"Pickles" and Mitchell

On 2007-10-05 09:13:02 -0700, Happy Phantom <beckerb RemoveThis @my-deja.com> said:

> On Oct 5, 6:52 am, "Steve Behman" <st... RemoveThis @behman.us> wrote:
>> Mitchell showed real promise -- I am really excited about his prospects.
>>
>> Vlasic was remarkable! Beside leading the team in ice time, he brilliantly
>> executed everything that could have been asked of him -- he always seemed to
>> be in exactly the "right" place. He even showed some flashes of offense.
>>
>> I predict that Marc-Eduard will shortly emerge as one of the top five
>> defensemen in the league, that is, if he is not already there.
>
> Mitchell's only flaw was his entirely forgivable desire to do it all
> himself rather than wait for the usual "half-court game" (to use a
> basketball term) set up to form. Breakaways are fine, but the Sharks,
> as a team, would like to sustain the forecheck and cycle the puck to
> give Thornton the pass. Mitchell seemed to think it was a full court
> press, run and gun. Pure first game adrenalin.

That's a blessing, not a flaw. The half-court game lies at the heart of
the Sharks failures. Every opponent tries to take advantage of their
breakaways, but the Sharks just abandon them.
 >> Stay informed about: "Pickles" and Mitchell 

On Oct 5, 4:31 pm, MS <n....RemoveThis@attbi.com> wrote:
> On 2007-10-05 09:13:02 -0700, Happy Phantom <beck....RemoveThis@my-deja.com> said:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Oct 5, 6:52 am, "Steve Behman" <st....RemoveThis@behman.us> wrote:
> >> Mitchell showed real promise -- I am really excited about his prospects.
>
> >> Vlasic was remarkable! Beside leading the team in ice time, he brilliantly
> >> executed everything that could have been asked of him -- he always seemed to
> >> be in exactly the "right" place. He even showed some flashes of offense.
>
> >> I predict that Marc-Eduard will shortly emerge as one of the top five
> >> defensemen in the league, that is, if he is not already there.
>
> > Mitchell's only flaw was his entirely forgivable desire to do it all
> > himself rather than wait for the usual "half-court game" (to use a
> > basketball term) set up to form. Breakaways are fine, but the Sharks,
> > as a team, would like to sustain the forecheck and cycle the puck to
> > give Thornton the pass. Mitchell seemed to think it was a full court
> > press, run and gun. Pure first game adrenalin.
>
> That's a blessing, not a flaw. The half-court game lies at the heart of
> the Sharks failures. Every opponent tries to take advantage of their
> breakaways, but the Sharks just abandon them.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

You're 100% right.

The Sharks are supposed to have speed, size and skill, but they play a
slowed-down, constipated game that makes it easy for opponents to
neutralize their primary advantage. This is especially true on power
plays. All this standing around, stagnantly, looking for somebody to
be open for a split second is just a waste of time.

They should be flying up and down the ice and making the opponents
keep up with them the whole way, and straining a few folks through the
boards, along the way.
 >> Stay informed about: "Pickles" and Mitchell