Here’s a few  tips on skating posture, stride, and balance that will make you a better skater, and a better player.

Posture

Good skating habits start with good posture. Posture helps balance, and balance creates power.

* Keep your head up.

* You should be looking at the top of the boards, not the ice directly in front of you.

* Bend at your knees and ankles, not at the waist.

* Your shoulder, knee, and the ball of your foot should all be lined up vertically.

Stride

The fastest skaters take the fewest number of strides over the same distance. Long, powerful strides are the key.

* At the beginning of each stride, reach your foot out as far out in front of you as possible. As your foot passes along side of you, turn your toe out to the side, and push hard! This gives you more blade surface on the ice to push against, and creates more power.

* Keep the entire blade of your skate on the ice for the complete length of your stride. At the end of the stride, stretch your working leg out behind you as far as you can, then snap your toe for that extra push.

* A lot of beginner skaters are in a rush to start the next stride, so they lift their foot off the ice too early. This short stride produces a choppy skating style. Bringing your leg back up quickly will help you skate faster, but only if you’re getting the most out of every stride.

Balance

* When you bring your trailing leg back up after each stride, make sure it’s positioned directly underneath you. This gives you the balance you need to put as much power as possible into the working leg.

The extra effort you put into improving your skating will pay off more than any other part of your game. Work at it, and you will improve.

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The San Jose Sharks are located in San Jose, California. They are a pro ice hockey team in the Pacific Division of the NHL’s Western Conference. The Sharks play their home games in the HP Pavilion at San Jose.

San Jose had to go through a lot to get a hockey team in the Bay Area. Many people do not consider Northern California to be a good hockey area in America but that area once had two hockey teams. After nine straight losing seasons and meager attendance, the California Golden Seals were moved to Cleveland, OH and became the Barons.

George and Gordon Gund had wanted for a while to bring hockey back to the area but the NHL vetoed the move. Howard Baldwin and others also wanted to bring a hockey franchise to the Bay Area where a new arena was getting constructed. The NHL struck a compromise. In the compromise, the Gunds would have to sell their share of the North Stars team to Baldwin’s group, and the Gunds would receive an expansion team in the Bay Area and begin playing in the 1991 season. They could take a specific number of players from the North Stars to start their new team. The North Stars would participate in an expansion draft with the new team.

In May 1990, the Guns sold their portion of the North Stars. They were given their new team in San Jose. They received thousands of entries on what to name the new team. The winner by mail was “Blades” but they didn’t like the connotation of the word. The runner up was “Sharks” and that’s the name they chose.

From 1991-1993, the Sharks played their home games at the Cow Palace which is right outside of San Francisco. Doug Wilson was named the Sharks’ first All-Star representative and captain. As with all new franchises, the Sharks were one of the worst teams in the NHL in their first few years. In the 1992-93 season, the team lost 71 times, which is an NHL record. Also, they had a 17-game losing streak during that time. They earned an unimpressive 24 points all year and won 11 games. Coach Kingston was fired after the 1992-93 year.

The Sharks moved to their new home during their third season. They impressed many of the critics by turning around a new franchise and making it as the 8th seed into the playoffs. They finished the 1993-94 season with a 33-35-16 record and 82 points. That’s a 58 point differential from the previous season. The Sharks pulled off one of the greatest upsets in NHL history as they beat the heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in seven games. It looked like they were going to pull off another upset in the second round as they were just one win away from advancing to the third round. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the last two games and sent the Sharks home.

The Sharks ended the 1999-2000 with their first winning record in franchise history and was due in large part to Darryl Sutter being the coach.

Ron Wilson was the coach from the 2003-2007 seasons. During the 2005-06 season, the Sharks fell to last place in their division. Many people blamed their struggles on the team not adding any players during the previous off-season. The Sharks proved they are tough and bounced back from last place in the division to fifth in the conference as the playoffs started. Todd McLellan, previously an assistant coach to the Detroit Red Wings, was hired for this 2008-09 season.

Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of hockey is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing hockey in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watchingNHL hockey on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the NHL and the San Jose Sharks. Check out his San Jose Sharks Merchandise or his San Jose Christmas ornaments.

The 2008 NHL season began on October 4, and 30 teams are now vying for the ultimate piece of hardware. The regular season will conclude on April 12, giving way to a long and intense playoff struggle. Eight teams from each conference, Eastern and Western, qualify for post-season play.

In the Eastern Conference, champions of the Atlantic, Northeast, and Southeast divisions automatically reach the playoffs, and they will be joined by the teams with the next five best records. It’s the same in the Western Conference; the five best non-division winners will advance along with the champions of the Central, Northwest, and Pacific divisions.

Home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs goes to the three division winners in each conference, seeded 1 through 3 based on best record and the No. 4 seed, the team with the next best record. No. 1 plays No. 8, 2 plays 7, 3 plays 6, and 4 plays 5. In the second round, the highest advancing seeded faces the lowest remaining seed, with the two middle seeds squaring off.

In all rounds leading up to the Stanley Cup finals, between the winner of the Eastern Conference and the winner of the Western Conference, the higher seed in a series always has home-ice advantage, which means that team hosts Game 1 and 2, and if necessary 5 and 7. The lower seeded teams host Game 3 and 4, and if necessary 6. Every series is best out of seven games; in other words, the first team to four wins takes the series. If a team wins the first four games of a series, of course, the last three are not played.

In the Stanley Cup finals, the team with the best record will have home-ice advantage. For example, even if the No. 1 seed advances out of the Western Conference and the No. 2 seed emerges from the Eastern Conference, the No. 2 seed from the East will have home-ice advantage if it had a better record than the West’s No. 1 in the regular season.

At the moment, there are two clear-cut favorites to reach the 2009 Stanley Cup finals, which will conclude in June. No team has been more dominant than the San Jose Sharks, who boast a 23-3-2 record (23 wins, three losses, two losses in overtime or shootout. Teams receive two points for a win, one for an overtime loss, and none for an outright loss).

The Sharks have a 13-point lead in the Pacific Division and a six-point lead over the second best team in the West, the Detroit Red Wings. In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins lead the way with an impressive 20-5-4 record. The Bruins own a seven-point advantage in the Northeast Division and a four-point lead on the East’s second best team, the New York Rangers.

The Red Wings are the NHL’s defending champions, as Detroit defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins four games to two in last season’s final series. Looking to make a repeat appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, Pittsburgh has a solid 16-9-4 record and would easily qualify for the playoffs if the regular season ended today.

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