Speculation: 2022-23 Sharks Roster Discussion Part II

[Babyshark]

How the hell could anyone possibly come to this conclusion when the Sharks have one top four defenseman on their roster and zero defense prospects in their system who project to play in the top four? This is not to say the forward depth is good but the Sharks have one of the worst NHL defenses and no surefire defense prospects coming.

I think Merkley will end up being a special player. The guy is as fierce as they come, great competitor, and Im sure deep down all he wants is to prove the hockey world he can be a star.

If he learns from Karlsson he can tap in that insane potential and live up to his talent. Last season he's shown flashes of his upside in his time with the Sharks, how can you be so negative about that?

Future 1st PP QB right there.

 

[timorous me]

I think Merkley will end up being a special player. The guy is as fierce as they come, great competitor, and Im sure deep down all he wants is to prove the hockey world he can be a star.

If he learns from Karlsson he can tap in that insane potential and live up to his talent. Last season he's shown flashes of his upside in his time with the Sharks, how can you be so negative about that?

Future 1st PP QB right there.

I need this positivity pumped into my veins, just like the bivalent booster.

 

[Karl Prime]

I'm interested to see if Bonino gets time on the wing with Couture this year. He scored a lot of goals at the end with Logan but one must wonder if Bonino's success was because there was real chemistry or just because he was playing with a talented offensive player for the first time all season. For the record I do think Bonino is better suited for the wing at this stage.

 

[sharski]

I think Merkley will end up being a special player. The guy is as fierce as they come, great competitor, and Im sure deep down all he wants is to prove the hockey world he can be a star.

If he learns from Karlsson he can tap in that insane potential and live up to his talent. Last season he's shown flashes of his upside in his time with the Sharks, how can you be so negative about that?

Future 1st PP QB right there.

Replika.ai account exposed

 

[CupfortheSharks]

I'm interested to see if Bonino gets time on the wing with Couture this year. He scored a lot of goals at the end with Logan but one must wonder if Bonino's success was because there was real chemistry or just because he was playing with a talented offensive player for the first time all season. For the record I do think Bonino is better suited for the wing at this stage.

I think that very much depends on another player holding down the 3C spot. Couture is going to need all the help he can get because he will likely be playing with Ferraro - Benning behind him against the other teams best lines. I hope Eklund makes the team and Quinn trys:

Eklund - Hertl- F1
Bonino - Couture- Meier
Barabonov - 3C - Labanc

 

[themelkman]

I think that very much depends on another player holding down the 3C spot. Couture is going to need all the help he can get because he will likely be playing with Ferraro - Benning behind him against the other teams best lines. I hope Eklund makes the team and Quinn trys:

Eklund - Hertl- F1
Bonino - Couture- Meier
Barabonov - 3C - Labanc

Barabanov is going to get absolutely exposed not playing with good players. I think his only use is attached to Hertl

 

[hohosaregood]

I think that very much depends on another player holding down the 3C spot. Couture is going to need all the help he can get because he will likely be playing with Ferraro - Benning behind him against the other teams best lines. I hope Eklund makes the team and Quinn trys:

Eklund - Hertl- F1
Bonino - Couture- Meier
Barabonov - 3C - Labanc

It's pretty hard to put a balanced lineup together. Our best forwards (Couture, Hertl, Meier) are primarily F3s. We don't have enough playmakers still. However, we did bring in really solid forechecker/puck battlers. I would kinda categorize them primarily as:

F1: Kunin, Lorentz, Sturm, Gregor, Nieto
F2: Eklund, Barabanov
F3: Meier, Hertl, Couture, Bonino, Lindblom, Labanc

Labanc, Hertl, and Couture could fill in as F2s but it hasn't really been their primary roles in recent times. Hertl might be at his best as an F1 really just because of how dominant he can be along the boards.

Anyways, I kinda just want to stack the lineup as much as possible and grind it out the rest of the way down. There's not really a forward lineup that's going to lead to consistent winning.

Hertl(F1)-Couture(F2)-Meier(F3)
Eklund(F2)-Sturm(F1)-Labanc(F3)
Lindblom(F3)-Kunin(F1)-Barabanov(F2)
Gregor(F1)-Bonino(F3)-Lorentz(F1)
Nieto,Svechnikov

 

[CupfortheSharks]

Barabanov is going to get absolutely exposed not playing with good players. I think his only use is attached to Hertl

I don’t really disagree. The problem is that Eklund and Barabonov are so similar in their skill set and I’d rather put Eklund in a position to succeed. It’s only a matter of time until Barabonov ends up on the 3rd line.

 

[tiburon12]

Barabanov is going to get absolutely exposed not playing with good players. I think his only use is attached to Hertl

I think that's a good use too. Kinda like how Alex Burrows was a key ingredient in that line with the Sedins, but on his own was not even close as impactful. Being a support player for stars has tons of value and Barabanov needs to remain in that role (as you said)

 

[CupfortheSharks]

I think that's a good use too. Kinda like how Alex Burrows was a key ingredient in that line with the Sedins, but on his own was not even close as impactful. Being a support player for stars has tons of value and Barabanov needs to remain in that role (as you said)

Where would you put Eklund when he makes the team?
Eklund Hertl Barabonov wont work. With Couture against the other teams top line as a rookie? On the 3rd line? I think it’s more important to put Eklund in the optimal place. He is part of our future, Barabonov is just a place holder.

 

[tiburon12]

Where would you put Eklund when he makes the team?
Eklund Hertl Barabonov wont work. With Couture against the other teams top line as a rookie? On the 3rd line? I think it’s more important to put Eklund in the optimal place. He is part of our future, Barabonov is just a place holder.

That's a great question that I don't have an answer to haha. I gotta see Eklund play more than his rookie stint (which is also admittedly fuzzy) to form a real opinion about how he plays and where he should play in this lineup.

Like you said, he is the future, but is he the present? Should we be shoehorning him into a spot at the cost of something we know works? Preseason hopefully will sort this out but for now i'd be cautious about breaking up the one instance of chemistry on the roster without some on-ice reasons to do so

 

[Mattb124]

Barabanov is going to get absolutely exposed not playing with good players. I think his only use is attached to Hertl

Given our lack of top 6 forwards, I think he will be the complimentary piece on the top line (likely rounded out with Meier).

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Barabanov has to play with Hertl so he can build up value and we trade him. Arguably same can be said for Labanc.

Meier-Hertl-Barabanov
Eklund-Couture-Kunin (someone has to hit)
Lindblom-Bonino-Labanc
Gregor-Sturm-Nieto/Viel

I think we signed too many players for Bordeleau to start in the NHL unless he amazes in camp/gets thrown on the 4th line. Any one of Lorentz/Svechnikov/Gadjovich/Weatherby could also fight for depth spots depending how training camp goes.

The defense is where it gets really ugly.

Simek/Megna-Karlsson
Ferraro-Benning
Vlasic-Nutivaara
Simek/Megna

 

[Gecklund]

Gregor-Hertl-Barabanov
Timo-Couture-Labanc
Kunin-Bonino-Lindblom
Lorentz-Sturm-Nieto

Is what I got. Gives each line a scorer, a playmaker, and a grinder type. Also gives each line an F1, F2, and F3. On defense I think I’d try:

Nutivaara-EK
Ferraro-Benning
Vlasic-Merkley

 

[gaucholoco3]

Gregor-Hertl-Barabanov
Timo-Couture-Labanc
Kunin-Bonino-Lindblom
Lorentz-Sturm-Nieto

Is what I got. Gives each line a scorer, a playmaker, and a grinder type. Also gives each line an F1, F2, and F3. On defense I think I’d try:

Nutivaara-EK
Ferraro-Benning
Vlasic-Merkley

I really like these forward lines. I think my only change would be switching Kunin Or Lindblom with Gregor. I think Hertl and Barabonov need someone who will take shots from the chances they generate off the cycle and if I recall Kunin has a decent shot.

For the D I want Merkley with the Cuda.

Megna - EK
Ferraro - Benning
Vlassic - Nutivara

 

[Gecklund]

I really like these forward lines. I think my only change would be switching Kunin Or Lindblom with Gregor. I think Hertl and Barabonov need someone who will take shots from the chances they generate off the cycle and if I recall Kunin has a decent shot.

For the D I want Merkley with the Cuda.

Megna - EK
Ferraro - Benning
Vlassic - Nutivara

Why would you want Merkley with the Cuda? There’s a legit argument that he’s our second best RD. Also Megna sucks.

Kunin takes a lot of dumb penalties. Best to keep his minutes down and Lindblom plays an entirely different role than Gregor or Kunin.

 

[CupfortheSharks]

I really like these forward lines. I think my only change would be switching Kunin Or Lindblom with Gregor. I think Hertl and Barabonov need someone who will take shots from the chances they generate off the cycle and if I recall Kunin has a decent shot.

For the D I want Merkley with the Cuda.

Megna - EK
Ferraro - Benning
Vlassic - Nutivara

I don’t think those forward lines will work but those are the d pairings I think we see at the start of the season.

 

[tiburon12]

If Gregor can find a way to use his speed to be an effective middle six player, that would be a massive boost. It would be a big win for the org if he hit 15-20 goals or like 40pts, or even being a shit-stirring F1.

Who was the last middle six player the org developed? Labanc? Tierney? Goodrow?

 

[stator]

Why would you want Merkley with the Cuda? There’s a legit argument that he’s our second best RD. Also Megna sucks.

Kunin takes a lot of dumb penalties. Best to keep his minutes down and Lindblom plays an entirely different role than Gregor or Kunin.

Most of the legit arguments for Merkley appears to be about his offense capability, not his defense. His ability to defend in his own zone needs work, imo. Sharks have, for these last hand full of years been about offensive, offensive, and offensive over defense for dmen. That went nowhere.

With Burns being traded, it probably shows that Grier wants more defense oriented for those in that role. I would think he'd trade EK, but that's likely improbable. So expect Merkley to be traded if he doesn't improve his defending capability. Too bad, because I would keep Merkley over EK as the later is not worth the cap hit.

Merkley should be up on the Sharks because he's one of the young guns. Sharks vets had their shot and did nothing with it. Move on.

 

[Gecklund]

Most of the legit arguments for Merkley appears to be about his offense capability, not his defense. His ability to defend in his own zone needs work, imo. Sharks have, for these last hand full of years been about offensive, offensive, and offensive over defense for dmen. That went nowhere.

With Burns being traded, it probably shows that Grier wants more defense oriented for those in that role. I would think he'd trade EK, but that's likely improbable. So expect Merkley to be traded if he doesn't improve his defending capability. Too bad, because I would keep Merkley over EK as the later is not worth the cap hit.

Merkley should be up on the Sharks because he's one of the young guns. Sharks vets had their shot and did nothing with it. Move on.

Merkley should be up on the Sharks because other than EK he’s the only D that has any sort of offensive capability. Also the legit argument is that Benning maxes out as a third pairing D and he’s pencilled in our second pair.

 

[Pavelski2112]

Merkley isn't great at defense, but no one on the Sharks' D is good at defense.

 

[gaucholoco3]

Why would you want Merkley with the Cuda? There’s a legit argument that he’s our second best RD. Also Megna sucks.

Kunin takes a lot of dumb penalties. Best to keep his minutes down and Lindblom plays an entirely different role than Gregor or Kunin.

I want him with the Cuda because he still just turned 22 a few weeks ago and is still developing his game. I think that Benning and Nutivara are both better overall that he is currently. I think that having him play on a Cuda team with a lot of young talent would benefit him greatly. If he plays his way onto the Sharks then so be it but I think the best thing Grier has done is created legit competition for NHL spots.

I also selfishly want him on the Cuda because with 3 kids all playing youth hockey it will be so much easier to make a Cuda game since I will be at the rink 5 times a week. So I want the Cuda to be the best version they can be without taking away from the Sharks. I want Eklund, Bordeleau, and Merkley all to start off with the Cuda.

 

[Herschel]

It's pretty hard to put a balanced lineup together. Our best forwards (Couture, Hertl, Meier) are primarily F3s. We don't have enough playmakers still. However, we did bring in really solid forechecker/puck battlers. I would kinda categorize them primarily as:

F1: Kunin, Lorentz, Sturm, Gregor, Nieto
F2: Eklund, Barabanov
F3: Meier, Hertl, Couture, Bonino, Lindblom, Labanc

Labanc, Hertl, and Couture could fill in as F2s but it hasn't really been their primary roles in recent times. Hertl might be at his best as an F1 really just because of how dominant he can be along the boards.

Anyways, I kinda just want to stack the lineup as much as possible and grind it out the rest of the way down. There's not really a forward lineup that's going to lead to consistent winning.

Hertl(F1)-Couture(F2)-Meier(F3)
Eklund(F2)-Sturm(F1)-Labanc(F3)
Lindblom(F3)-Kunin(F1)-Barabanov(F2)
Gregor(F1)-Bonino(F3)-Lorentz(F1)
Nieto,Svechnikov

Not sure what you're using as your F definitions but they seem off to me.

Meier, Hertl, Gregor and maybe Labanc, to a certain degree, are the only good F1s on the team. If Gregor could take big steps in his shooting percentage and defensive coverage it might allow Quinn to split up Hertl and Meier and at the same time would create a solid position for Eklund in the top 6.

Gregor - Hertl - Barabanov
Meier - Couture - Eklund

In all likelihood, Gregor isn't ready to help Hertl drive that line with Barabanov so I think the top 6 will likely need to be something like

Meier - Hertl - Barabanov
Bonino - Couture - Eklund

This top 6 is still better than last season but forces Eklund to take more of a two-way role instead of freeing him up.

 

[TheBeard]

I want him with the Cuda because he still just turned 22 a few weeks ago and is still developing his game.

I swear he's gotta be like 31 now.

 

[Anomie2029]

The real question is where is Merkley going to develop the best. The Cuda are seemingly looking a whole lot better this season, so it may not be the dumpster fire where prospects go to die like it has been.

I think Merkley is better placed getting NHL game time, but not necessarily very game. I could see a situation where he is given a few games and then scratched for a couple, before some more games, followed by some scratching. But for this to be successful, this plan needs to be effectively communicated to Merkley and coaching team be working and sitting with him on games he is scratched to help break down the game with him.

As long as they give him clear expectations of what they want and work with him to get there - I could see him solidifying an NHL spot by the end of the season.