Zalewski Makes NHL Debut Tonight and Other Musings

Steven Zalewski makes his NHL debut tonight as the Sharks host the Phoenix Coyotes. He'll be wearing #48 and playing on the fourth line with Manny Malhotra and Jody Shelley. He was taking in the 5th round of the '04 draft, went to Clarkson for college, and played last year in Worchester. Frazer McLaren was previously sent down, and Brad Staubitz is expected to be the healthy scratch.

The Sharks have a very short roster so far, with just a scratch or two, typically. They are playing with just 6 defensemen right now, and have been since they sent Joe Callahan down to Worchester on October 5th. They have even played at least one game with no scratches, exactly 20 players on the roster. This seems like more of a risk that I would feel comfortable with. Should a defenseman get hurt in the pregame skate, you don't have enough time to call anyone up to fill in. You could end up with having to play with just 5 defensemen, with possibly a forward filling in.

For the younger players, since they can be sent down to Worchester, it makes sense for them to be playing. They won't develop in the press box, and playing in the AHL is better than not playing in the NHL. Why not have someone like Mathieu Dandenault around? He could play defense or forward, filling the hot spare for both positions with just one roster spot.

I believe the Sharks are trying to keep their salary cap low by keeping the number of players on the roster down. I think they're trying to save up now for late in the season when they'll have to carry more players.

Should something happen and someone can't go, it might not be a bad thing. Last year, they led wire-to-wire pretty much. While they didn't play their best hockey down the stretch, there wasn't a lot to play for. So, they didn't get much in the way of adversity until the playoffs, and didn't quite know how to deal with it. Now, if they can get some right away, learn to deal with it, they'll be in better shape for later in the year, and the playoffs.