SHARKSPAGE

Joe Thornton named 11th captain in San Jose Sharks history, will bring continuity not change

CENTER #19 JOE THORNTON NAMED TEAM CAPTAIN ON THURSDAY

San Jose Sharks Team Captains:

2010-present, Joe Thornton
2009-10, Rob Blake
2004-09, Patrick Marleau
2003-04, Alyn McCauley (rotating)
2003-04, Vincent Damphousse (rotating)
2003-04, Mike Ricci (rotating)
1998-03, Owen Nolan
1996-98, Todd Gill
1995-96, Jeff Odgers
1993-95, Bob Errery
1991-93, Doug Wilson (current EVP/GM)

The San Jose Sharks named 31-year old center Joe Thornton the 11th captain in San Jose Sharks history on Thursday, the 8th full time captain after Mike Ricci, Vincent Damphousse, Alyn McCauley and Patrick Marleau held a rotating ‘C’ in 2003-04. After the retirement of former captain Rob Blake this summer, Thornton was selected one day before the start of the Sharks 2010-11 season at the NHL Compuware Premiere games in Stockholm, Sweden. It is Thornton’s second time as an NHL captain, after serving the same role with the Boston Bruins from 2002-05. Defenseman Dan Boyle was named as an alternate captain. Patrick Marleau and rugged left wing Ryane Clowe will split the second ‘A’ at home and on the road.

“It was very humbling,” Thornton told CSNCA of being named captain. “I like to think San Jose is one of the best organizations in the NHL. For them to think so highly of me it is a huge honor, and I welcome it.”

For two consecutive years Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau have each started the NHL season with an uncharacteristically nasty edge to their game. Whether that is a response to acute postseason media criticism, or a renewed focus on their ultimate goal would have to be answered by them, but an early task for Thornton in his captaincy is to maintain that edge and focus.

“We see the captaincy as something as symbolic as it is functional; to put the ‘C’ on a player who has to silence critics every time he steps on postseason ice,” Yahoo Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshynski said of the Thornton captaincy. “No matter what the numbers say about his past performances, makes him an emblematic leader for a team that must do the same.”

After trying to ignite a struggling playoff team with an opening faceoff fight against Ryan Getzlaf in 2009, Thornton told Sharkspage that he learned what he needed to do in the playoffs. Reading between the lines, he needed to bring his intensity and talent to bear from the drop of the puck, and play each shift to the best of his ability for the Sharks to advance in the postseason. The first year after that statement, Thornton helped San Jose reach the Western Conference Finals for only the second time in 19 years.

As one Versus analyst said on Friday, the Sharks lost to the best team in the NHL. Injuries to goal scoring right wings Dany Heatley (leg) and Devin Setoguchi (hernia) forced the Sharks to jumble lines in search of offense against Chicago, but in reality it would fall on Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Marleau was able to score 5 of the Sharks 7 total goals against Chicago, but Thornton was held to only 1 assist. The Blackhawks depth and speed edged San Jose in four straight games.

In San Jose the weighty perennial playoff expectations can wear on both team and player. As captain, Thornton could step in front of the media more frequently to manage and diffuse the conversation, but this is a veteran, talent-laden team with a half dozen leaders in the locker room. “We are used (to the expectations)” Thornton told Sharkspage on the first day of training camp. “We have been facing them for five years now. We are used to it. We have such a good group of guys in here, we rely on each other every day and push each other every day to get better.”

San Jose Sharks head coach Todd McLellan repeated the thought of leadership by example when discussing the new captain. “The verbal leadership gets way overrated. We don’t need cheerleaders on our team by any means. We need people that step up and speak their mind and back it up on the ice,” McLellan said. He also noted that the role would not change the type of person Thornton is, or would be expected to be. “He’s still got a demeanor about him that he is a fun guy to be around and he enjoys playing the game. He’s passionate about it and we’re not trying to change that. We want him to bring that to the rink every day, but we also want him to lead the group in the right direction.”

It is a much different situation than his time in Boston, where a large contingent of media and fans wanted him to be the next Cam Neely. After getting married and having his first child this summer, there is a new level of responsibility and maturity, but Thornton said he will still bring the same positive presence to the rink night in and night out. “I have to be the same kind of guy, I think that is why they chose me is the qualities that I have. If I would change, it would hurt the team.”

Playing in the final year of a 3-year, $21.6 million contract extension could add national media scrutiny as the season progresses, but the on and off-ice situations for Thornton in San Jose are almost a perfect fit. He could very easily follow the path of Patrick Marleau’s contract year last season and say that he wants to make his decision in the summer. In San Jose, it would quickly become a non-issue and the focus would return to his play on the ice. According to the Mercury News and ESPN, Thornton has already had preliminary talks about signing a contract extension. “He just loves it there,” his brother and agent John Thornton told Mark Emmons. “I could see him spending the rest of his life in San Jose.”

On the NHL Compuware Premiere pre-game show on Versus, Thornton also discussed the new-look San Jose lines that will see him paired with 22-year old left wing Jamie McGinn and 23-year old right wing Devin Setoguchi.”With Logan (Couture), (Joe) Pavelski and myself all centering three lines, I think we are a very deep team,” Thornton told the Versus. “We have 9 great forwards plus a great fourth line. It balances out the scoring a little bit, and doesn’t allow another team to put a checking line on just one line. It makes us a very deep team.”

Thornton has the ability to transform young, talented forwards into premier goal scorers. His first order of duty as captain will be to persuade McGinn and Setoguchi to become more greedy taking shots, and help get the Shark train rolling for 2010-11.