Sharks’ Melker Karlsson loving life with Jumbo

Melker Karlsson is happy to be here.

Here, in one sense, is the NHL, where the 24-year-old rookie always wanted to be when he was toiling in Sweden for Skelleftea AIK.

Here, in another sense, means the San Jose Sharks, the team that handed him a 1-year, $925,000 contract last May. Here, most specifically, means playing on a line with Joe Thornton, who might be the best passer of his generation.

“If you’re staying in the right spot, you’re going to get it on your tape,” said Karlsson.

“It’s pretty easy [to play with him]. But you have to play the game he wants to play. I try to listen to where I need to be.”

The team saw a lot they liked in Karlsson when they signed him, including the ability to skate with their most skilled players. "He fits with the way we play the game, the way the game is being played in the NHL now and where it's going. Play in all situations and play on the inside,” said GM Doug Wilson to the Mercury News.

Karlsson has nine goals and seven assists in 32 games, including a five-goals-in-five-games streak in January.

“It’s been going great from the start. That’s the key: Get a good start, and keep holding it at the same level,” he said last weekend at the Sharks’ Stadium Series game.

Karlsson admits that the level’s gotten away from him a bit. He hasn’t scored a goal in eight games, despite continuing to play with Thornton and either Joe Pavelski or Patrick Marleau.

“I’ve been feelin’ pretty good. The goals? I don’t know. They were coming in the beginning. But I’m used to them not coming that often,” he said.

But this is life as a Shark: It’s not how you begin, but how you finish.

Karlsson said he understands the pressure on the franchise to win, despite this being his first season in San Jose. He just doesn’t feel it the same way as others.

“I’m not looking at the pressure thing. But I heard it. Heard it from everyone. I hope we go to the playoffs,” he said.

And hey, maybe a little adversity is a good thing.

“We’ve been struggling in the regular season. Maybe that’s the key, to go far in the playoffs.”

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