nlu@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Nelson Lu) writes:  >#8	LARRY DEPALMA		Season:	3rd >Acquired:	'91-92, free agent from Minnesota >Grade:		I (C-/D+)  >No netter/fan watching the Sharks, including me, knows where DePalma was at >the end of the season; the Sharks appeared to still have his rights, but he >wasn't in San Jose, he wasn't in Kansas City, and his name hasn't appeared on >the waiver wire.  Sorry, Nelson, but you forgot to ask me. If you check the THN stats for Kansas City, you'll find that Larry has been playing for the games, having played in 8 games in the period covered in the stats between 3/26 and the 4/16 issue (1-3-4 with 13 PIM). Not exactly invisible.  >He then was sent down to >Kansas City, walked out from there, and was suspended and later reinstated >when it was revealed that he was injured; he then promptly disappeared from >the watching eyes of Shark Bytes (as the mailing list is now known to Sharks >officials) faithful, and neither the Sharks nor we miss him.  Well, having gotten to a chance to talk to him a few times, this isn't quite accurate. He injured his back (a disk injury) and did one stupid thing, which was to hide it from the Sharks and he tried to play through it because he knew he was on the bubble. The Sharks then sent him to K.C., at which point he disclosed the injury. Since he didn't disclose it, the Sharks and he disagreed about the responsibility and he was suspended for not reporting. That was eventually worked out, the Sharks re-instated him as injured and put him into therapy, and when he was able to play then shipped him down to K.C. He fully expects to play in the NHL again, although clearly not with the Sharks (hiding injuries is a stupid no-no, beyond just a no-no).  Very nice guy. Always hustled his butt off. He disappeared because he was hurt. I expect he'll surface with another team at some point (probably another expansion team), but is likely to be a bubble player for the rest of his career. Has a good work ethic and is good at getting other players motivated. Unfortunately, he played himself out of the Sharks future with a bad judgement call.   >#20	JOHN CARTER		Season: 4th >Acquired:	'91-92, free agent from Boston >Grade:		I (B+/B)  > He >is very unlikely to be back next season.  Always gave 110%, best work ethic on the club (except maybe Kisio), but hustle isn't always enough. His future with the Sharks was made clear to me one night against the Flames when he went behind the crease and tried to hold Joel Otto against the board. He literally had one arm around Otto's neck and another wrapped around Otto's stick arm. Otto casually turned around and fed the puck in front of the crease for a goal, as though Carter wasn't there. Hustle can only cover size so far.  The Sharks have told me, point blank, that he's gone for good (ditto HUbie McDonough). He was one of the favorites of the staff, but as one said to me "you have to make room for the kids". Carter, in fact, refused to report to K.C. and has been suspended by the Sharks. That might be a defacto retirement, but I haven't heard anything official. His only hope in hockey now is the Gulls.  >#28	JEAN-FRANCOIS QUINTIN	Season: 1st >Acquired:	'91-92, from Minnesota in dispersal draft >Grade:		I (B+/B)  >I don't understand why the Sharks didn't let Quintin play any more than the >14 games he played this season.  Because, at least from the games I saw him in, he was outmatched and looked fairly lost on the ice. I think he shows potential, but I didn't think he was quite ready to make the jump to the NHL.  > He should be a solid contender for regular duty next season.  Agreed (BTW, I still think a lot of your grades are more based on how you wish they'd performed than how they actually performed. I wonder whether you can really judge talent from radio and television, Nelson? I know I have trouble, since you don't see the off-puck action. your views from home and my views from the ice differ in numerous ways)  >#41	MARK BEAUFAIT		Season: 1st >Acquired:	2nd round pick in 1991 supplemental draft >Grade:		I (?)  >After a all-star season at Kansas City, Beaufait got a cup of coffey with the  Coffee. Coffey is with the Red Wings.  >#45	DODY WOOD		Season: 1st >Acquired:	3rd round pick in 1991 entry draft >Grade:		I (D+/D, although perhaps I shouldn't give a grade at all)  >I have been accused of knocking on Wood too much.  You? Nah...   He was seriously unimpressive, even as a tough guy (his rep). However, as few games as he had in a season that was at that point meaningless, I hate to judge the talent too quickly. Butn in Dody's case, I"m tempted to make an exception.  But I won't.