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Nieminen makes the most of minutes
After fever, 15 hits; Sharks struggle on the power play

By Victor Chi
Mercury News
Posted on Mon, May. 08, 2006

Sharks left wing Ville Nieminen was sizzling even before he doled out 15 hits Sunday in the Sharks' 2-1 victory over Edmonton in Game 1. Nieminen was excused from practice Friday and Saturday because he had a fever of 101.5 degrees. The Sharks' coaching staff made it a point to keep his shifts as short as possible.

``It was a very good strategy or the ER people would've had to carry me off the ice,'' Nieminen said.

But Nieminen made the most of his 14 1/2 minutes of ice time, which included the final minute of the third period, when the Sharks had to repel the Oilers' final push.

Of course, Nieminen was forced to stay on the ice a little longer when he iced the puck with 26.2 seconds left.

The Sharks prevailed, and as Nieminen put it afterward, he is willing to do ``whatever brings the meat loaf to the table.''

The Sharks had not played since the previous Sunday; Edmonton had closed out its first-round series Monday. That contributed to a somewhat slow pace at the start. But the game picked up as Nieminen began taking the body.

``With Game 1, we saw it in other games in the playoffs, teams that had a little layoff were flat-footed,'' Nieminen said. ``So the first thing in our mind was to get our legs moving and get physically ready. And second of all, get tactically ready. We had the chances to hit, and maybe tomorrow will be a different case.''

Nieminen sets tone with 15 hits

May 7, 2006

There is nothing worse than playing professional sports against a so called “pesky” player. For the San Jose Sharks, they were fortunate enough to make a deal at the trade deadline that brought one of the peskiest players in the game over in exchange for a third rounder. In Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals, Ville Nieminen proved why he is so hard to play against.

The Finnish forward connected for 15 hits (12 after two periods) in the game, setting the tone for Team Teal and creating scoring chances left and right. What makes Nieminen’s effort even more impressive is that the next closest guy in hits on the night was Jonathan Cheechoo with 6.

Nine more hits than anyone else on the ice definitely makes you stand out. Perhaps that’s why Nieminen was named the third star of the ever important first game of the series.

“He brings a lot of energy to this club,” said Joe Thornton. “I remember playing against him and I used to hate it. I’m real glad he’s on our team.”

Not only was “Nemo” bumping and bruising out there on the ice, he also provided strong penalty killing and was one of five guys on the ice when the final seconds of the game ticked off the clock, proving that he is one of the most reliable defensive forwards on the team.

“He’s a big strong kid who loves to skate and finish hits,” said fellow linemate Scott Thornton. “He’s been a great asset to our team this year. He’s been deep into the playoffs, has won a cup and knows what it takes. He’s just a great linemate to play with. I think earlier in the year one of the knocks was we weren’t gritty enough and we addressed that by adding him to the lineup. He hits a lot, but he also takes a lot. He really plays hard on both ends.”

It didn’t matter who was out on the ice for the Oilers. If he was in the way or was along the boards trying to dig out a puck, he was surely about to be greeted by No. 15.

“He was a big physical presence out there tonight,” said Christian Ehrhoff, who notched the game-winning goal. “He had a lot of hits and it’s really good to have a guy like that on your team.”

But for Nieminen, tonight was just like every other night. Despite having an uncanny amount of hits, the winger plays gritty each and every game. It’s something that San Jose fans have become accustomed to. It makes them thank their lucky stars that he is not on the opposing team like he was in the 2003-04 playoffs.

“We’ve seen it in other Game 1’s this year that teams who had a long layoff came out a little flat-footed,” said Nieminen. “The big thing we wanted to do was get our legs moving and be physically ready. We were happy how we played today, but we have to come out prepared for tomorrow.”

There is no doubt in his mind that San Jose is the place for him. At the time of his trade, the New York Rangers were already in the playoffs and the Sharks were struggling for the eighth spot. Looking back on it now, New York was ousted in the first round and the Sharks look better than ever.

“I knew right away that this team would be a great fit for me,” added Nieminen. “I’m very happy how things have turned out.”

In heat of playoffs, Toskala keeps his cool

By Mark Purdy
Mercury News Staff Columnist

NASHVILLE - Saturday afternoon, the Sharks underwent a corrective procedure. They called it ``practice.''

During an off-day workout at an ice rink near the Vanderbilt University campus, the Sharks went to school. They worked on their penalty-kill, a big problem in Friday night's playoff-opening defeat. They focused on other little details that went wrong in the 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators.

But one man at the rink didn't need much attention. Vesa Toskala is going to be fine. He proved himself in the regular season while moving past Evgeni Nabokov to earn the starting job in the crease. But until Friday evening, Toskala had not experienced one minute of ice time in the NHL playoffs. So there were natural concerns about how he would handle the increased pressure. The answer: with aplomb, from start to finish.

Or should we say Finnish, in honor of Toskala's native land? He might have given up four goals to the Predators, but all four came on the power play -- and Toskala had zero chance to stop at least three of them. As of Saturday afternoon, Toskala had not even reviewed videotape of the game.

``I didn't watch it,'' he said. ``I pretty much knew what happened.''

We all saw what happened. The Sharks took too many unnecessary penalties and the Predators stacked up players in front of Toskala to block his vision and create all sorts of ricochets and deflections. Yet through the crazy bounces, Toskala never became rattled.

``I've never seen him that way,'' Sharks captain Patrick Marleau said.

No one around here has. The only time his teammates hear his voice on the ice is when he yells at his defensemen to get out of the way. His motor seems to operate at a constant speed. So does his thermostat -- never too excited, never too depressed. Toskala says that wasn't always the case.

``When I was younger, I did a lot of that stuff,'' Toskala said. ``I yelled at refs, got penalties.''

You'd never know it now. And as this series progresses, Toskala's calmness should be one of the Sharks' biggest assets.

The roots of that calmness lie on the serene, scenic lakeside plains of Toskala's hometown. He's from the city of Tampere, population 200,000 and a Finnish hockey hotbed. Outdoor hockey rinks abound the way playground basketball courts do in the United States.

As it turns out, one of Toskala's best pals in Tampere was Sharks forward Ville Nieminen. They attended school together (Nieminen is a year older). They took cooking classes together. They played soccer together. And that might be the last time Toskala ever went over the edge and showed his anger.

``We both played midfield,'' Nieminen said. ``We were very physical. We saw a lot of different-colored cards from the referees.''

As close as Nieminen and Toskala were, however, they somehow wound up on separate hockey teams in Tampere, as rivals. That didn't stifle their friendship. They rode to the rink together in Nieminen's 1984 Ford Escort, then split up to separate locker rooms. For a few hours they competed against each other, then climbed back in the Escort for the trip home.

``I think we slept in the car for three nights, without showering or anything,'' Toskala said, acknowledging that the Escort smelled fairly ripe by the end of the weekend.

The point is, Nieminen knows Toskala as well as anyone. And Nieminen swears he has never seen Toskala lose his temper or his senses in a hockey setting.

``He just brings confidence,'' Nieminen said.

There were times Friday when that confidence could have been cracked, if not broken. Toskala saved 26 of the Predators' shots, some of them under spectacular circumstances. In the second period, Nashville's Steve Sullivan took an unhindered backhand shot on the power play directly in front of Toskala, who stoned him. A few minutes later, the Predators' Adam Hall had another point-blank opportunity on an odd-man rush. Toskala stopped it cold.

Apparently, playoff experience really is overrated. Nashville goalie Chris Mason, who was also without playoff experience, showed good form himself Friday. The Sharks and Predators have now played five times this season. Each game has been decided by one goal. Toskala and Mason are going to be huge players in this series.

In typical humble hockey fashion, Toskala left the practice rink Saturday afternoon carrying his own equipment bag. He may be carrying his team's hopes inside, too. So far, there's no reason to suggest he'll drop them.

Oilers throw `La Rock' at Sharks

BY MARK PURDY
San Jose Mercury News

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Edmonton Oilers made their wicked intentions known at the opening faceoff. Standing on the rim of the circle, wearing his white road uniform and an evil expression, was Georges Laraque.

If you talk to the good people of Northern Alberta, they will tell you that Laraque is the most popular Oiler. He is a generous soul who seldom turns down a charitable request. But as a hockey player, at 6-foot-3, 243 pounds, he is not known for his mellow stylings. He is known for his hits. Big hits. Also, for sitting. Laraque had been a scratch from Edmonton's lineup since Game 1 of the Oilers' first-round series against Detroit. But after Edmonton was banged around in Sunday's second-round opener against the Sharks, Coach Craig MacTavish obviously felt the need to shake up things. He sent out Laraque (pronounced "La-Rock") to do some rock and rolling.

This tactic failed to surprise the Sharks. They knew the Oilers were not going to sit back and suck their gloved thumbs in Game 2.

"I expect they're going to come out and be more physical," Shark defenseman Josh Gorges said about two hours before the game. "They've been a competitive team all year."

Laraque definitely lent an air of menace to the proceedings, even if he didn't play all that much - just five shifts and 1:36 of ice time in the first period.

And other Oilers were also more into the Sharks' faces, especially Chris Pronger (boooooo) and the vastly irritating Raffi Torres. Early in the second period, Torres decked Sharks forward Milan Michalek with an elbow to the head. Michalek left the ice in a wobbly state. A penalty could have been called. It wasn't.

The message was sent by the Evil Oil Men: We are here and we are going to be nasty.

But here was the important part: The Sharks did not back down. There was not as much overall hitting as in Sunday night's slamfest. When contact was made, though, the Sharks gave as good as they got. Early in the second period, the HP Pavilion crowd roared when Sharks defenseman Kyle McLaren hip-checked Laraque right in the gut.

Jonathan Cheechoo, meanwhile, continued to show he can lay out a lick or two when necessary. Nils Ekman, the phlegmatic Swede, was another Shark who decided to get gritty. When he fired a puck into the Oilers net after a whistle, Ekman drew the ire of goalie Dwayne Roloson. A scuffle ensued and both men were penalized. It was that kind of evening.

And of course, there was the reliable Ville Nieminen, the Sharks' Sultan of Splat, doing his usual job of roaming in search of a random Oiler mugging.

This is why, no matter the result of Monday's game, you know that the Sharks have a good chance to win this series. They can play it either way - with finesse or with brute force. Two years ago in the Western Conference finals, the Calgary Flames' relentless physicality seemed to gradually wear down the Sharks, who lost in six games. In 2006, you don't get the feeling that will happen. The Sharks can slam-dance with the best of them.

In that dance, Nieminen is the orchestra conductor. Acquired at the trade deadline to give more juice to the Sharks' on-ice presence, he has not disappointed. Sunday, Nieminen finished with a team-record 15 hits.

"Fifteen hits?" Gorges marveled. "I've never seen anything like that. Ville just knows how to hit. He has the timing. If he sees a guy with the puck and he's the closest player to him, Ville's going to make sure he goes after him."

The Sharks, of course, are feeling some pain themselves when a meat-grinder of a game such as Sunday's is followed by another pinball experience only 24 hours later. But that's just swell, Gorges said.

"If you feel sore and tight when you get up the next morning," he said, "then they're probably going to feel the same way on the other side."

As the series moves back to Edmonton for Game 3 and Game 4, we'll see if it takes a different tone. But at least for the first two games at HP Pavilion, our beloved Los Tiburones were not peaceful fish. It was a good sign. A very good sign.

Pesky Sharks forward Ville Nieminen a player who makes himself felt

Canadian Press

SAN JOSE, Calif. (CP) - San Jose Sharks left-winger Ville Nieminen is a different sort of guy.

In a world of iPods, the 29-year-old Finn is an eight-track stereo. He isn't fancy, but he's tenacious. What Nieminen does best is be a pest and he's already getting under the skins of the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL Western Conference semifinal.

During the Sharks' 2-1 win in Sunday's series opener, Nieminen notched 15 hits in 14 minutes 31 seconds of play and was named the game's third star. He was like a bumper car, smashing into Chris Pronger and anyone else in a Oiler uniform.

"It was one of those games where you get the chance to hit," shrugged the six-foot-one, 211-pound dynamo, who the Sharks obtained from the New York Rangers on March 8.

Nieminen's view of the world deviates from the norm.

Other kids growing up in Finland might have dreams of being Jari Kurri or Teemu Selanne. Nieminen looked up to players like Esa Tikkanen and Claude Lemieux, hard-nosed, yappie, pain-in-the-neck guys that would do anything to throw an opponent off their game.

"Those sort of guys . . . I think that's cool hockey to play that way," Nieminen said Monday, prior to facing the Oilers in Game 2 of the best-of-seven series. "That's my style. I would love to score a lot of goals. I think what ever brings the meat loaf to the table" is what you have to do.

Simply talking to Nieminen is an adventure. He has a unique use of words. He punctuates his sentences with long pauses. Sometimes his eyes bulge and he cocks his head to one side.

Nieminen shook his head when asked if he talks to opposing players on the ice.

"I finally realized nobody can understand me," he said. "I try to be focused, keep legs moving and keep mouth shut."

There's more to Nieminen than being eccentric.

Taken 78th overall in the 1997 draft by Colorado, Nieminen won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2001 and went to the final in 2004 with Calgary. He also was a member of Finland's silver-medal winning team at this year's Winter Olympics.

During the 2005 world championships, Nieminen was a colour commentator on Finnish TV.

"He's a winner," said Doug Wilson, the Shark's general manager. "We played a lot against him. He's a guy that competes. We needed that veteran edge. We're really glad to have him."

Shark centre Joe Thornton said Nieminen sends a current through the locker-room.

"He so fun to have around," said Thornton. "He brings so much energy. You'd rather have that guy on your team than against you."

Understandably, Nieminen's charm fades the farther you are from the Sharks room.

"He's a minor pest," snorted Oiler coach Craig MacTavish. "That's his game."

Get past the botched English and strange mannerisms and there's a soft side to Nieminen.

He has his son's name tattooed on the inside of his left arm. He talks fondly about his father Esa, who played hockey in Finland and taught him the sport at a young age.

"We played a lot of hockey," Nieminen said about his father, who died in 1997. "I wish he would still be here to teach my little kid to play hockey and teach him to skate.

"My dad was a good skater. I think he still sees my hockey games."

Nieminen comes by his feisty nature naturally. One season in Finland Esa Nieminen received an award from the referee's association.

The trophy was a pink piggy bank.

"It was given to the player who saved the most energy sitting in the penalty box," Nieminen laughed. "My mom threw the trophy away. I was pretty mad. It was pretty cool."

Nieminen understands his role with the Sharks. If it earns him another Stanley Cup he's happy to keep playing his take-no-prisoner's style.

"It's not fun every night," he said. "But I feel it's helping my team. I have bigger goals in my hockey career than my own stats.

"The only goal is to earn (a Stanley Cup) and the respect from my teammates. I want to win something as a team and have fun."

Nieminen's humor is subject to interpretation

Mark Emmons
May 10, 2006

The Sharks' Ville Nieminen is known for a quirky sense of humor that sometimes leaves listeners scratching their heads. For instance, asked about his 15-hit effort in Game 1 against Edmonton, Nieminen said: ``I would love to score goals, but whatever brings the meatloaf to the table.''

Some Finnish version of the expression about putting food on the table? Maybe not.

Sharks Coach Ron Wilson offered this interpretation: Wilson, who sometimes uses film clips when addressing the team, recently showed a portion of last summer's comedy ``Wedding Crashers.'' Included was some funny (and profane) dialogue from Will Ferrell concerning -- you guessed it -- meatloaf.

Maybe Nieminen was letting Wilson know that he got the message.

San Jose's Deadline Day steal

TSN.ca Staff - Dave Hodge
5/9/2006

Now that the NHL has announced the names of finalists for its various trophies--Hart, Norris, Calder and the like--it's time for an unofficial award--best player to change uniforms at the trade deadline.

It has long been my contention that too much fuss is made about the deadline activity--not that it's uninteresting, but seldom does it pack the wallop that the coverage suggests.

This year, for example, with 40 traded players to pick from, we find only three still active in the playoffs with as many as two post-season goals--Anaheim's Jeff Friesen, Mark Recchi of Carolina and Edmonton's Sergei Samsonov, who also earned the Oilers' most important assist of the playoffs--on Ales Hemsky's goal that eliminated Detroit.

You might look to those who prevent goals--Dwayne Roloson and Jose Theodore have had their moments in getting Edmonton and Colorado to the second round, but if that's as far as their teams go, those netminder deals don't look so dramatic.

So it says here that the player dealt at the deadline who stands out the most--and I warned you--it wasn't obvious then and it takes some digging now, is Ville Nieminen of the San Jose Sharks--no goals, one assist, at least one solid hit on just about every shift.

His acquisition, from the New York Rangers for a 3rd-round draft pick, was the only deadline trade made by the Sharks, who remembered Nieminen's work in helping Calgary get to the Cup final.

At this rate, he might get there again, and if so, it's unlikely he'd see anyone on the other side who could top him for the deadline award.

For TSN.ca, I'm Dave Hodge.

May 17

Sharks winger Ville Nieminen was on that Calgary club and was also a part of a Colorado team that won a Cup by coming back from a 3-2 deficit.

“We’ll rely on his experience,” said Wilson.

PLAY EARNS NIEMINEN ANOTHER POWER TRIP

May 17

Look for Ville Nieminen to stay on the Sharks' power-play unit tonight.

Nieminen earned a power-play shift in Game 5 after successfully screening goalie Dwayne Roloson for an even-strength goal. Then he supplied another effective screen as Christian Ehrhoff scored on a point shot to end the Sharks' 0-for-16 power-play slump.

``Ville did a great job of getting to the front of the net,'' Wilson said.

The Sharks are 2 for 27 on the power play in this series. They were 9 for 37 in the first round against Nashville.

Edmonton is 6 for 26, although two of the conversions were 5-on-3 goals.