Lately, I've been feeling a bit blue. I've surprisingly been missing hockey a lot the past few weeks. After the Stanley Cup Playoffs ended on June 26th, I thought that I'd take a much needed break, but instead, I've found that I'm missing our men in teal more than usual. It's probably because there has been so much happening recently...
A week ago today, the Sharks named Mike Grier as their new General Manager. Our former GM, Doug Wilson, stepped down a few months ago due to health reasons. He had been the GM for 19 years, so it was a big change for the organization.
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Eliot and I are both excited to have a new GM. The Sharks haven't made the playoffs for the last three years. And our last time in the playoffs, we were the third last team standing before we ended up losing to the 2019 Stanley Cup winners, St. Louis. We haven't been back to the playoffs since then... and our guys just haven't looked like themselves collectively as a team. It's probably time to shake things up a bit.
It was also a historic moment in NHL history. In the leagues over 100 year history, there has never been a black General Manager. I'm really proud of the Sharks for being the first. Plus, Mike seems like a good fit for the job. He used to play for the Sharks long before I became a fan. Eliot remembers watching him play though!
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A few days before that, the organization fired our head coach and most of his coaching staff. That was expected with a new GM coming in, but it still means we need a head coach when most of the league already has theirs locked in for next year.
The day after Mike was announced as our new GM, the Sharks announced that Bryan Marchment passed away suddenly. I don't really know who he is (I don't follow the behind the scenes stuff that much), but he was one of our talent scouts. He played for the Sharks at one point and he had been scouting for 15 years. It was a shock to the entire Sharks community... especially since the 2022 draft was mere hours later. It was completely devastating news to the entire NHL family.
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At the end of last week, the NHL had their 2022 NHL Draft. I don't profess to know much about that at all... but we picked out a bunch of guys for it. Development Camp actually started today for a bunch of the younger guys. Hopefully, the Sharks will be able to mold them into players that we'll see on Sharks ice someday.
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Speaking of the players, the guys seem to be having a good summer. Kevin LaBanc got married a few weeks ago. Yesterday was Joe Pavelski's birthday. (Ok, he's not technically a Shark now but he always will be one to me.) Yesterday was also the first day of Timo Meier Camp (youth hockey) in his hometown over in Switzerland. The videos of the kids chanting his name while he's doing hockey drills is really cute.
Looking ahead, free agency is looming... it starts tomorrow at noon Eastern. Eliot and I aren't sure what to expect with our new GM. I'm hoping he doesn't get rid of any of my favorite players... but I guess we'll see. I have to have faith that he's doing whatever it will take to get our guys back into the playoffs and in contention for the Stanley Cup.
Confession: I wasn't expecting to find this sitting on the porch. I got an email that my Torrid order (of rainbow goodness!) had arrived and I was anxious to grab that. There was another large flat package next to it, and I assumed it was for Eliot. Then, I saw the Sharks Pro Shop tape and I got really excited. I noticed the box was a little worse for the wear, so I opened it first to make sure everything got here ok. (And it did!)
The Sharks store had been running some great sales lately. They usually do a 20% off Teal Tuesday promotion, but on the 4th of July, they did a one day 25% off sale. I've had a bunch of stuff in my cart for a few weeks now, so I jumped at the sale. I was so excited to open my Sharks package today... I just had to show you all what I got!
While we were in San Jose in March, Eliot and I got two Sharkie plushes. Once we got home, I realized that I had an idea to use one more, so I had to get him finally!
I also got more of the nail decals that I'd gotten in San Jose. After the discount, they were $2.25 a pack, so I grabbed two more of them. I really want to paint my nails more during the season like I used to, so these will add a nice touch!
I also got the Sharks holiday socks that I've been eyeing for months. They carry the L/XL size, so I behaved myself and only bought one pair of socks so I could try these on. If they fit the way I want them to, there's a rainbow pair that I can get along with more holiday socks and some other fun designs!!!
I'm also excited about this mini hockey stick and foam puck set. I have a few different plans for it... mostly for photo props instead of actually using them. But it's kind of top secret so I guess you'll just have to stay tuned to see what they're used for!
The thing that I was most excited about were the Sharks puck ice cube molds. They're a little smaller than I thought they'd be, but they're still perfect. I figured that we could use them to make chocolates as well as ice cubes. I can't wait to show them to Eliot because I thought he might want to get some to make soaps with too!
As if all that wasn't exciting enough, they included two Sharks Pro Shop stickers! Eliot has one (from his previous order) on one of our 3D printers so I'm excited to have two of my own now. I'm not sure where I'll put them... but I'm sure I'll find a good place!
It probably sounds really silly, but getting my package in the mail today was just what I needed. All of these items aren't things I can just get online from the normal NHL shop. These are usually things I would only find in the Sharks store at the Tank (SAP Center where the Sharks play). I'm so glad that the Sharks Pro Shop also sells these novelty items online. It's like a little slice of San Jose delivered right to my doorstep!
Thanks Sharks Pro Shop for adding a little bit of teal to my Tuesday. °o°
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