Sharks Top 20 of All Time
By Editorial Staff
To celebrate their 20th anniversary (I long suspected they were married….) the Sharks’ humble broadcast team Randy Hahn and Drew Remenda released their list of the top 20 Sharks players in the history of the franchise.
The order of the top 3, comprised of Joe Thornton, Evgeni Nabokov and Patrick Marleau, was posited as a fan poll to see how the masses would swing. As of right now the poll shows the fans voting Patty #1, Nabby #2 with Thornton extremely hot on his heels at #3.
Randy and Drew also ranked those three for their final list, but they have yet to release theirs until the fan voting closes. Come on Sharks fans, I’m dying to read your input on what you agree with or would do differently. And for you newer fans who may not recognize many of the names, who would you like to see on the list from the ‘modern era’ Sharks?
Randy and Drew’s top-20:
20. Marco Sturm
19. Teemu Selanne
18. Mike Ricci
17. Mike Rathje
16. Dan Boyle
15. Jeff Friesen
14. Jonathan Cheechoo
13. Jamie Baker
12. Kelly Kisio
11. Vincent Damphousse
10. Sandis Ozolinsh
9. Jeff Norton
8. Johan Garpenlov
7. Sergei Makarov
6. Igor Larionov
5. Arturs Irbe
4. Owen Nolan
My preference for 3-1: Joe Thornton, Evgeni Nabokov, Patrick Marleau
Turns out I’m just a slave to the Teal Hivemind, as I agree with the masses (so far) regarding the order of their all time top three. However I disagree with Randy and Drew on some of the list:
Mike Ricci should be top 10. Ricci was a huge Sharks fan-favorite, and has been a part of both crucial and memorable moments. Game-tying goal with 3.6 secs left to complete a hat trick…. when it was Fan Appreciation Day and thousands were given free hats…instant classic.
Doug Wilson, the team’s first captain, should be on the list. Whom to replace? Jamie Baker scored one of the most celebrated goals in Sharks history, and probably gets a lot of love for his broadcasting (although not from me), but I’m wondering if he might be taken down a notch. Or Kelly Kisio, who was a lonely bright spot on the team as it went hurtling through the cold dark void of their first two seasons, but only played those two seasons and was hurt for half the first. Perhaps even a youngster like Joe Pavelski has made enough of an impact so far to take a spot on the list…
It’s nice to see the OV line get some recognition, as the Garpenlov–Makarov–Larionov line was the Sharks first ever bona fide line to make the rest of the league take notice.
Larionov and Irbe are still representin’ on my wall… and back in ’95 we rolled with posters and actual walls, not cyber-walls found on this newfangled internet contraption. Owen Nolan happens to be my favorite Shark of all time, but sadly that doesn’t make him the greatest Shark of all time so I’m in agreement with Randy and Drew’s 6-4 and the fan’s top 3 order. And now after all this list-crunching I think I’m going to post my own list soon, with links to more memorable moments and general bad-assery. This blog could always use an excuse for more Brian Marchment.
Would anyone any of you rank the top 3 differently?