I feel like this will be a ongoing thread I'll keep up throughout the season - giving some thoughts on the team + players and hearing others opinions. For sharks fans to discuss but also for other fans to join in to and see where the sharks are at. I feel like with such a critical year for the sharks ahead it would be a great year to follow closely (as a new fan, or long time, or from another fanbase looking in).

Season Debut - Pre game thoughts:

LEONARD! Excited to see this kid in teal for a long time.
Ferraro is going to be a top pair/ top2d player by season end, period.
That third line is flying, can they keep it up?
Jones' new mask is sick.. will he be as good?
I dont know why I did this but in fantasy I picked Couture over Hertl and and changed Kane out.

During game thoughts (1st to 3rd period):
LEONARD - CALDER FINALIST, WINNER (jk but kids good, still room to shine but a good debut)
That third line is like a bat out of hell at times
not getting to catch full game - IRL distractions
Coyotes broadcast hella bias
Holy crap I knew picking Couture over Hertl was a bad call when I did it. I felt Meier - Cooch - Labanc was just a more rounded line so I thought Hertl would have to carry his line too much with Kane potentially struggling throughout the year due to personal issues and Leonard being a rookie. But daaaaaaaaaaaamn, Hertl looked good and strong - but also agile and fast, Kane was a bullet with a sick goal, and Leonard held his own and Im excited to see his future (I hope he gets a new number, I dont like 43).
Not really focusing on the third pair enough to rate them (plus distractions irl).
Jones is actually looking good (which compared to the past is a like a dream).
Donato looks alright, Gregor looks solid, Nieto = fast; looking to see more from this line though going forward.
Meier and Labanc looked alright
Powerplay had a noticeable uptick imo
Karlsson looked smooth***(he did look like he was holding back at times, waiting to see more)
Burns wasnt bad - but wasnt noticeable

Game end (SO):
Donato was cleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeean
Didnt like the Jones 2nd go, didnt go in but he didnt react nearly at all or fast enough it looked - if it hit the net it woulda been a goal, but he has a good effort on the 3rd to make up for it.
couture is cooooold.

Overall:
Hopefully I can pay more attention in the next game with less irl distractions. I would say I caught 85% of the 1st, 60% of the 2nd, 35% of the 3rd, and 100% of the OT/ SO. Not enough of the game though to give clear/ detailed reviews.

First Line: Timo - Cooch - Banker
- They were good but not the "top line"

Second Line: Leonard - Hertl - Kane
- This the current "top line". All of them were great and they did it all. They were fast, they were strong and in good positions. Made a ton of chances and had good looks throughout.

Third Line: Donato - Gregor - Nieto
- faaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaast, but I think overall they played well.

Fourth Line: Who?
- Honestly dont recall seeing this line lmao. Saw kellman get a penalty tho! Others can speak on these boys. We aint ever scratching Marleau so Id like to see Sasha or Viel get a shot, to really earn a spot.

Defense Pairs:
This will be better kept in the future at the next point I post PT2.
I did not see enough/ focus enough to give concrete thoughts other than Karlsson looked good but he has so much more to give/ show, Ferraro looked alright but he should be on the top pair, Burns was only noticeable because hes Brent Burns but otherwise his play didn't frustrate me or impress me (not a bad thing i guess tho lol). Didnt even know we had a third pair (JK).

-

Jones actually looked better. He took scrambles well and played smoothly. Solid stops that were much needed; were made. Great on the breakaways. No goal made me upset (the third was more unlucky imo, if it was five hole, which i thought it was; then i woulda been upset). We'll see how he goes throughout the year; Im not saying he was amazing or hes rebounded but it was a good start to the year for him that was much needed and Im happy seeing a win for him. And its already an improvement to say there was more than 2 stops (Id say he made 4-7) that we really needed; that were made and we couldnt say that much last year.

@papishark @RawZuccSauce420 @jfrojelin @klara @ other sharks fan if you guys want more names I just cant remember them all tbh lol. But Id definitely wanna hear more thoughts plus your guys, since I was to distracted for a lot of the game.

Saturday:

I woulda kept Jones in but I heard it may be Dubnyk - good to see Dubnyk early tho I guess.
I'd like to see Middleton in - or Brinson.
I like to see someone on the fourth line out (Kellman or Sorensen) and Viel or Sasha in.

Prediction =
Leonard gets his first career goal!
Yotes play a better overall game
Karlsson shines

Sharks win in OT or Lose in Shootout

As much as it pains me to say, I think Sorensen played somewhat well. I actually did not see the 3rd line pretty well (analytics said that Donato played well tho and what a SO goal yay!) Jones leads the league in GSAx which is sick. Ferraro and Karlsson better be the top pairing by the end of the year.

agreed with this pretty much!
Karlsson didnt look bad at all and if anything he looked tame (playing it easy to warm up is the guess). Even when he was on with the goals I cant really complain about his play. Maybe the third goal Id like him to be more aggressive physically but thats not his style - hopefully hell adjust next time and make the play.

Hertl and Kane were absolute monsters, and that line should probably be the first line. I was also impressed by Ferraro, he really held his own in a top 4 role. Karlsson was ok overall, but I didn't love his play in OT. Meier was pretty solid too, but I really want him to break out into a bonafide 1st line winger this year, so my expectations for him are higher. Things that bothered me is the fact that our gameplan for defending a lead seems to still be to turtle up in the last 5 minutes, and we gave up way to many high danger chances (good thing Jones was solid for the most part).

On Saturday I'd like to see a much more complete defensive game, and I'd like to see Karlsson and Meier really step up.

In my comments about Karlsson I think its like hes warming up. I agree he wasnt bad and he was just okay but I felt he looked content with not doing it all. Like he wasnt being dumb but it was like he was just trying to get slowly into the rhythm of the season and not trying to kill himself. Im expecting him to be better and better if thats the case - maybe you agree, but thats what it felt like for me. Im excited to see Ferraro grow, really think hes got the material to be a star; great attitude and hes very peronsable (as well as a heck of a player whos growing), and he works his ass off on and off the ice.

I was surprisingly happy with the game. I agree with most if not all of your points. Not gonna get into specifics too much because I’m lazy lol.

But I think rolling with similar lines would be smart. Would rather see Kellman yanked for Gambrell, Sumo or Chmelevski, but he’s not a liability so whatever either way.

Hertl, Kane, Leonard, Sorensen, Jones were the guys I was the most impressed with. Vlasic and Ferraro were also quietly solid on the back end as well. Hope they keep it up.

Really would like to see Couture, Labanc, Burns and Karlsson step up their games though. They left me wanting more last night.

Glad we pulled out the win after a shakey 3rd though. These are the games you need to win. Jones definitely kept us in that game so I’m thankful for that as well. GO SHARKS