Versatile Sharp reaches for a new level

He certainly wasn't Scrooge-like last Christmas, but it was clear Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp was enjoying the holiday season about as much as old Eboneezer did before his epiphany.

"It was just part of the year where I wasn't happy and neither was Savvy (Hawks coach Denis Savard), and he let me know it with ice time and where I was in the lineup," Sharp said.

"I challenged him, and he said, 'You won't need to see me again.' And then he took his game to another level," Savard said. "It says a lot about him."

It says that Sharp's M.O. is pretty clear: If he says he's going to do something, it gets done.

"I wanted to let him know I was going to play to the end, to stay on and to be on all the time and work myself out of it," Sharp said. "I was able to do that."

The speedy 25-year-old forward, acquired by the Hawks from Philadelphia in December 2005, got things together in the second half and finished last season notching career highs in goals (20) and points (35).

Just as important, Sharp grew as a player.

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "As a professional, you always want to be consistent. Something I struggled with last year was I'd play well for a stretch and then I'd get comfortable, get complacent in my role on the team and then five or six games would go by and I didn't do anything.

"That's something I wanted to nip in the bud right away and make sure I showed up every game. The points are going to come. You can't really control when you're going to score or get assists, but you can show up and work hard every night, and that's what I'm doing."

He's certainly off to a good start. In eight games he has 3 goals and 6 points, and his flexibility on the ice has proved quite an asset.

"From Day One, Savvy told me to be prepared to play a couple of different positions," Sharp said. "That's fine by me. I think it's valuable to me, valuable to the team. I'm happy to do it."

His coach is happy, too.

"I call him my rover because he can play left wing, right wing, center," Savard said. "He's valuable. He's able to play with top-line players and at the same time he can play (on other lines)."

That's exactly how Sharp sees his role with the Hawks for years to come.

"I just want to be a guy that can play in a lot of different situations and a lot of different positions," he said. "I don't care if I'm a first-, second-, third- or fourth-line player as long as I'm in the lineup and I'm helping. I'm happy with that."

His play at the end of last year and through training camp this season earned Sharp the honor of wearing the "A" on his sweater.

"He showed a lot of character last year," Savard said. "He's a quiet leader, well liked by his teammates, well respected, and his actions show on the ice."

But still the move came as a surprise to some, none more so than Sharp.

"That's a huge honor," Sharp said. "I was a little surprised. It's nice to realize the younger guys need to step up and play a little bigger role in the leadership of the team.

"They let me wear it opening night. It's fantastic. Obviously I feel an obligation to show up and work hard every night with that on my chest. Hopefully I'll continue to do that."