Blackhawks' Sharp cuts 'legitimate' figure
Olympic exec Ken Holland says former Flyers forward on 2010 'radar'
Last Updated: Thursday, November 20, 2008 | 1:37 PM ET
By Doug Harrison, CBC Sports
Another strong start this season has Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp on Team Canada's radar for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler. (Paul Beaty/Associated Press) You won't find his name on this year's NHL all-star ballot. He has failed to reach 65 points in three full seasons. And he has appeared in just 12 Stanley Cup playoff games.
As for his international hockey experience, it starts and ends with the men's world championship in Halifax and Quebec City last spring.
Yet, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp continues to strengthen his case to be among Team Canada's starting 12 forwards at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver/Whistler.
Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, a member of Canadian executive director Steve Yzerman's management team for the Winter Games, likes what he has seen from Sharp in the first two months of this campaign after his career season in 2007-08.
"He's a guy we're going to watch closely and someone that has to be on our radar screen," Holland told CBCSports.ca by phone from his office in Detroit.
"Last year was his breakout year and it appears in the first 15, 16, 17 games of this year, he's just using last year as a springboard to really establish himself as a consistent, legitimate top-six, top-three forward in the NHL."
World championship play 'a big thrill'
Sharp admitted to CBCSports.ca he has the Olympics on his mind following his world championship experience that included three goals in nine games.
The Thunder Bay, Ont., native recalled watching Canada's 5-2 win over the United States in the men's gold-medal game at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics while attending the University of Vermont.
"That was one of my best hockey memories and I wasn't even playing," said Sharp, who turns 27 on Dec. 27. "Playing for Team Canada at the world championship was a big thrill, so I can only imagine what it would be like to wear an Olympic jersey. But I'm not going to change much [in my play]."
'I felt by getting an opportunity to play somewhere else I could show that I'm worthy of being an NHL player every day.'—Patrick Sharp, Chicago Blackhawks forward
Nor should he. With 10 goals and 17 points in as many games this season through Nov. 19, Sharp is well on his way to another standout season while helping the Blackhawks to an 8-4-5 start.
It has been all about opportunity and confidence for the six-foot-one, 197-pounder since his request to be traded from Philadelphia was granted in December 2005 by then Flyers GM Bob Clarke.
After being drafted in the third round (95th overall) by the Flyers in 2001, Sharp spent two of the next three years bouncing from the American Hockey League's Philadelphia Phantoms to the parent club before the NHL lockout wiped out the 2004-05 season.
Coming out of the work stoppage, Sharp scored five goals and eight points in 22 games under head coach Ken Hitchcock before asking to be moved.
"I wanted to stay in Philadelphia," Sharp said. "I played in the minors there. I won a [Calder Cup] championship with the Phantoms [in 2005] and I wanted to graduate and play with the Flyers the rest of my career … but things just weren't working out.
"Philadelphia was a first-place team and Hitch had a lot of veteran players. And there were a lot of good players ahead of me … but I felt by getting an opportunity to play somewhere else I could show that I'm worthy of being an NHL player every day."
Patrick Sharp scored 10 goals in his first 17 games this season but couldn't beat Boston's Tim Thomas in a Nov. 12 home game. (Brian Kersey/Getty Images) Sharp joined a Chicago outfit that was being rebuilt by new GM Dale Tallon after the lockout and managed 23 points in 50 games.
As a follow up, the centre/winger managed to reach the 20-goal mark in 2005-06 — his first full season — and busted out with a 36-goal, 62-point, plus-23 performance a year ago playing mostly alongside top rookies Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
This season, Sharp has been more impressive skating between Martin Havlat and David Bolland, considering he had to adjust to shifting back to centre from the wing, a move that has taken time but one that hasn't affected his point totals to the degree it had previously.
Versatility important to Holland
"One of the things I like about him is his versatility," said Holland, the architect of three Stanley Cup championships in Detroit. "Good players to me can play all forward positions.
"Patrick can play the off wing, he can play right wing and centre. He's good defensively and has speed and good hockey sense, so he can read and react off other players."
Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren, who was assistant GM when Sharp left Philadelphia, believes the player's strong play away from the puck is the reason he plays many different situations for the Blackhawks, including power play and the penalty-kill.
"I always thought he was a good player away from the puck," Holmgren told CBCSports.ca. "Looking back, I'm not sure he was given all the opportunities to play in those roles here. But he's developed into one of the top young players in the league."
Tallon shared that sentiment last January by getting Sharp's name on a four-year contract extension worth $15.6 million US.
"I'm pretty thankful for the opportunity they gave me," said Sharp of his commitment to the Blackhawks. "When I first came to Chicago, I wasn't playing my best hockey and they continued to give me chances.
"The organization has done a great job of bringing the fans back and the United Center is full every night now. I can remember playing my first game against the [New York] Rangers in the [20,500-seat] United Center and there were 3,500 people in the stands. There's been a pretty big turnaround."
Deserving of some of the credit is Denis Savard, who last season guided Chicago to its first 40-win season since 2001-02, but he was fired on Oct. 16 after a 1-2-1 start behind the bench.
The Blackhawks are 7-2-4 under veteran NHL coach Joel Quenneville, who is preaching a fast-paced attack and intense play from his charges.
"Joel hasn't really changed much," said Sharp, named an assistant captain one week prior to Quenneville's appointment. "He knows what makes me a successful player and that's playing intense, fast and hard every night. He's doing his best to get that out of me and I'm doing my best to show him that."
Perhaps it's a formula that will lead to more playoff appearances for Sharp and his teammates.
