Summer Shark Bytes – July 20, 2017

Welcome to Summer Shark Bytes, our offseason weekly roundup of Sharks related news from the week that was in Teal Town.  We know it gets a little slow during those boring, hot months that the NHL isn’t playing, so we’ll get you caught up!

Primetime Pavelski Shining in Multiple Sports

Perhaps Team Teal has had too much offseason time.  The Sharks captain Joe Pavelski was in Lake Tahoe at the American Century Championships Golf Tournament, rubbing elbows with Tony Romo, Jerry Rice, Justin Timberlake among other celebrities.  While there, Captain Fin-merica showed off his multi sport skills.  He started Friday’s action tied with the lowest score through round one, and finished Saturday tied for sixth.  Of course, you wouldn’t know that because it was star studded and the only celebrity the local news would talk about is Steph Curry (and yes, Curry had an epic tourney too) and Justin Timberlake.

https://twitter.com/NBCSSharks/status/885978401202331648

https://twitter.com/NBCSSharks/status/886689945556877312

With these tournaments, you always see some zaniness.  A hoop was set up beside one of the holes, and Pavelski buried long range three pointers that got Aaron Rodgers and Curry giving the Wisconsin native kudos.  Then kicking field goals through the uprights positioned on boats in the lake.

.@jpav8 a man of many talents! pic.twitter.com/facim3ouYv

— NBCS Sharks News (@NBCSSharks) July 14, 2017

Seriously, is there anything else this guy can do?!  He did finish in 12th place.

GET IN YOUR HOME! pic.twitter.com/1XrYcUZp9o

— NBCS Sharks News (@NBCSSharks) July 14, 2017

State of the Sharks

SJSharks.com put up a video of Sharks General Manager Doug Wilson interview by Radio Play by Play Announcer Dan Rusanowsky.  Wilson wanted to make sure the core was in place of a championship contender.  Brent Burns was done early last season, while Martin Jones and Marc-Edouard Vlasic had to wait exactly a year before their current contract expired to get exceptional contract extensions.

The focus was then on long time Sharks, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau.  Wilson stated in the video that 17 teams wanted Jumbo’s services despite coming off torn ACL and MCL injuries.  Thornton didn’t want to go anywhere and was willing to take a deeper pay cut if it meant that Marleau would return as well.

As we know now, Patrick Marleau went to Toronto, but Wilson has no harsh feelings to the departure of the team’s all time leader in games played, goals, points and numerous records.

“He was offered a contract in an organization that was really looking for that type of veteran mentorship and they got an amazing man in Patrick… Patrick made a decision and we fully respect it and wish him nothing but the best and I’m glad he’s in the East.”

Toronto comes to town for their only visit on October 30th.  I’ll see you at the Patty’s homecoming.

Wilson was pleased to see how the development camp turned out, and likely will have some of those players compete for spots on the Sharks.

For the full interview, check it out here:

Signings Galore!

Hockey team assemble!  A quick rundown of the recent Sharks signings.

Rudolfs the Teal-Clad Prospect

One of the standouts in development camp, was Ruldolfs Balcers.  The 20 year old Latvian (yes, the wonderful country that gave us Sharks legends Arturs Irbe and Sandis Ozolinsh) had a standout year with the Western Hockey League’s Kamloops Blazers posting an impressive 40 goals, 37 assists for 77 points in 66 games.  Before going to Kamloops, Balcers spent time with the Stavanger Oilers of the Norwegian League. In 79 games, from 2014-2016, he registered 23 goals, 22 assists, with a plus-38 ranking. He helped the Oilers win the Championship in both of those seasons (2014-15, 2015-16).

San Jose drafted Balcers in the 5th round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

The Cobra Re-signs

Chris Tierney will return to San Jose with a one year deal, at $735,000 per CapFriendly.com.  Tierney had 11 goals and 12 assists spending time mostly on the Sharks’ 4th line.  “Cobra” as he’s known to his teammates, seems to be on the verge of his prime and if he can get it really going, he could solidify as one of the centers for the foreseeable future.

Marcus Sorensen Returns

The 25 year old Swedish forward, spent most of the season with the Barracuda, but with the Sharks, a goal and three assists in 19 games, plus a goal in the 7-0 drubbing of Edmonton in Game 4 of last year’s playoffs.  Sorensen had 17 goals, 17 assists in 43 games with the Barracuda.  An injury during preseason derailed making his debut early last season.

Czech the Net

After a standout performance at Sharks Development Camp, Team Teal signed Josef Korenar to an entry level deal.  The Humpolec, Czech Republic net minder was considered the fourth best European goaltender from NHL Central Scouting prior to the 2016 NHL Draft.

Korenar played last season with the Lincoln Stars in the United States Hockey League.  He had a 14-11-4 record with .925 save percentage and two shutouts.  Entering this year’s draft, NHL Central Scouting ranked him 17th among North American goalies.

Joner is Coming

Speaking of goalies who re-signed, Martin Jones is locked up for a number of years.  But the excitement of the seventh season of Game of Thrones has inspired us to relive the video the Sharks posted last Summer.

The Kids Are Coming Back!

In case you missed the Prospect Scrimmage at the Shark Tank earlier this month, don’t worry!  San Jose will be hosting a Prospect Showcase at Solar 4 America Ice at San Jose on September 9-12.

The Sharks will be joined by the prospects of the Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, and Colorado Avalanche in a round robin tournament.  Ticket information will be unveiled at a later date.

Here’s the schedule.

DATE	GAME	TIME
Sept. 9	Colorado Avalanche vs. San Jose Sharks	4:00 p.m.
Sept. 9	Arizona Coyotes vs. Anaheim Ducks	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 10	Anaheim Ducks vs. San Jose Sharks	3:00 p.m.
Sept. 11	Colorado Avalanche vs. Arizona Coyotes	7:00 p.m.
Sept. 12	Anaheim Ducks vs. Colorado Avalanche	12:00 p.m.
Sept. 12	Arizona Coyotes vs. San Jose Sharks	3:00 p.m.

Event Presentation Staff Gets Some Major Kudos

We gotta give some kudos the entire game presentation staff in the Sharks organization.

Information Display and Entertainment Association awarded the San Jose Sharks and SJSharks Productions with a 2017 Golden Matrix Award for Best Overall Video Display in the sport of hockey at the annual IDEA conference on Wednesday night in Philadelphia. IDEA is the premier professional association for the game presentation industry.

The Best Overall Video Display category judges teams on several game presentation elements used over the course of the year including large screen video and/or fascia programming, live camera work, PA announcer, video graphics, headshots, replays, team intros, sponsor features, scoring sequence, celebration/win sequence, live elements, crowd prompts/interstitials, interactive features and stats.

So all the pregame videos and on ice projections get some love not just from fans but nationally recognized!

Finally SomeFIN Different

Those hockey withdrawals are kicking in, so here’s something to get you through.  Sharks Jeopardy from last year’s Pucknology After Dark Season Premiere