SAN JOSE\u2014On Friday, September 22, a day after their win over the Vegas Golden Knights, Sharks players Brandon Mashinter, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Brenden Dillon, Paul Martin, Chris Tierney, Martin Jones, and Tomas Hertl spoke with San Francisco News about their expectations from the NHL’s newest addition, as well as the potential and contributions of San Jose’s up and coming players.<\/p>\n
San Francisco News: Do you have any expectations for the Golden Knights? For those of you who have played them already, were your expectations met during Thursday night’s game?<\/b><\/p>\n
Mashinter: They\u2019re going to work hard. They\u2019re a new team, so they kind of want to set the standard for the organization; I think they are going to come up pretty hard.<\/p>\n
Couture: They\u2019ve got NHL players on their team, I expect them to be competitive. For an expansion team, you hope they do well. It\u2019s like any team, they\u2019ve got young guys, they\u2019ve got new guys to be competitive. You don\u2019t take it easy on them, they\u2019re an expansion team, you play to beat them.<\/p>\n
Thornton: I expect them to be good, I expect them to be competitive and work hard. I think all teams, especially a new team like Vegas with 23 guys new to one franchise, I think they\u2019re going to work hard for each other and they\u2019re going to compete every night.<\/p>\n
Dillon: I think in preseason there\u2019s a lot of uncertainty; you\u2019ve got different guys coming in, guys that are probably going to be going back to junior, some guys that might be in the American Hockey League, and I think overall, everyone is just trying to show their stuff. Last night, I think [Vegas] had a couple guys who will probably end up being regulars for them, some that might not be. They\u2019ve got a new coach, new systems, and whatnot. I think in the preseason you\u2019re just trying to get the rust off and get back into the swing [of hockey].<\/p>\n
Tierney: They had a lot of guys who have played in NHL on the lineup last night [September 21], so they had a pretty good defensive core. They look like they\u2019re a really good team, they\u2019ve got a lot of skill, a lot of experience, so it\u2019s going to be interesting to see how they do in the regular season.<\/p>\n
Jones: Every team is competitive now, we\u2019re not going to be surprised by them and how they play. Yeah, it will be interesting to see how the season progresses for them. Obviously it is a unique situation having all new guys in there, but I expect them to be competitive, that\u2019s for sure.<\/p>\n
Hertl: We\u2019ve played against this coach [Gerard Gallant] a couple times, and some coaches keep a system. [Gallant] used to be in Florida [with the Panthers], it goes pretty similar, and there are a lot of guys we have played already in the NHL, just different teams. It\u2019s pretty cool, seeing different colors and different jerseys.<\/p>\n
SFN: We all know that the Sharks have to improve this season, so how do you feel <\/b>you<\/i><\/b> will try to contribute? How do you think the younger guys will contribute to improving overall? Do you think anyone in particular has improved now that you\u2019ve gotten a chance to play with them in practice and on the ice a bit?<\/b><\/p>\n
Mashinter: I\u2019m a big body, so I\u2019m going to have to have a physical presence out there and use my size to my advantage, and also make room for myself and my linemates and teammates.<\/p>\n
Thornton: [The younger players] had a good summer into training, they look really good and really strong. We expect a lot of big things out of our young guys. It\u2019s going to be an exciting year if you\u2019re a Sharks fan. I think Chris Tierney looks really good; he looks like he had a good offseason. [Kevin] Labanc looks very strong. A lot of the younger guys put in some good work this summer, and it is paying off so far, it\u2019s no surprise.<\/p>\n
Tierney: A lot of young guys looked good last night [against Vegas]. I thought a lot of them played a good game, played the system well, and worked hard. It\u2019s going to be exciting to see these guys come up throughout the season and the next couple of years.<\/p>\n
Jones: Our young guys need to bring their energy every night, lots of speed. We\u2019ve got good, fast young legs. They need to bring energy, and I think this year we\u2019re going to expect a little bit more from some of our younger guys in terms of production and putting up a couple points.<\/p>\n
Hertl: It\u2019s a big change for the young guys, and we hope that everybody gets to play; the younger guys want to play in the NHL and they\u2019re fighting for the spot, they play great.<\/p>\n
SFN: How do you think the addition of Vegas is going to change the conference\/division?<\/b><\/p>\n
Thornton: Nothing really, I think it\u2019s just another team that\u2019s going to be competitive. They\u2019re not going to give away points. They\u2019ve got good coaching, I really think they are going to be competitive this year.<\/p>\n
Martin: Any time you add another team to the division, it gets a little tough to get those points and make sure you\u2019re putting yourself in a good position for the playoffs. Obviously, even though it\u2019s a new franchise and a new team, they\u2019ll have decent players. They had the expansion draft, so they\u2019ve got a solid team. If you don\u2019t come to play, you\u2019re not going to win, so I think it will be interesting. Any time you add another team it makes it more tough.<\/p>\n
Dillon: I think it’s great for the league any time you’re getting another opportunity, another city that’s going to grow the game of hockey. For [Vegas], there might be a little growing pain, it’s early, a lot of young guys and guys who are coming together, new coaching staff. For our division specifically, it’s great. Another short flight at least, instead of having to go to a Midwest team on a couple hour [long] flights, so I can’t complain about that. But I think overall it will be great.<\/p>\n
Jones: Obviously we have another division game that we are going to be playing. I don\u2019t think anything really changes; it\u2019s tough to make playoffs, you\u2019ve got to play well all season long if you want to have a chance. So, yeah, I don\u2019t think too much changes.<\/p>\n
Hertl: For us, it\u2019s nicer because [Vegas] is a bit closer. Everything else is pretty far, our flight and everything. It will be different, we don\u2019t know what to expect from this team because it is their first time in the NHL, we\u2019ll see. They have a good team, they have as good of chances in the NHL now as anyone, it will be exciting to play there.<\/p>\n
SFN (to defensemen Martin and Dillon): What kind of expectations do you have for the new defensemen like Heed, Ryan, and Simek this season?<\/b><\/p>\n
Martin: I think anytime you lose a defenseman [David Schlemko, who was selected by Vegas in the expansion draft then traded to Montreal], it gives these other guys an opportunity to step up. The guys we\u2019ve had from the Barracuda seem very promising like Ryan and Heed, and [Dylan] DeMelo is doing a good job filling in when he can, so I think it is a healthy competition. It\u2019ll be good whoever fills [Schlemko\u2019s] spot.<\/p>\n
Dillon: I think the same thing [as Martin]. It\u2019s been good having that competition in camp. We\u2019ve got a couple guys in the same area [as us], practicing every day. We\u2019ll see what happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SAN JOSE\u2014On Friday, September 22, a day after their win over the Vegas Golden Knights, Sharks players Brandon Mashinter, Logan Couture, Joe Thornton, Brenden Dillon, Paul Martin, Chris Tierney, Martin Jones, and Tomas Hertl spoke with San Francisco News about their expectations from the NHL’s newest addition, as well as the potential and contributions of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":72346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,18100],"tags":[18316,18320,17608,16610,18319,18258,5548,18321,14532,12497,18257,16607],"class_list":["post-72345","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hockey","category-sports","tag-brandon-mashinter","tag-brenden-dillon","tag-chris-tierney","tag-golden-knights","tag-joe-thornton","tag-logan-couture","tag-martin-jones","tag-paul-martin","tag-san-jose","tag-sharks","tag-tomas-hertl","tag-vegas"],"yoast_head":"\n