Sharks Prospects Summer Scrimmage
The San Jose Sharks gave fans a taste for the future of the team in its first Prospects Summer Scrimmage on July 11th. Sharks Development Camp has traditionally been a cloistered affair, but this year the club opened its doors for the fans with proceeds benefiting the Sharks Foundation. Highly anticipated prospects included the 2012 First Round Draft pick (17th overall) Tomas Hertl and this year’s 1st pick (18th overall) Mirco Mueller. The scrimmage featured Team Marchment v Team Ricci squaring off for two 25-minute halves, in what was a fast paced, high intensity match up of young talent.
Daniil Tarasov had a whale of a game and came away the points leader, scoring 2 goals and an assist. Chris Tierney generated scoring chances for Tarasov, garnering 2 assists and a shootout goal. Matthew Nieto built on his already impressive point total for the year scoring 2 goals over two halves. Another standout forward, Rylan Schwartz was active in the slot, his timing and positioning led to a quick shot in past goalie Steve Racine. The next time the puck found his tape, Schwartz fed a pass in to Tarasov for a follow-up goal.
As expected, Tomas Hertl could be found all over the ice. His speed through the neutral zone and his skill in front of the net generated multiple scoring opportunities for his line. Petter Emanuelsson received a perfectly timed pass from Hertl that found its way to the back of the net and another full drive into the zone came close to giving his team a goal in the waning moments of the scrimmage.
After the scrimmage, Mirco Mueller commented on the intensity of the game and that this was definitely the fastest that he has played. . One of his take a ways from camp was his need to gain weight and improve his endurance level. Mueller “really had fun” and having the fans for the scrimmage made him feel welcome in San Jose.
Matt Tennyson speaking after the scrimmage
In his second time out, Matt Tennyson took on more of a leadership role at this year’s development camp. During post-scrimmage interviews, Tennyson said most of the guys with their first time at camp work on the big picture of the game. His focus was more on little things like adjusting his stick positioning or opening his hips more to improve his defensive game. When asked about Tomas Hertl, he commented, “He’s going to be a good player, for sure.” Tennyson didn’t feel that his limited English would be much of a barrier, especially out on the ice where the universal language is Hockey.
Following the scrimmage, Daniil Tarasov expressed confidence in his game and said, “I tried to do all the stuff we learned all week. All the little things the Coach teach us, and this week went pretty well and I learned a lot.” He was excited to be in San Jose and the support of the fans gave them energy out on the ice. Tarasov, on his experience at his first Sharks development camp:
“It’s a pleasure being here with all these guys around and the coaching staff. It’s amazing being here, and to put on that jersey.”
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Earlier this season, The Pink Puck’s Jessica Higham interviewed both Daniil Tarasov and Matthew Nieto. Both pieces take an in-depth look at these players’ paths towards the NHL.
To learn more about all of the prospects invited to this year’s development camp, detailed roster notes can be found here:
http://sharks.nhl.com/v2/ext/PDF/20130710-sharks-prospect-scrimmage-handout.pdf
