Taylor Doherty assigned to Worcester Sharks
April 4th, 2011, 12:32 pm
Welcome to the Land of the Big Boys
As us Dudes thought, the Sharks top junior prospect, Taylor Doherty, has been reassigned to Worcester for the remainder of the AHL season for their playoff push. His OHL junior team, Kingston, lost their first round match up and he was already signed to an entry level deal. We’ve seen this move before by the Sharks with Logan Couture in the past and it’s a good opportunity to see him play with grown men. I would imagine he’ll play immediately and it’s not impossible that the kid will be brought up to San Jose for the Stanley Cup playoffs if Worcester is eliminated, not to play but to give him a taste of the NHL good life.
Doherty is the most intriguing Sharks prospect for me. He has incredible size and skill for a towering kid of 6’8. Can he develop into Tyler Myers, or will he be an American version of our favorite whipping-boy, Mr. Semenov? This will be a small glimpse into how he handles himself on the professional level.
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I am really intrigued as to how the Sharks blue line will shake out over the next few years. We all know Boyle will be here until 2014, and I have a strong inkling that Vlasic will as well.
From there, you have Murray, White, Demers, Braun, Doherty, Petrecki, and lower level guys like Nick Shaus, Will Wrenn and Matt Irwin. In today’s NHL, I would imagine that Demers and Braun will be a part of the team if they have any type of cap friendly deal at the time. So you have two spots left. Do you flip Murray in a couple of years before he becomes a UFA in 2013 in preparation for Petrecki/Doherty? How long do you sign Ian White for this offseason, knowing you already have 3 legitimate offensive defensemen already?
A good problem to have I must say.
Remember in 2008 the Sharks went on a run that tied NHL records?It was a run I’ve personally never seen at the professional level of the NHL in my entire life. We tied the NHL record for best start over the first 20 games, with an equal level of play continuing over that first half. I’ve long claimed that the Sharks during that time period played the best hockey I’ve ever seen, by any team, period…!
Well I just saw a stat that blew my mind. Since Jan 15, 2011 the Sharks have gone 26-4-4!!!
I compared it to that run in 2008… And…In the first 34 games of 2008 the Sharks went 27-3-4…
Currently the Sharks are only 2pts off that pace! Only one more regulation win, or two shootouts that had they gone the other way and they would have matched the level of competition they played at to start the 2008-2009 season. But this time instead of starting the season this hot, they’re three games away from the playoffs…
I might be a little high from the Sharks scoring 16 goals in three games, but right now the Sharks look like world beaters…