Speculation: 2023-24-25 Sharks Roster Discussion

[Juxtaposer]

And then Kakko is living up in Westchester County (for anyone unfamiliar, basically a rich suburban area a good distance away from NYC or anything else interesting, and you're probably reliant on driving everywhere, so it's not a good place for anything social, which is how you end up basically just sitting around the house like a good boy).

The way the Sharks are doing things with Russians seems particularly good, but there are also all the Swedes...so even if they're in the suburbs, they have a community of sorts. There's so much stuff to think about that people usually didn't consider in the past. You have to think of people as human, though, and not just athlete robots, and then it does make sense.

Yup, that's exactly the sort of thing I'm talking about. Askarov and Mukhamadullin, Eklund and Zetterlund, etc. I can't imagine how profoundly lonely it is to be a foreign teenager in a new country, new team, and new league. Way too much adjusting to do at one time.

 

[Jargon]

And then Kakko is living up in Westchester County (for anyone unfamiliar, basically a rich suburban area a good distance away from NYC or anything else interesting, and you're probably reliant on driving everywhere, so it's not a good place for anything social, which is how you end up basically just sitting around the house like a good boy).

The way the Sharks are doing things with Russians seems particularly good, but there are also all the Swedes...so even if they're in the suburbs, they have a community of sorts. There's so much stuff to think about that people usually didn't consider in the past. You have to think of people as human, though, and not just athlete robots, and then it does make sense.

I agree, there's an entire psychology to building a team that goes beyond skill. And I know a lot of people come in and are like WHATEVER THEY MAKE 10 MILLION DOLLARS I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE LONELY which is fine and probably true, but also... they're human beings and this is a team game. You have to build a group that is psychologically in tune.

I do think like you guys are saying, Grier seems to be very aware of that and definitely is trying to team build with it in mind.

 

[timorous me]

I agree, there's an entire psychology to building a team that goes beyond skill. And I know a lot of people come in and are like WHATEVER THEY MAKE 10 MILLION DOLLARS I DON'T CARE IF THEY'RE LONELY which is fine and probably true, but also... they're human beings and this is a team game. You have to build a group that is psychologically in tune.

I do think like you guys are saying, Grier seems to be very aware of that and definitely is trying to team build with it in mind.

And though I've criticized Jan Rutta at times since he joined the Sharks (a guy I always liked when he was younger and more mobile), just listening to the Mukhamadullin interview now, it's no coincidence that he calls out Rutta--admittedly his D partner, but still--as a guy who's really helping him adapt to the NHL. Different country, but still a veteran who's been a winner before--it does mean something, even if I'm as guilty as others for downplaying that aspect of things.

 

[DG93]

And though I've criticized Jan Rutta at times since he joined the Sharks (a guy I always liked when he was younger and more mobile), just listening to the Mukhamadullin interview now, it's no coincidence that he calls out Rutta--admittedly his D partner, but still--as a guy who's really helping him adapt to the NHL. Different country, but still a veteran who's been a winner before--it does mean something, even if I'm as guilty as others for downplaying that aspect of things.

I think Rutta himself has said that he knows a bit of Russian too, which helps I'm sure

 

[Patty Ice]

My wife's cousin, a teenager at the time, was even friends with Kakko's billet family's daughter

 

[matt trick]

View attachment 947436

I thought the same thing!