San Jose Sharks: Top 25 Players In Franchise History – Part II
By Ilya Davydov
To celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the San Jose Sharks, we decided to unveil the Top 25 San Jose Sharks Players in franchise history.
Last week, we went through the bottom of the list, covering places 25 to 21. The five players that made the cut last week contain the first ever Sharks captain, a Vezina Trophy nominated goaltender, an underrated playmaking wizard, a deadly offensive defenseman hailing from Latvia, and a true, albeit short, scoring threat at the Cow Palace. If you haven’t seen the actual article, do check it out here.
Today, we unveil players ranked 20 to 16, and we start with one of the most unorthodox goalies from recent memory.
Played for the Sharks: 1991-96
Career Seasons: 568GP – 218W – .899% – 2.83GAA – 33SO
Career Playoffs: 51GP – 23W – .902% – 2.86GAA – 1SO
Sharks Seasons: 183GP – 57W – .889% – 3.47GAA – 8SO
Sharks Playoffs: 20GP –9W – .868% – 4.12GAA – 0SO
Another Latvian on the list, and another ‘Original Shark’ – Irbe earned superhero status when he featured in 74 games during the 1993-94 season, and played a huge role in the Sharks upsetting a heavily favored Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Drafted by the Minnesota North Stars, it was the San Jose Sharks that Irbe kicked off his NHL career that lasted for 568 regular season games and an additional 51 playoff appearances. Although Irbe spent most of his playing days with the Carolina Hurricanes, Sharks fans will always welcome the ‘Michelin Man’ as their own.
Irbe’s numbers do not scream “greatness,” and his time was comparatively short to that of Evgeni Nabokov or even Antti Niemi. However, Irbe was the man wearing white home jerseys for the Sharks during the franchise’s first taste of the playoffs. The raucous crowd at the San Jose Arena will always remember the upset against Detroit, and a close fight against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second round. ‘The Wall’ was also the one who posted the first shutout in franchise history.
Played for the Sharks: 1991-96
Career Seasons: 821GP – 75G – 70A – 145P – 2364PIM
Career Playoffs: 47GP – 2G – 1A – 3P – 73PIM
Sharks Seasons: 334GP – 48G – 34A – 82P – 1001PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 22GP – 1G – 1A – 2P –34PIM
On the Sharks list, Odgers is ranked 22nd in regular season games played, and only 45th in regular season points scored, but scoring goals was never his forte. His purpose on the ice was first and foremost to punish the opponents, and make life harder for anyone who happened to be on the ice not wearing a Sharks sweater.
The Spy Hill, Saskatchewan native was never drafted, but earned his spot in the NHL with his tenacity and sandpaper style of play. Odgers was part of the inaugural season for the Sharks, and later was named the third captain in the team’s history.
Despite only playing in 334 games for the Sharks, he racked up 1,001 penalty minutes, which to this day is the franchise record. This record is likely to stay unbroken for quite some time – Joe Thornton has the most penalty minutes on the current Sharks roster at 434 PIM, which is almost two and a half times less.
Do remember to check out Odgers’ fight card – there is a lot of material against his name.
Oct 14, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; New Jersey Devils left wing Ryane Clowe (29) against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the third period at Amalie Arena. New Jersey Devils defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Played for the Sharks: 2005-13
Career Seasons: 491GP – 112G – 197A – 309P – 618PIM
Career Playoffs: 70GP – 18G – 28A – 46P – 97PIM
Sharks Seasons: 423GP – 101G – 170A – 271P – 567PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 68GP –18G – 27A – 45P –97PIM
Clowe was one of those late draft selections (175th overall) that panned out to make their mark in the NHL. Drafted in 2001 by the San Jose Sharks, he did not make his official debut until the 2005-06 season. The wait was worth it – after almost three full seasons in the AHL, Clowe had grown into a good power forward – using his 225-pound body particularly well in the corners and around the boards.
With a little bit of time he turned into a reliable secondary scoring option, peaking during the 2010-11 season when he produced 62 points in 75 games for the Sharks. He was never shy to step up, defend a teammate, or ignite the team and the crowd – his fight card backs this claim up.
Clowe’s career was cut short due to numerous concussions that cut his career to just 491 games, 423 of those with the Sharks. The Sharks record books have him 10th in regular season points, ninth in regular season goals, eighth in regular season assists, fourth in regular season penalty minutes, 10th in regular season shots, and perhaps more importantly fifth in playoff points, tied for third in playoff goals, fifth in playoff assists, and first in playoff penalty minutes. The St. John’s, Newfoundland native really knew how to elevate his game for the playoffs.
Played for the Sharks: 1997-03
Career Seasons: 926GP – 40G – 142A – 182P – 2307PIM
Career Playoffs: 83GP – 4G – 3A – 7P – 102PIM
Sharks Seasons: 334GP – 13G – 53A – 66P – 706PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 40GP –3G – 3A – 6P –38PIM
A bit of a journeyman, Marchment enjoyed his best years with the San Jose Sharks. He spent almost five seasons with the organization as a player, and is currently a part of the San Jose Sharks Hockey Operations team as a scout.
Marchment earned a reputation as one of the dirtiest players in the NHL, and was suspended numerous times for his reckless actions. The opposing teams were always weary whenever Marchment was in the line-up. After inflicting numerous injuries to a number of hockey stars, the scorers had to really make sure they didn’t get caught by one of Marchment’s hits while looking down.
Players hated to play against Marchment, and fans on the opposing teams wanted his suspensions to be longer. Having this reckless hard hitter go against your team was never good, which made Marchment’s presence on the Sharks roster rather important. Only Owen Nolan and Odgers have more penalty minutes for the Sharks than Bryan Marchment.
Marchment provided a sense of insecurity for the opposing teams whenever he was on the ice. God forbid you were to high stick him…
For a little throwback, there was this really interesting article written about Marchment when he was still playing in the NHL. Do read it if you get a couple of minutes.
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Played for the Sharks: 1995-02
Career Seasons: 632GP – 37G – 140A – 177P – 482PIM
Career Playoffs: 68GP – 2G – 13A – 15P – 60PIM
Sharks Seasons: 519GP – 28G – 125A – 153P – 392PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 41GP –1G – 8A – 9P –40PIM
Only three defensemen played more games for the Sharks than Marcus Ragnarsson. Drafted in 1992 by the Sharks, the Swede played three more seasons for in Sweden before he started playing for the Sharks. Upon his arrival in 1995, the then 24-year-old became a permanent member of the team, playing in over 519 games until his trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2002.
The word that comes to mind when I think about Ragnarsson is ‘balance.’ He had a good balance of offense and defense in his game – he knew when to join the rush, and when it was more sensible to stay back. He was never as productive as some other Sharks defensemen before or after him, but he still contributed some offense. Ragnarsson was a mainstay on the blue line for more than a quarter of the all the games in the Sharks history.
Here is how the bottom of the Top 25 San Jose Sharks Players looks like so far:
16. Marcus Ragnarsson
17. Bryan Marchment
18. Ryane Clowe
19. Jeff Odgers
20. Arturs Irbe
21. Kelly Kisio
22. Sandis Ozolins
23. Ray Whitney
24. Antti Niemi
25. Doug Wilson
Stay tuned for the third part of our feature when we unveil five further players who no doubt have that special place in your heart.
Next: Top 25 Players In Sharks History: Part One