Goc nach San Jose
Marleau, Goc & Davison Signed
Sharks Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Wilson has been adamant that San Jose could find improvement from within their own ranks this year, but to do that, they would need to have their own ranks signed and ready to go when training camp began.
On Friday Wilson backed up his talk about getting the Group II free agents signed early when he inked 23-year-old center Patrick Marleau to a two-year contract, in the neighborhood of $2.4 million per year. Wilson also locked up 2001 first round pick Marcel Goc to a standard rookie contract and defenseman Rob Davison.
Marleau has broken the 20-goal plateau in each of the past three seasons with his 28 goals last year setting a career high and tying for the team lead. His 29 assists last year were a personal best, as well as his 57 points. He helped lead Canada to a gold medal at this summer's World Championships in Finland.
Among NHL players 23 or younger during the 2002-03 season, the six-foot-two, 210-pound forward ranks fourth behind Joe Thornton, Marian Hossa and Sergei Samsonov in scoring. He is the youngest active NHLer to reach the 400 games played mark and is just 22 games removed from playing in his 500th contest. Marleau was named the Sharks Seagate Technology Player of the Month in November when he posted nine goals and five points in 14 games.
"That is one down, but we have a lot of work to do yet," said Doug Wilson. "Our goal is to have everyone in by training camp so we don't have any distractions and we can all focus on hockey and improving this team."
San Jose still has Alyn McCauley, Scott Hannan, Marco Sturm, Jonathan Cheechoo, Mark Smith and Miikka Kiprusoff in the Group II category, but it appears that if he gets some cooperation from the other side, Wilson could have the entire roster ready for September.
GOC & DAVISON SIGNED
Goc, 19, posted 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 36 games with the Adler Mannheim Eagles of the German Elite League (DEL) in 2002-03. In addition, he also posted three points (one goal, two assists) in five games during the German Cup, helping the Eagles to the championship of that mid-season tournament.
During last season, Goc was selected to represent Germany at the World Junior Championships in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he posted three points (one goal, two assists) in six games played. He was also selected to represent Germany at the 2003 World Championships in Finland where he posted three points (one goal, two assists) in seven games.
Last season, Davison, 23, posted four points (1 goal, 3 assists) and 82 penalty minutes in 42 games with the Cleveland Barons, the Sharks top development affiliate of the American Hockey League and was named Barons Player of the Week on Feb. 2. Recalled to San Jose on March 9, he played in his first NHL game at Dallas that night. Davison scored his first career NHL goal and point on March 13 at Anaheim, and tallied his first career NHL assist on March 17 vs. Chicago. In 15 games with the Sharks, Davison posted three points (1 goal, 2 assists) and added 22 penalty minutes while earning a +4 rating – third-highest on the team.
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