By the Numbers: 2008 NHL Playoff Player Profiles, Pt 1-San Jose

Watching the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it is easy to be sucked into a series and lost in it as a world on its own. For a time, what happens on the ice between two teams can block out reality for a few hours, and night after night the same combatants meet to dig in even deeper. As each game passes, the names and faces of the opposing team become more and more familiar to everyone involved, including the fans.

In a thirty-team league in which sixteen make the playoffs, it is a staggering task to know the bio of each and every player iced in the post-season. Professional commentators and analysts often forget names and check cheat-sheets when discussing an unfamiliar squad, so for a layman to be conversant on any whole team is impressive.

Knowing one’s own roster is plenty, but when scrutinising the enemy it never hurts to know some details. In the spirit of full disclosure, we will identify some of the sweater numbers to look out for in this and other series.

Keep your eyes peeled for great plays, and keep track of which numbers come up big. Watch closely to catch the licence plates of the men making an impact over 200 feet of ice.

We’ll start off slow, three at a time. As the days go by and the tension mounts, we’ll add more digits to the bingo barrel of ice kings.

Drafted by the Sharks with their first pick (second overall) in 1997. the quiet centreman is anything but shy on the ice. Serving as captain since mid-2003-04, he has been a leader to the Sharks as a reliable player and locker room presence.

Originally presented with the captaincy while the team was giving it out in rotation, when it was another man’s turn, team leader Alyn McCauley told coach Ron Wilson to leave it with Marleau.

So far, so good.

Current Flames GM/former Sharks coach Darryl Sutter helped Marleau early on to evenly combine his offensive and defensive capabilities, moulding him into a more balanced player.

He is well known for gentlemanly conduct (2006 Byng finalist), but when he gets on a tear he is as dangerous as anyone on his team. He far exceeded his previous career-high point total in 2005-06 when he recorded 86 points. A big body to contain up front, Marleau can make room on the ice or take it away.

This season, Patrick Marleau recorded his 500^th point against Phoenix back in November. He began this year a bit cold in scoring, but posted 19 points in his last twenty contests.

The addition of defenseman #51 Brian Campbell at the trade deadline has opened up a lot of chances for Marleau and the rest of the forward line-up. If that trend continues, he could well lead his team to the Cup.

His playoff record is up and down however, as he has had varied success in the 'second season'. Dedicated to bringing the Cup to San Jose, career Shark Marleau signed a two-year contract extension in 2007 worth US$12.6 million to stay in town, adding a no-trade clause.

He was a part of the team when San Jose faced Calgary in the 2004 Western Conference Final, and by now should know the competition. Committed to finding a post-season answer with what is the best Sharks line-up in years, Marleau will be a threat on all fronts if he can find his groove.

1997’s first overall pick led Jumbo Joe to Boston for the first seven years of his career, where some would say leadership responsibilities bogged him down on the ice. One of the NHL’s best power forwards, Thornton possesses great vision and hockey sense while his size makes him almost unshakable as he carries the puck.

Thornton received heavy criticism as a Bruin for poor post-season play, and his last run with that club came in 2004. As team captain and scoring leader, the media and fans expected more than the zero points he produced as Montreal took the series in seven games. The man had been playing with an incredibly painful rib cage injury, yet the press seemed unrelenting. He was shifted to a sunnier state in a deal that also sent Flames #19 Wayne Primeau to Boston, from whence he and Brad Stuart would later be traded to Calgary.

Past difficulties were not the only reasons the Big Man was happy to be moved to San Jose in 2005-06. Joining a team that held real playoff potential, Thornton found himself free to grow on the ice in a system full of talent and leadership. No longer carrying the weight of responsibility on his own, his game opened up and he recorded career point highs while his play increased the productivity of those around him. By the end of 2006 he had earned himself the Art Ross and Hart Trophies as the League’s leading point getter and MVP, all in his snazzy new teal uniform.

Though his goal tallies have dropped some from his early NHL days, Thornton’s assist numbers are through the roof. After the move to Northern California, #19 recorded consecutive 90-assist seasons, joining the esteemed company of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux as the only players in NHL history to accomplish that feat.

Joe has developed into a very well-rounded player, and for this he gives Calgary coach Mike Keenan his due (both Thornton and #27 Jeremy Roenick give Keenan a lot of credit for their improved play) as an early mentor back in Boston. At first chance earlier this year, Thornton went over to the Flames bench boss to say hello, breaking away from team mates and waiting until Iron Mike finished a media scrum before vigorously shaking his hand.

The present day Joe Thornton is an impressive power-house who is looking to erase the memories of past playoff predicaments with a strong outing this time around. Reunited with childhood team mate #51 Brian Campbell for the playoffs, the two have already sparked each other's play and given the centre a morale boost. Already, the list of achievement for the 28 year-old is lengthy, but the thrill he seeks most is to hoist Stanley’s mug.

Watch for Thornton everywhere on the ice. His size allows him great puck-possession and ice space and makes him a perfect forward screen. He has hidden speed for a man of his girth, and can pass and shoot equally well on the fore- or backhand. If he can shake his post-season bugaboo, he could be a contender for the Conn Smythe, able to take his team to the top.

This is the goalie San Jose chose, and they chose well. Drafted by the Sharks in 1994, he wouldn’t see NHL action until the turn of the century, literally. His first taste was New Year‘s Day 2000, but his real start was the next year, when his 2.19 GAA and .915 save percentage earned him the 2001 Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie, in any position.

Since then, San Jose has said goodbye to Vesa Toskala and #34 Miikka Kiprusoff, replacing the netminder depth chart with a one-man wonder. His incredible play in the regular season has made a Vezina win likely and make him a Hart hopeful. With one of the heaviest workloads in the league, he played 77 games and recorded a career-best 2.14 GAA in a forty-six victory effort. His team ended the season with the third fewest goals-against as he hovered in the upper echelons of every goaltending statistic. With the 2-0 Game 2 bounce-back win Thursday, he recorded his 6^th playoff shutout, proving again that he can rebound well from a disappointing outcome.

Products of the same goalie coach, Kiprusoff and Nabokov have similar playing styles and attitudes, and are both considered amongst the best in the game. Ready to challenge, Nabokov combines aggressive tendencies with clean positioning to limit the opportunities of opposing shooters. A great glove hand, fantastic lateral movement and tight focus make him a tough man to beat at the best of times.

Trivia notes:

~In a 2002 game vs the Vancouver Canucks, Nabby became the first goalie to score a power-play goal, and the first European netminder to hit the other end.

~When he first arrived in North America, he called himself “John”, worried that the Anglophonic community wouldn’t be able to pronounce Evgeni. It didn’t last.

~ When scout Tim Burke went to Russia, it was to look at a different player; Nabokov’s father, an eighteen-year Russian hockey veteran. When the heir apparent was drafted 219^th overall, the Sharks had never seen him play.

~ Growing up in the USSR, he has played internationally for both Kazakhstan (1994) and Russia (2006 Olympics). Although he is a Russian citizen, he was disallowed from competing for them until 2005, due to his single appearance as a 19 year-old on the Kazakh team.

Check back over the coming days and weeks for a look at more impact players from the Sharks-Flames series, and around the NHL playoff circuit. Although these early editions focus on some of the more obvious key figures, there will be an examination of role-players, grinders, enforcers, etc from up and down the rosters that will shape the 2008 post-season.

There may even be a coach or two….

Happy Playoffs, everyone!

** Author's note: This article is dedicated to my mum for her birthday.  She gave me the same advice every athlete receives at some point: You can achieve any goal if you are willing to work for it.

Catch Part II now by following the link or returning to the NHL page.  http://bleacherreport.com/articles/17433-By-the-Numbers-Player-Profiles-from-the-2008-NHL-Playoffs--Part-II