sharks review part defensemen i finally got it back with great thanks to mark spiegel for saving and sending it rob zettler season th acquired from minnesota in dispersal draft grade c c zettler gave the sharks every bit he s got this year unfortunately this still wasn t enough to make him any more than a marginal nhler if that he works hard for sure but is no better than average on defense and is prone to costly penalties and defensive lapses at times while being basically an offensive zero goal and assists in games he would be hardpressed to make the team next year david williams season nd acquired free agent from new jersey grade c c imo williams was the most valuable defenseman for the sharks in playing a combination of good offense goals and assists in games and good defense but he playing the first part of this season in kansas city was good neither offensively nor defensively this year it then appears that was a fluke although he improved towards the end of the season he was prone to being out of position defensively and did not demonstrate the playmaking skills that made him the team s leading scorer among defensemen last year he would also be hardpressed to make the team next year jayson more season nd acquired from montreal in expansion draft grade b after being touted as the team s top defensive prospects in training camp before more had a rather disappointing as he was not particularly good defensively and had just points in games he then proceeded to improve his game massively this season becoming the team s most reliable defenseman whom the team can count on night in and night out to play steady defense and providing occasional but only occasional offensive flash offensively he was even more disappointing than last year points in games but his defense improved tremendously he is probably best as the defensive part of a defense combination with an offensive defenseman neil wilkinson season th acquired from minnesota in dispersal draft grade b wilkinson was probably the team s top defensive defenseman in however partially because of injuries he was not the same this year as he missed games total due to nagging knee and back injuries and seemed to be slowed even when playing he then had often to be saved by his defensive partners that is if they are there at all but he also had some solid games and if he can be complete healthy he can still be a force sandis ozolinsh season st acquired nd round pick in entry draft grade i a at the time of his injury december against the philadelphia flyers ozolinsh was well on track to be imo the team s mvp a serious knee injury in that game though forced him to miss the rest of the season games but he still finished as the team s top scorer among defensemen points which of course tells more about the lack of offense the sharks had from their defensemen but it also tells of ozolinsh s abilities at the time he was playing very good defense along with excellent offense he was still susceptible to so called rookie mistakes but was probably the defenseman who made the least of them on the team rookie or veteran if he can come back from his injuries he is ready to be a star doug zmolek season st acquired from minnesota in dispersal draft grade b zmolek had basically a solid and durable year being one of the only two sharks to play in all games of the season he was solid on defense but after being billed as an offensive defenseman he didn t show it points he was also prone to penalties and his penalty minutes was second on the team however that was also an indication that he was fearly when facing tough physical opponents and he was at his best when playing physically but to become a fixture in this league he needs to improve both offensively and defensively and cut down on the number of power plays he gives to opponents go calgary flames al macinnis for norris gary roberts for hart and smythe go edmonton oilers go for playoffs next year stay in edmonton nelson lu claudius leland stanford edu rec sport hockey contact for the san jose sharks
