Other options would be Handemark at 3C, Kellman at either 3C/4C but I just really don’t see a spot where Donato is in the top 6. He is way too much of a shoot first in a top 6 that has 0 playmakers

I personally think it goes
Donato-Couture-Meier
Kane-Hertl-Labanc
Sorenson-Gregor-Nieto
Marleau-Handemark-Noesen
to start. I dont see Suomela as a guy the sharks should even consider playing unless he goes crazy in camp. Waiver fodder for me. Sorenson I would love to get rid of but it doesnt look like its going to happen so maybe try waiving him too. I dont know if Gregor fits at 3C, but he belongs in the lineup.

Meier actually is a pretty underrated playmaker, I was reading somewhere about his advanced stats and they say hes pretty good at getting it in and having his linemates score.

 

[The Nemesis]

I personally think it goes
Donato-Couture-Meier
Kane-Hertl-Labanc
Sorenson-Gregor-Nieto
Marleau-Handemark-Noesen
to start. I dont see Suomela as a guy the sharks should even consider playing unless he goes crazy in camp. Waiver fodder for me. Sorenson I would love to get rid of but it doesnt look like its going to happen so maybe try waiving him too. I dont know if Gregor fits at 3C, but he belongs in the lineup.

Meier actually is a pretty underrated playmaker, I was reading somewhere about his advanced stats and they say hes pretty good at getting it in and having his linemates score.

Gregor hasn't been a center dating back to at least as far as I can remember watching him in Jr (so his D+1 season).

And I think Suomela deserves a shot because he kind of got a raw deal. He looked good initially, then got demoted and was either disinterested or suffered from having his confidence gutted, especially since most of his Sharks time after that first burst seemed like it came with junk linemates.

I think a fresh chance under a new coach, plus potentially playing with better, more talented wingers might be a chance to revitalize him.Plus he's one of the few bottom 6 options who has at least some legit offensive pedigree outside of an on-his-last-legs Marleau.

Besides, it's not like the Sharks have any strong hopes for success this season. If he doesn't work out after 4-6 weeks they can waive him and still have plenty of backup options to plug into the 3C role.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

Gregor hasn't been a center dating back to at least as far as I can remember watching him in Jr (so his D+1 season).

And I think Suomela deserves a shot because he kind of got a raw deal. He looked good initially, then got demoted and was either disinterested or suffered from having his confidence gutted, especially since most of his Sharks time after that first burst seemed like it came with junk linemates.

I think a fresh chance under a new coach, plus potentially playing with better, more talented wingers might be a chance to revitalize him.Plus he's one of the few bottom 6 options who has at least some legit offensive pedigree outside of an on-his-last-legs Marleau.

Besides, it's not like the Sharks have any strong hopes for success this season. If he doesn't work out after 4-6 weeks they can waive him and still have plenty of backup options to plug into the 3C role.

You are right about Gregor not playing C. The only exception was Boughner gave him some time at the end of the year and he looked great. Still, I think he’s a long shot to get the 3C job. I think Suemela is also a long shot. Mainly because he did nothing in his time with the Cuda. He had plenty of time to learn the system and show he really belongs in the NHL. Instead he was mostly a non-factor. Unfortunately, I think the main competition for that job is between Gambrell and Kellman.

 

[themelkman]

Gregor hasn't been a center dating back to at least as far as I can remember watching him in Jr (so his D+1 season).

And I think Suomela deserves a shot because he kind of got a raw deal. He looked good initially, then got demoted and was either disinterested or suffered from having his confidence gutted, especially since most of his Sharks time after that first burst seemed like it came with junk linemates.

I think a fresh chance under a new coach, plus potentially playing with better, more talented wingers might be a chance to revitalize him.Plus he's one of the few bottom 6 options who has at least some legit offensive pedigree outside of an on-his-last-legs Marleau.

Besides, it's not like the Sharks have any strong hopes for success this season. If he doesn't work out after 4-6 weeks they can waive him and still have plenty of backup options to plug into the 3C role.

I was willing to give him that but over his loan back to finland hes scored 5 points in 10 games. For a guy who was supposed to be offensively gifted its looking like his season before we signed him was just a fluke and he never really had the ability that was promised.