Surgery likely for Clowe, milestone likely for JR
First, a report from today’s practice.
Looks as if you’re not likely to see Ryane Clowe back in the lineup anytime soon.
Turns out the left wing damaged his ACL in that Oct. 27 game against Columbus and has been exploring surgical and non-surgical options. Nothing was formally announced Sunday, but Coach Ron Wilson said it was his understanding that Clowe was opting for surgery and that it could come as early as Monday. That would mean at least a couple months out of the lineup.
With Clowe out of the picture, Wilson is using Jonathan Cheechoo on the left wing. Today, he had him on a line with Patrick Marleau and Steve Bernier. The other combinations:
Michalek-Thornton-Setoguchi
Rissmiller-Mitchell-Kaspar
Brown-Goc-Pavelski-Grier, and yes I know that’s one forward too many.
Now, let’s look ahead a little bit to a major NHL moment that could come as early as Wednesday against Dallas at HP Pavilion.
Roenick is about to go where only two U.S.-born NHL players (Joe Mullen, Mike Modano) have ever gone before: the 500-goal plateau. It’s a big deal. He acknowledges that it’ll be special and he might get a little teary-eyed.
When Roenick signed with the Sharks, 90 percent of the hockey community figured he was only doing it to get the five goals he needed to reach a milestone that only 39 of the thousands of players to compete in the NHL have ever reached. Roenick has said otherwise since Day One.
When he hit 499 in Los Angeles on Saturday night, he had to revisit the subject one more time. Here’s what he had to say — for about the 500th time in the last two months:
“I came to be in a winning organization, to enjoy playing the game again and have an opportunity to win the Stanley Cup. That is the only reason I came back. Five-hundred goals had no basis in me coming back. It’s going to be nice, it’s going to be a great feeling, but I came back for bigger and better reasons — to help this team do betteer and to help this team go further in the playoffs. I’m excited every day I come to the rink.”
It sounds rote by now, of course. But he says it convincingly. And when someone throws a question at him that could trap him into a less-than-selfless response, he doesn’t take the bait.
Like when he was asked about his limited ice time — 7:41 –in Saturday night’s game. Maybe the old JR would have let his displeasure be known. The new JR is totally cool with it.
“They wanted to get Jumbo and Patty out as much as possible and Pavelski’s been playing unbelievable so it’s only smart that you shorten your bench” in the third period, he said. “I had my pom-poms out in the third period and had a good time.”
Most players measure their worth to a team and its coach by their ice time. Roenick, his coach says, doesn’t have to worry about that. Even if Roenick weren’t scoring key goals, the passion he shows for the game is what’s most important.
“He’s 37 years old. I’m not going to stick him out there for 20 minutes a night,” Ron Wilson said after the game. “Tonight he might not even have hit double figures, but it doesn’t matter. He scored a big goal.”
That’s great that JR has developed a team first mentality; I just hopes it lasts the rest of the season. When he signed with the Sharks I just couldn’t help but think about how his big mouth and bigger-than-life personality is going to be destructive in the Shark’s otherwise laid back locker room. I’m glad he’s proved me wrong.
..I have enjoyed watching JR at the tank this year, where I’ve been able really watch him on every shift…he can be quite “pesky” to the opponents…when he gets his 500th at home, I would love to hear a little Bruce singing “Born in the USA” can you do anything about that David…..
Best 500K Doug Wilson spent. JR has mellowed into a great leader for the Sharks. I just wish he’d rub off on some of the kids on this team. Ron Wilson deserves some credit here too, he apparently knows how to coach the best out of JR.
This is the best story in SJ right now.
I just wish our Captain was this great of a leader.
Just got back from a LastMinute road trip to LA. Gotta say that most Kings fans are really cool — much different from Ducks fans
Great to see JR score number 499. Yes, he’s been a great addition to the team. His talkativeness encourages his mates to communicate better among themselves. And when the PP was struggling a few weeks ago, he showed them how to enter the zone — built up speed behind his own net, got the puck, and took it flying through the opposition. I’ve noticed that a few other Sharks saw that and have started trying the same thing.
I’m not worried at all about JR’s off-the-ice big mouth. What he says is most often spot-on, though perhaps a bit politically incorrect (read: Bettman).
This season is the first time I’ve been starting to have doubts about RW and his staff, but I think he’s the perfect guy to coach JR.
Now if only Cheech and Patty would start bringing a bitr more hustle. . . .
David, there have been a lot of questions and comments about Cheechoo’s effort (or lack thereof). I’m not sure I can judge the effort so much but there is something I have noticed. Perhaps it’s because of bad ice early in the season, but it seems like his balance has been a pretty inconsistent. Is there any chance he has some lingering injury issues from his offseason surgery? Maybe his conditioning isn’t quite where he wants it to because the surgery set back his summer program? He’s never been a graceful skater but I can recall a number of times where his feet are actually moving but he isn’t because he’s slipping and sliding. No one can argue with the fact that the results haven’t been there, but at the same time it’s hard to believe that a guy who had to outwork everyone just to make it to the NHL would suddenly develop problems with his effort and motivation. I can’t shake the feeling that something else is going on here that we don’t really know about. Any theories out there?
Aaron,
From my experience, hockey players are loathe to blame anything on lingering health matters. Maybe it’s the truth or maybe it’s part of some code of honor. But just as Marleau refused to hide behind his shoulder injury to explain away his problems in the Detroit series, Cheechoo isn’t hiding behind the groin surgeries he had over the summer. I asked him that very question again in LA and he said that while the surgeries hindered his off-season training, they aren’t a factor now.
If you recall, Cheechoo got off to a slow start last year and his diagnosis of what he needs to be doing sounds very much like the situation a year ago — keep his feet moving, make continual efforts to find the seams. His coach, by the way, sees improvements in his game that go beyond that third-period goal Saturday night.
David
To be honest I never was a “Huge JR fan” untill I seen him in our new ugly Jerseys. He’s exactly the player that the Sharks needed. It would of been nice to sign a guy like Ryan Smyth but I think JR has a lot of off the ice value as well. With a laid back group of Thornton, Marleau, Cheechoo, Michalek, its nice to see a gritty JR and Rivet leading the way.
I believe we’re going to miss Ryane Clowe more than we realise … he’s a banger, protector and an offensive threat whenever he’s on the ice.
Cheechoo is showing his grit and determination more and more each game. I think he’ll have a real positive effect on the Marleau line.
Go JR …
I’d like the Sharks to try out the kid line … Kaspar-Mitchell-Setoguchi … What do you think?
David, thanks for the quick response. I completely understand the “no excuses” mentality in hockey, which is why I was hoping maybe you’d have an excuse or two in mind. Cheech did get off to a slow start last year and if I remember correctly after the season either he or Doug Wilson mentioned that he had been fighting through some knee injuries and was glad to really be coming in healthy (maybe it was only in reference to the playoffs). The only reason I really asked about the surgery is that it seems like his core strength isn’t quite what it has been in past years and that might be a lingering effect of the hernia surgery. Hopefully that blocked shot and goal on Saturday will get him going a little bit. Keep up the good work.
will be making the road trip to San Jose for the wednesday game. if luck is with me, JR will score #500 wednesday night against dallas. while i wanted him to score it against phoenix, just to show up Gretzky, any game at home in San Jose is great. can’t wait!
I second the motion Yukon Don… that was a pretty good line in the pre-season… maybe the magic is still there? Hell, RW has shuffled the lines enough already… that’s about the only combo left that he hasn’t tried… put a recommendation in for us David?