Sharp News
RWD reader and fellow MacG S fan Vizoroo sent me this link this morning. The article is from April, but it's still relevant. Some Anaheim fan (I'm having trouble forgiving him/her for being an Anaheim fan, but s/he is a MacG S fan, which supercedes all) really likes MacG. And what's not to adore and worship about him, anyway? He is talented, hard-working, handsome, and so very very very clutch. Which is not the proper usage of the word, but whatevs.
Let's see the highlight reel from the article:
In many ways, the story of MacGregor Sharp is the story of Mason Raymond. The Alberta natives played together for four years, two years on the same junior hockey team and two years at Minnesota-Duluth. At both programs, the same pattern played out: Sharp and Raymond would post similar numbers in their first year together, only to have Raymond pull away as the superstar in the second year. Though identical in size and age, their styles were different: Mason, the speedster with great hands and MacGregor, the relentless grinding puckhound.
I'm so glad we had MacG for 4 years. Sorry Mase, but I'm sure you're not surprised. Nor do I think you care. (Though I'm sure MacGregor Sharp doesn't care either, but that's not the point. I care enough for both of us!)
Sharp followed up a shot on Gophers goaltender Alex Kangas, potting the rebound and knocking the flu-ridden Kangas out of the game. MacGregor opened scoring again the next night when he chased down a misplay by Sioux goalie Brad Eidsness, depositing the shorthanded puck in the net before the tender could return to his crease. Then, in the championship game, Sharp made a sweet pass on a 2-on-2 break on the power play, only to slide the return feed under Pioneers backstop Marc Cheverie. It was the first of Sharp's three goals that night, and the Bulldogs became the first Play-In winner to ever take the WCHA championship.
How did he pick from so many different choices? I can not WAIT until the UMD Hockey Facebook Fan Page comes out with the 3rd installment of its highlight series.
His performance in both the WCHA and NCAA tournaments shows he's developed poise. He has great two-way hockey sense: a grinding backcheck, but equally skilled at sniffing out rebounds and anticipating bad plays. He can create relentless first man pressure, but he's also played a lot of time as the second forechecker. He plays a solid penalty kill, but his impressive passing and his ability to dangle on the halfboards made him an indispensible center on the best power play in the WCHA. If I had to pinpoint the part of his game that caught McNab's attention, I'd say it was his play in the NHL sized rink. The Final Five was played at Xcel Energy in St. Paul, and the smaller but longer zones seemed to benefit Sharp on both sides of the puck.
He forgot to mention: he's dreamy. Anaheim better not try to make him mean and cheap. I mean, seriously, you've got enough cheap goons. Mitts off my Sharpie.
Huh. I copied like, 3/4 of the article. Oh well, there's still other a few other things on there.
Speaking of dreamy, WCH listed Mike Seidel as the 24th best prospect in the west. MacGregor Sharp is mentioned. But sorry, Chris. No one will replace MacGregor to me. Just like no one will replace Mike Curry or Evan Schwabe.
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