As the upcoming NHL season is just around the corner, defenseman Mario Ferraro only has one goal in mind for the San Jose Sharks: to figure out the team’s identity.
“I think the biggest thing for us, I think, is to find our identity as a team. Find our identity early on in the first five games, first game of the season,” said Ferraro, as per NBC Sports.
The Canadian international further emphasized that exhibition matches and training camps would be doubly important to the team. The events aren’t just practice sessions for the Sharks, they will also set the tone for how the team will play for the rest of the season.
San Jose’s roster, and therefore play style, has shifted over time. Ferraro is optimistic about the Sharks’ chances in the upcoming season as long as they can settle on an identity relatively quickly.
“I think that’s very important with new guys and obviously a new coaching staff and a new staff in general, all around the organization that we just find our identity both as a team and as just an organization,” said Ferraro.
“I think as long as we do that, we’re in good hands and we’re heading toward that playoff spot. So, I’m excited for this year.”
New coach, new plans
In July of this year, the Sharks signed David Quinn to be the new coach for the team. Quinn has already drafted a game plan for the upcoming season and the team’s future approach in general. Though the team has struggled in recent times, not making the playoffs since 2019, fans are hoping that Quinn’s strategy will be the push needed for the Sharks to start succeeding once more.
“One of the things we want to be is a tenacious, fast team, a team that plays on top of people taking away time and space, a structured team that plays with freedom,” said Quinn.
Quinn was aware that the team would have a difficult road ahead of them. However, the coach was confident that he would be able to build a team that fans will be proud of and bring back the “winning culture” the Sharks had in the past.
“When the trading deadline happened this year, [the Sharks] were only four points out of a playoff spot. So we feel that with some improvements along the way, we’d be in a great position moving forward here this coming season,” added Quinn.
Another step of Quinn’s plan was to build camaraderie in the locker room. He noted that expecting massive improvements out of individual players in a short amount of time wasn’t feasible. However, making small improvements across the whole team would result in a large difference in the team’s overall performance.
“… We’re not asking a guy to do things he’s not capable of doing, but what we want everybody to do is do the things they can do just a little bit better. If you’ve got 23 people being five to 10 percent better, that’s the difference between making the playoffs and not,” said Quinn.