A New Era In The Tank
Written By Troy Ewers
A rebuild scares fans of a team, because it either turns into a championship program like the Golden State Warriors or it fails like the Cleveland Browns. In hockey there’s 2 variables that make a rebuild work out; a front office willing to take risks on young guys and a coaching staff that knows how to groom this young talent. The New York Rangers have seen huge growth from that exact combination of variables. The San Jose Sharks are in the middle of a rebuild and with what they have added to the equation, a New York Rangers like rebuild is very possible, especially because the new coach David Quinn was the coach when New York was rebuilding, but let go before the playoff run 2 years ago. Quinn added a whole new coaching staff, only leaving Nabakov as goaltending coach from the prior regime and Mike Grier as new the GM running this front office on a hockey side have already taken risks that would scare any fan of the Teal and Black. People should have the highest of low expectations… Expect the Sharks to be bad, but have real potential to be a playoff contender in 2 years.
Mike Grier and David Quinn are known for building talent, but can they build wins? Yes, because the group of young talent is what’s needed for a proper rebuild and their raw talent will get you some wins, but the way Grier and Quinn have refined talent like the Rangers’ “Kid Line” or the young growing talent at Buffalo, the young guys in San Jose will be a fun project for them. My love of Eklund is already shown in my writing, but Filip Bystedt and these other new additions to the roster already are playmakers who play fast, Quinn’s specialty. Grier already took a “risk” getting rid of Brent Burns, because that’s a huge face of the franchise leaving, but it made room for huge growth. Fans shouldn’t stop going to games, because the star they’re used to is gone or if they see a losing record this season. If fans don’t show up the potential of losing out on this young talent raises. Fans have to see that what the Sharks are gonna be putting on the ice is a stock with extremely great potential. The stock market has ups and downs, but if you trust that the stock will be something in the long game, and it hits, you see victories. The same is for a team on a rebuild, if you trust that these young dudes are gonna be the next champions (like I do) and it hits, you’ll see victories.
A rebuild only can be positive if everyone trusts the process… When the Sixers coined that phrase with their rebuild, they were laughed at, because certain players didn’t fit the bill in the time frame fans seemed fit. In reality, trusting the process worked for Philly, because Embiid and their runs in the East show that the waiting for the stock to grow worked out, even if it took 10 years. The Sharks don’t need 10 years if the fans trust the process now! Let the players grow with this new coaching staff and let Mike Grier make the right moves as far as roster is concerned. I want new fans from diverse locations to watch and enjoy hockey, especially Sharks hockey, but it’s hard to say “you should be a fan of this” and there’s losses. Embrace the scars for now, but know in 2-3 years, those scars will make the taste of champagne sweeter when the development matches the potential and results in a run at Lord Stanley’s Cup.