Marc-Edouard Vlasic: San Jose Sharks' Defenseman Playing with Edge

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When a player's nickname is "Pickles," he doesn't sound intimidating.

So far in Marc-Edouard Vlasic's three-year career, he hasn't exactly been as feared as Chris Pronger. But the 22-year-old veteran has started to come of his shell a little bit.

And, yes, I'm aware of the irony of the phrase "22-year-old veteran."

The second-round, 35th-overall pick in 2005 was drafted by the San Jose Sharks whith the pick they got from Calgary when they traded goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff to the Flames in 2003.

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Vlasic enjoyed success playing under Hall of Fame goalie Patrick Roy for the Quebec Ramparts from the QMJHL.

When Vlasic unexpectedly cracked San Jose's roster in the 2006-07 season, former head coach Ron Wilson and his coaching staff tried to find any reason they could to send the rookie defenseman back to the minors. But no such thing would happen.

Instead, No. 44 has remained one of the Sharks' most consistent players over the past three-plus seasons.

In his first three campaigns, Vlasic missed just one game, while tallying 11 goals, 65 assists, and 76 points. He was also a plus/minus +16.

Through 25 games this season, "Pickles" has two goals, six assists, and an even plus/minus rating.

In the seasons since, Ron Wilson and now Todd McLellan have tried to expand Vlasic's role. Concerning Vlasic, this has typically been referred to as "getting him out of his comfort zone."

In McLellan's first stab at head coaching for San Jose last season, his system heavily relied on offense from the defensemen. As a solid, stay-at-home defenseman, seeing Vlasic jump into the play offensively looked as weird as goaltender Evgeni Nabokov scoring a power play goal against the Vancouver Canucks in 2002.

But the Sharks' second-round pick in 2005 rose to the challenge in McLellan's system by scoring a career-high six goals and 30 assists from the point in 2008-09. He also had a plus/minus +15, which was also a career high.

Pickles hadn't enjoyed this kind of offensive success since he played for the Ramparts and scored 16 goals and 73 points in 66 games in 2005-06.

So with a new season upon us, what has been Vlasic's new objective?

McLellan and his coaching staff have asked the young defenseman to be tougher and play with more of an edge.

We didn't see the former defenseman transform into the monster physical defenseman like Pronger or Dion Phaneuf, but Vlasic has started to play with more of a mean-streak.

In the Sharks' 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Nov. 20, Vlasic dropped the gloves with lightweight Danny Briere. It was Vlasic's first NHL career fight and only Briere's second.

San Jose and Philadelphia both have some tough customers on their respective rosters, and a fight between the two teams wasn't surprising. But a betting man probably would have put his money on guys like Frazer McLaren or Douglas Murray for the Sharks and Ian Laperriere or Dan Carcillo for the Flyers.

But not on Vlasic and Briere.

And to give credit where credit is due, McLaren and Carcillo did dance in this game.

Take it for what it's worth, but at this point, it's probably appropriate to add that Vlasic's penalty minutes have increased from season to season, as you'll see below.

Season          PIM

2006-07        18

2007-08        24

2008-09        42

This season, Vlasic has nine penalty minutes. Before the five-minute major for fighting Briere, No. 44 had only four penalty minutes through 23 games.

During the past couple seasons in particular, Vlasic has become more engaged in the game physically, and the fight with Briere shows the maturity and evolution of the 22-year-old defenseman.

Yes, Vlasic only fought Briere and not George Parros, but the fact that Vlasic is playing with more fire and grit is a good thing for him and the Sharks. The young defenseman has shown maturity beyond his years since he entered the league as a rookie in 2006-07.

And he is continuing to show development and maturity in only his fourth season in the NHL.

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