NOLLY'S NOTES - BLOG #37
Nick Nollenberger
Aug 1, 2023
Happy August… it’s our last month of the offseason without any hockey. That’s both exciting and terrifying all at once. Though the Barracuda may not play in September, the Sharks and their prospects will.
Last week, the Vegas Golden Knights announced they’d be hosting the 2023 Rookie Faceoff from Sept. 15-18 (Full schedule below), and the Sharks kick off their six-game preseason schedule against the Knights at SAP Center on Sept. 24. The Sharks have not released their Rookie Faceoff roster, but it’ll be similar to Development Camp, minus the college players.
Friday, Sept. 15
Game 1 - SJS vs. LAK, 1 p.m. PT, City National Arena (Summerlin Hospital Rink)
Game 2 - ARI vs. COL, 3:30 p.m. PT, City National Arena (GHOST Energy Rink)
Game 3 - ANA vs. VGK, 7 p.m. PT, The Dollar Loan Center
Saturday, Sept. 16
Game 1 - LAK vs. ARI, 3:30 p.m. PT, City National Arena (Summerlin Hospital Rink)
Game 2 - VGK vs. SJS, 7 p.m. PT, The Dollar Loan Center
Sunday, Sept. 17
Game 1 - COL vs. ANA, 1 p.m. PT, City National Arena (Summerlin Hospital Rink)
Monday, Sept. 18
Game 1 - ARI vs. SJS, 10 a.m. PT, City National Arena (Summerlin Hospital Rink)
Game 2 - ANA vs. LAK, 12:30 p.m. PT, City National Arena (GHOST Energy Rink)
Game 3 - COL vs. VGK, 3 p.m. PT, City National Arena (Summerlin Hospital Rink)
Games will be streamed and you can listen on the Sharks Audio Network.
Marek Marked for San Jose
The Barracuda added another player to an AHL deal last week as the club announced the signing of forward Bradley Marek. Marek, who attended the Sharks Dev. Camp in July as an invitee, is now officially a member of the organization for the 2023-24 campaign. While I don’t know a ton about the player, the thing that sticks out is his size. He’s six-foot-three, 212-pounds, which fits Team Teal's efforts to get bigger in the pipeline. As a freshman in 2021-22, he was the CCHA Rookie of the Year after recording 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) in 36 games. Prior to his two years at Ferris State University, he spent parts of four seasons in the USHL and at one point was a teammate of Danil Gushchin with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Marek joins Connor MacEachern (F), Anthony Vincent (F), Ethan Frisch (D), and Roman Kinal (D) as players who the Barracuda have signed to AHL contracts this summer.
Sutter Health
In AHL Pacific Division news, the Calgary Wranglers inked their captain and former San Jose Jr. Shark Brett Sutter to a one-year deal last week (July 25, 2023). Sutter, the son of former Sharks, Blackhawks, Flames, and Kings head coach Darryl Sutter, will enter his 17th season in 2023-24. Last year he became just the eighth player in the AHL’s 87-year history to play in 1,000 regular-season AHL games. He’ll enter the upcoming campaign ranked sixth in league history in games played (1,044) and has totaled 190 goals and 263 assists for 453 points with Quad City (2007-09), Abbotsford (2009-10), Charlotte (2010-14), Iowa (2014-16), Ontario (2016-22) and Calgary (2022-23).
Blast from the past
This time of the year the news cycle in hockey can go bone dry and that’s kind of the case at this point of the summer, which is why this edition of Nolly’s Notes will be on the shorter side. That being said, there was some news I saw last month that gave me some early Sharks nostalgia. The Wenatchee Wild, who just recently went from the BCHL to the WHL, as the Winnipeg ICE were purchased and moved to Wenatchee, announced that former Sharks head coach Kevin Constantine would be their first bench boss in the new league. Although I was only three when Constantine began his coaching tenure with the Sharks in 1994 and was just six when he left, I can remember vividly his fiery red hair and the huge bubbles he’d blow on the bench. Although his stint with the organization was on the shorter side, his time with the Sharks will be burned in my brain forever. In his first season with San Jose, the team set an NHL record for the largest improvement by finishing 58 points higher in the standings than it had the previous season. Take a look at that team photo from his first season (third season of existence). Some iconic names there (Drew Remenda – coach, Mike Rathje, Jamie Baker, Dale Craigwell, Pat Falloon, Ray Whitney, Sandis Ozolinsh, Igor Larionov, Bob Errey, Jeff Odgers, and Arturs Irbe). Not to mention the team’s original owner, George Gund.
That will do it for this edition of Nolly’s Notes. If you haven’t checked it out yet, be sure to watch the latest episode of Building the Barracuda. A big thank you to Carlos Gonzalez, our videographer, for his hard work on the project. We're hoping to do episodes throughout the season, so keep an eye on our YouTube page and social media channels.