the Sharks... continue to delight and amaze. Nor too long ago, the Sharks were playing to a half-empty pavilion and a cynical audience. Now, with two playoff wins under their belts, the Sharks are the darling of local sports media and bandwagon jumpers who wouldn’t know an icing call from a two line pass. Nevertheless, the rise of this humble, hard working team might just spur more locals to support their team next season when win, lose or draw, the Sharks will continue to try. One game, one goal, one line change at a time.

It is a mature and focused team fans see beginning to grind their way through the playoffs. There remains a refreshing lack of stars and star size egos, mostly thanks to the humble team culture Ron Wilson and his coaching staff have worked so hard to build. Players who are regularly scratched continue to work out hard and make themselves ready to hit the ice hard should the call come. Popular players like Cheechoo, Marleau and Damphousse continue to fight for each and every goal; taking nothing for granted. Marleau received the first hat trick of his career in game two and hardly paused to smile at his own accomplishment. He was too busy playing the game. Thanks to the superior conditioning of such defense players as Scott Hannan, playing full periods of overtime as the Sharks had to their very first game out of the shoot, might just be other teams’ undoing. Five minutes of standard season overtime is tiring enough but full 20 minute periods of overtime can prove a weary team’s undoing. The Sharks outstanding cardio conditioning may help sustain them through the physically and mentally grueling post-season play-offs. In the end, come June and the finals, it may well be that the last team standing is also the team that ends up holding the cup. Also notable is Hannan’s superior self-control, especially after getting clocked in the head, Todd Bertuzzi style, by a frustrated St. Louis player. Not once mind you, but twice. Even after his helmet went flying and the aggressive player smacked him upside the head a second time, Hannan didn’t drop his gloves. He knew he couldn’t afford to take a five-minute penalty and kept his anger in check. It was a moment of considerable maturity when one recalls that Hannan is still only 24 years old. The St. Louis player received a hefty penalty and Hannan, a key defenseman for the Sharks, stayed in the game.

Meanwhile, phony Silicon Valley techies, most notably snarky vps, marketing pukes and sales sleazes, are flocking to the HP Pavilion clamoring for ‘the best’ tickets to impress clients, colleagues and water cooler enemies alike. Sorry to say (no, we really aren’t sorry) but the best tickets already went to those loyal season ticket and Shark Pack holders who rushed to buy play-off seats the minute they went on sale. Going on faith, even just a little, is rewarded by the Sharks organization. Nobody is charged for any games not played, of course, but just knowing that good seats would be handed out to the loyal fans caused many to pull out the plastic and check the Shark’s site daily (www.sjsharks.com) for the anxiously anticipated play-off schedule to be published.

As to individual players, it would be unfair not to mention the hard working men (and boys) that have enabled the Sharks to get this far. Steady Scott Hannan (aka, Surly The Ice Hobbit) is already showing fans a side as yet unseen during the regular season. Never one to initiate trouble, Hannan has come out harder and faster and more aggressively on the boards than ever before. Look for more surprises from this steady, decent minded young man as the play-offs progress. Although only two of the three members of the Sharks’ “Arctic Crush” are playing post regular season (Dimitrakos and Ekman; Strum is still rehabbing from a traumatic ankle injury), watch as two of three of these cold winter wonders continue to surprise and delight fans. Of course, no analysis would be complete without a smile and nod to youngster Jonathan Cheechoo. It’s a long way from Moose Jaw Factory, Ontario, isn’t it? How the entire hamlet of two thousand (more than 300 of locals share his last name which says a whole lot about how big his home town really is), must be swelling with pride. And no careful coaching and plastic pr grooming for this refreshingly honest small town boy who wasn’t afraid to tell upscale and snooty local sports media that his favorite food was actually caribou. Good for you fella. Good for you.

Equally impressive are veterans like Damphousse who personally has the most play-off experience of the team. Look for an entirely different level of hockey from Damphousse during the play-offs. Goalie Nabokov has been stellar so far with equally impressive and steady at the crease Vesa Toskala (aka, Scrappy Doo) as back up. And don’t count out youngster Brad Stewart who thrilled fans with two heart stopping goals in less than 20 seconds during the last 30 seconds of the final game of the regular season. Nor should hockey enthusiasts forget Alex Kroayolu who has come through in crunch times again and again. Finally, big boys Scott (Montecore) Parker, Kyle (The Muscle) McLaren and Mike (The Hustle) Rathje are sure to bring some serious power and push to what is already shaping up to be one of the more exciting play-off seasons in NHL history.