Great read on Jody Shelley

Jacket fans don't miss this article on Jody Shelley:

Often misunderstood is that enforcers aren't brutes who fight just to fight. They are hockey's version of a bar bouncer who keeps the general peace by settling scores and policing the ice for players who shouldn't have to worry about defending themselves.

"If you don't understand the role, then I'm just a guy looking for a fight," Shelley said. "But you're doing anything possible so your guys feel a little more comfortable out on the ice. You try not to let your teammates get pushed out of the game."

Although regarded as a Columbus team leader, Shelley had played in only 31 games this season. The Sharks who haven't had an enforcer since Scott Parker was traded to Colorado last February, gave up a draft pick to get him.

The path to the Stanley Cup finals figures to go through Anaheim. The Ducks, who feature enforcer George Parros, are one of the NHL's most physical teams. Shelley will be expected to, well, combat that.

"Some teams have that ingredient, and it can make a difference in a game," Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. "You've got to be able to counter that. We feel we can be better at it. Having Jody now maybe helps us do that."

Shelley jokes that he was smart getting married when he did, because "I knew I was getting uglier every year."

When that's passed along to his wife, she just laughed.

"You know, people always are surprised, but he really is a great guy," she said. "And I'm always going to think he's cute, no matter how many scars he gets."

Read it all here.

It will be weird seeing Shelley in a Sharks uni for the first time. Our first opportunity may be tonight as the Sharks take on the Wings tonight at home. Although it wouldn't surprise me to see Shelley get scratched as the Wings don't typically dress an enforcer.

-LTL