Kurtenbach: The Sharks’ rebuild has run its course. Now comes the hard part

SAN JOSE The Sharks success was once so constant so reliable so predictable that they ran out of room to hang their accolades With twenty playoff appearances in years the Sharks literally filled up an entire banner at their practice facility top to bottom with their postseason berths It was such steady excellence that the association had to commission a new banner just to keep up They hung it after their st playoff berth in It was a fresh slate that was made to be filled as fleetly as the first banner And yet small font just like all the years on the first banner sits there alone six years later We all know the deal The drought arrived briskly and the Sharks didn t fight it long Darkness before the light right But it s also been rebuild so deep so thorough so painfully methodical that you could almost mistake it for a permanent state of being Listen now s not the time to get impatient Luckily no one is demanding a Stanley Cup parade down Santa Clara Street in June of But how about surprising the league and being in a position to talk about making this year s tournament How about giving several company sometime soon Gavin McKenna the surefire No pick in the NHL Draft is a hell of a prospect but if he s drafted by the Sharks can it be because of absurd lottery luck and not a well-earned consolation prize Related Articles Mike Grier responds to Marc-Edouard Vlasic s pointed remarks about contract buyout How much longer will the Sharks longest-tenured competitor be in San Jose Among countless questions for the San Jose Sharks one stands out above the rest San Jose Sharks sign first-round draft pick to professional tryout Without injured forward Sharks first-round picks shine in huge comeback win Rebuilds are sold as a means to an end The end shouldn t be a mythical unseen place moving forward it demands to start coming into focus for San Jose Yes six years is enough It s time for the Sharks to move to the stage beyond rebuilding Call it feistiness pluckiness or just downright competitiveness the moment has come for the Sharks to turn the promise of the last half-decade into a semi-frequent reality Because losing can become a habit and it s a tough one to break It s also the kind of habit that itself can break even the most of talented can t-miss players And to the Sharks credit they know it It s just time to start building here forward William Eklund mentioned last March Me personally I think it s time to stop losing I want to win and I m sick of losing That sentiment was shared across the board with Sharks players who spoke to the media on Thursday after the first day of training camp The expectation is progress That means something like a -win jump It s about beating someone or someones looking at you Ducks Kraken and Flames in the Pacific Division standings It s about doing the things we talk about Eklund commented Thursday Yes this might be the year before the breakthrough but without taking that step forward the breakthrough will never come Just ask the Buffalo Sabres who haven t made the playoffs since There s only one spot to go and that s up forward Tyler Toffoli who might be the Sharks next captain reported I think we re all on the same page and we don t want to be in that last-place position again Luckily this is a organization that has enough to veritably turn that corner the talent is in place in the South Bay All that misery has turned into Macklin Celebrini who is two Junes away from being able to drink a beer in the United States legally but is the kind of talent that can total points in an NHL season before that happens He got a taste of it last year Toffoli explained The one thing that really stands out to me you guys don t get to see it he hates to lose more than anybody I think he s putting a lot of pressure on himself to turn things around here and his work ethic just in practice should help that It s turned into Will Smith whose second-half surge points in his last games followed by notching seven assists for the USA en road to a gold medal at the World Championships proven that he can be a very effective Robin to Celebrini s Batman We know how long it s been and what the fans here deserve Smith mentioned It turned into the original wunderkind Eklund who signed a three-year million deal and is poised for a -plus goal season It s about closing the games we ve been close to winning Eklund revealed There were a lot of games we were in last year that we have to turn those into wins It turned into the top goalie prospect in the match Yaroslav Askarov acquired last year for a first-round draft pick And with losses in a row to end the - season it turned into forward Michael Misa the No overall pick in this past summer s draft There s a reason he put up points last year Barclay Goodrow disclosed of Misa who scored a mere points in games in the junior OHL last season He s incredibly skilled It s going to be special to watch him Related Articles Mike Grier responds to Marc-Edouard Vlasic s pointed remarks about contract buyout How much longer will the Sharks longest-tenured sportsman be in San Jose Among various questions for the San Jose Sharks one stands out above the rest San Jose Sharks sign first-round draft pick to professional tryout Without injured forward Sharks first-round picks shine in huge comeback win Of unit there are still questions about forward depth and the blue line but with sharp veteran additions this offseason to bolster the -man roster the Sharks top-end talent even if so much of that talent is young and not even close to fully realized should be enough to move them out of the basement for the first time Lest anyone start to become too confident down there We re kinda done handing out opportunities just because you re a first-round pick or maybe there s no one else head coach Ryan Warsofsky declared There s guys coming the competition you get is what creates the custom that you want as an organization Start earning everything Earning respect around the league from other teams players coaches functionaries fan bases and all that general manager Mike Grier commented I think they got the message