San Jose Sharks | CollegeHockeyPlayers

28Jan

John McCarthy(7) Worcester Sharks

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3rd year, San Jose Sharks‘ 7th round pick in the 2002 draft (#202 overall), center John McCarthy(7) received his first 3 game call-up to the NHL this season. He had no points. In 44 games with San Jose, most of them in 2010/2011, he has a pair of goals and assists.

With the steady play of some of the other players that have been recalled from their AHL affiliate Worcester Sharks, he’s seemingly falling a bit off the club’s depth chart for the moment.

In all likelihood, he will be signed on for a fourth season in the system as his numbers in the minors indicate there still could be a break through for the 25-year old. He currently leads Worcester in scoring with 11 goals and 16 assists in 37 games.

27Jan

Sean Sullivan(37) San Antonio Rampage

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After only a year and a half in Worcester signed to a pair of one-year, two-way contracts with San Jose Sharks, fan-favorite, 5th year defenseman Sean Sullivan(37) uproots from Central MA and moves himself back to South Texas, where he played the first two-and-a-half seasons of his pro career with San Antonio Rampage. He’ll return to a team he holds many defensive records with.

He was originally a 9th round pick of Phoenix Coyotes in 2003 (#272 overall) but has yet to appear in an NHL game. Soon he will hit a landmark 300 AHL games played.

He’s a sort of small-ish 6′ 190 lbs. player but is accountable in his defensive zone (he’s a +10 plus/minus this season) and has steadily been putting up some offensive numbers.

The trade with Florida Panthers that brings him back to the South will likely give him his first playing time in the NHL.

22Jan

Mark Bell(18) Anaheim Ducks

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11 year veteran, former Chicago Blackhawks‘ 1st round draft pick in 1998 (#8 overall), 31-year old center Mark Bell(18) received his first NHL call-up with his new team for the 2011/2012 season, Anaheim Ducks.

He now has 446 big league games to his credit, registering 87 goals and 95 assists to go along with 597 penalty minutes.

For the last couple of seasons he played in the Swiss-A League but signed a one-year, two-way contract to come back to North American pro hockey early in the offseason.

In 32 games with the Ducks‘ AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch he has 5 goals and 8 assists but is a kind of miserable -11 plus/minus.

07Jan

Steve Zalewski(15) New Jersey Devils

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Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 5th round pick in the 2004 draft (#153 overall) center Steve Zalewski(15) was dished to New Jersey Devils in the last year of his entry level contract in a four player trade. His numbers had dipped that season to the point where he fell from the depth chart.

He played 3 NHL games in the 2009/2010 season but failed to register a point.

As soon as he got to the Devils‘ AHL affiliate in Albany he regained his scoring touch and that continued into 2011/2012.

For his efforts he received his 1st recall and was dropped off by the team bus at a New Jersey truck stop to join the Devils for their game against Boston at the Prudential Center but only took warm-ups and was a healthy scratch.

He made his debut a couple of nights later, a 5-2 win for the team. No telling how long he’ll stay up in the NHL but if they keep winning, look for him to become a more permanent part of their lineup.

01Jan

Jon DiSalvatore(14) Houston Aeros

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Houston Aeros‘ captain and 9 year veteran left winger, Jon DiSalvatore(14) earned his first NHL call-up since the 2005-2006 season when he was with St. Louis Blues.

This was only his sixth ever game in the big league. He skated a total of 14:27 including time on the power play and had 2 shots on net and 2 penalty minutes. He was reassigned back to the Aeros the next day.

In 635 AHL games he has 188 goals and 269 assists. He has scored 20 or more goals in all of his previous 8 pro seasons and looks to be on his way to a 9th consecutive 20 goal campaign as he already has 10 in 33 games.

He was originally a 4th round pick in the 2000 draft by San Jose Sharks (#104 overall).

30Dec

Tim Conboy(38) Binghamton Senators

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It took 139 games for Binghamton Senators‘ defenseman Tim Conboy(38) to put the puck in the net but he finally got the monkey off his back the night after Christmas with one, his first since 2009 when he was playing with Albany River Rats.

He was in Carolina Hurricanes‘ prospect system for four seasons and played 59 NHL games with them (0 goals, 6 assists).

From there he signed to one-year, two-way deals, last season with Buffalo Sabres and this year with Ottawa Senators, which has him assigned to their AHL affiliate.

Originally a San Jose Sharks‘ 7th round pick in the 2002 draft (#217 overall), he’s a fairly big guy at 6’2″ 210 lbs. but more importantly he’s the type of player that gets under other guy’s skin and causes penalties to happen. He also spends a good amount of time in the box.

Last season in 70 games he had 233 pims.

23Dec

Antero Niittymaki(1) Worcester Sharks

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San Jose Sharks sent 10-year veteran goaltender, Antero Niittymaki(1) down to their AHL affiliate in Worcester for a conditioning stint after starting the season with the team on injury reserve.

He last saw action in the league in 2005 as the Calder Cup winning goalie for Philadelphia Phantoms, where he won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP.

He played 161 games over 5 years for the Flyers, the team that originally picked him in the 6th round of the 1998 draft (#168 overall) before getting signing with Tampa Bay Lightning for a season. In 2010 he inked a two-year deal with San Jose, but has been hindered by the injury bug.

At 31-years old, it’s very doubtful they will re-sign him for a third year and he will probably end up playing in his home country of Finland to round out his pro career.

20Dec

Jed Ortmeyer(22) Minnesota Wild

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33-year old undrafted 9th year vet wing Jed Ortmeyer(22) has skated in 311 NHL games counting his current call up to Minnesota Wild, a team he has been signed with for the last couple seasons mostly for his leadership with the younger guys on their AHL affiliate Houston Aeros.

In 4 games with the Wild in 2010/2011 he failed to register a point but he plays big and can’t really shut opposing players done.

Throughout his career he skated 3 years with New York Rangers to start, followed by a couple of seasons in Nashville Predators‘ system and then his career best full season with San Jose Sharks in 2009/2010 (8 goals, 11 assists) before ending up in Minnesota.

In his first NHL game of 2011/2012, he skated almost 12 minutes of ice time.

18Dec

Carl Sneep(4) and Benn Ferriero(21)

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A pair of ex-Boston College Eagles‘ teammates, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins‘ defenseman Carl Sneep(4) and Worcester Sharks‘ center Benn Ferriero(21) discuss old times together at the Conte Forum.

Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft (#32 overall) received his first NHL call-up in two seasons of play. In his first AHL season, he racked up 4 goals and 13 assists but was a monstrous +17 plus/minus. Through 27 games games, he has 9 assists this season and is a +6.

He had 16:19 of ice time, got an assist and was a +1 in his debut.

12/19: Sneep was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pens.

13Dec

Justin Braun(27) San Jose Sharks

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San Jose Sharks‘ 2007 7th round pick (#201 overall), second year defenseman Justin Braun(27) might find himself racking up the frequent flyer miles this season between CA and Central MA with their AHL affiliate Worcester Sharks.

He recently got his first goal of the year, which may help his case for staying in the NHL for more than the 28 games he played as a rookie (2 goals, 9 assists).

In 14 games with San Jose he has a few points in 14 games but is a very sturdy +5 on the plus/minus.