San Jose Sharks: Top 25 Players In Franchise History – Part III
By Ilya Davydov
The 25th anniversary for the NHL franchise – is it a short or a long time? It may seem like forever for the Sharks fans that are absolutely dying to see their favorite team hoist the Stanley Cup. While the wait for the Cup still drags on, the past 25 years flew by rather quickly, partially thanks to a great set of players that have graced the NHL ice wearing those teal jerseys.
To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the San Jose Sharks, we decided to go down memory lane, and remember those outstanding Sharks players. Last week, we covered five players – three of which are top four in the Sharks penalty minutes category. Today, we go through the players who rank 15 to 11 on the list.
Nov 29, 2014; San Jose, CA, USA; San Jose Sharks defenseman Scott Hannan (27) passes across the ice during the first period against the Anaheim Ducks at SAP Center at San Jose. Mandatory Credit: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
Played for the Sharks: 1998-07, 12-15
Career Seasons: 1055GP – 38G – 179A – 217P – 625PIM
Career Playoffs: 100GP – 1G – 20A – 21P – 93PIM
Sharks Seasons: 626GP – 30G – 116A – 146P – 412PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 76GP –1G – 18A – 19P –83PIM
When Hannan played his 1,000th game in the NHL during his second stint with the Sharks, he was only the 97th defenseman to reach this milestone. He spent more than 60 percent of those 1,000 games with the San Jose Sharks. He is currently ranked sixth on the list based on the number of games played for the Sharks.
His primary directive was to be a responsible defensive defenseman – a type of game he demonstrated throughout his NHL career. You would not expect to see Hannan quarterbacking the power play, or lighting up the lamp, and he may not have been the most exciting player either, but all of that does not matter. As a defensive defenseman, Hannan did everything right – he was physical, but did not rack up too many penalty minutes, he spent a lot of time on the ice averaging 21 minutes and 6 seconds per game over his 1,055 regular season games.
While somewhat unnoticed, Hannan really grew into a great shutdown defenseman. He represented the Sharks in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game in Minnesota.
Played for the Sharks: 1999-04
Career Seasons: 1378GP – 432G – 773A – 1205P – 1190PIM
Career Playoffs: 140GP – 41G – 63A – 104P – 144PIM
Sharks Seasons: 385GP – 92G – 197A – 289P – 316PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 53GP –15G – 23A – 38P –68PIM
For all his glory days with various NHL teams based in Canada (Toronto, Edmonton, and Montreal where he won his only Stanley Cup), Damphousse finished his noteworthy career with the Sharks. He spent more than five seasons in San Jose where he was one of the primary scorers and helped provide veteran leadership. The video below shows just the kind of hands Damphousse had as a player. The video quality is not great, but you can see everything you need to see (#skills).
As a member of the Sharks, he celebrated two centennial milestones in the NHL – 1,000 regular season games played, and later his 1,000th regular season point. Sharks fans were able to watch one of the most productive players in NHL history – there are only 37 players with more career regular season assists than ‘Vinny.’
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Played for the Sharks: 1993-04
Career Seasons: 768GP – 30G – 150A – 180P – 491PIM
Career Playoffs: 77GP – 9G – 14A – 23P – 51PIM
Sharks Seasons: 671GP – 27G – 128A – 155P – 439PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 71GP –9G – 14A – 23P –45PIM
When your franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary, someone who spent 11 seasons with the team is bound to make the cut. Rathje still holds the record for the most number of regular season games played for the Sharks amongst defensemen (Marc-Edouard Vlasic has played in more games if you combine the stats for the regular seasons and the playoffs). Only Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau played in more regular season games than Rathje.
The expectations were very high on the third overall draft pick in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. The 6’5” Mannville, Alberta native was hailed as another Chris Pronger. While those expectation never came to fruition, Rathje had a very solid career, spending a vast majority of it with the Sharks.
With strong positional awareness, long reach, and respectable skating for his size (245 pounds) – Rathje was a very visible cornerstone for the franchise. He was never afraid to block shots, and did the right things to keep the puck out of the net, even if he was never quite as physical as many people wanted him to be. With his importance on the defense coupled with the longevity he spent wearing teal – Rathje is deserverdly on this list.
Mar 24, 2014; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture (39) skates during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 2-1 in the shootout. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
Played for the Sharks: 2009-current
Career Seasons: 379GP – 139G – 149A – 288P – 99PIM
Career Playoffs: 56GP – 18G – 18A – 36P – 13PIM
Sharks Seasons: 379GP – 139G – 149A – 288P – 99PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 56GP – 18G – 18A – 36P – 13PIM
Barring any unexpected circumstances, Couture will probably jump several places on the Sharks all-time scoring list.
A lot is expected out of Couture. He is certainly expected to assert himself as the face of the franchise alongside Joe Pavelski once the old guard of Thornton and Marleau are gone. He has done pretty good so far, directly participating in close to 300 goals (288 points to be exact).
Being drafted by the Sharks, and with four more years left on his current contract, Couture can firmly establish himself as one of the best Sharks players of all time. For now, he is sitting just outside the top 10. The expectation is that we are yet to see the best of Couture, and during the next couple of years, he will create plenty of good memories.
Played for the Sharks: 1997-05
Career Seasons: 938GP – 242G –245A – 487P – 446PIM
Career Playoffs: 68GP – 9G – 13A – 22P – 30PIM
Sharks Seasons: 553GP – 128G – 145A – 273P – 242PIM
Sharks Playoffs: 38GP –6G – 9A – 15P –12PIM
One of the most liked international players that suited up for the Sharks, Sturm possessed phenomenal skating abilities. Sharks fans had a chance to witness and cheer for one of the most successful German ice hockey players in the NHL – no other German played in more NHL games, or scored more points.
Just as fast as his skating, Sturm quickly established himself as a serviceable scorer, and a player responsible in his own defensive end. He managed 30 points during his rookie campaign, and was an important part of the Sharks organization for seven-and-a-half seasons.
After 553 games with the Sharks, he was traded in one of the biggest trades in the history of the franchise. Sturm was part of the package the Boston Bruins received in return for Joe Thornton. Despite his trade, he spent enough time to forever be a fan favourite. He ranks eighth in regular season games played, eighth in regular season goals, and ninth in regular season points for the Sharks. Sturm is now the coach and general manager for Team Germany.
Here is how the list of the Top 25 San Jose Sharks players looks like thus far:
11. Marco Sturm
12. Logan Couture
13. Mike Rathje
14. Vincent Damphousse
15. Scott Hannan
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
Next: San Jose Sharks Top 25 Players - Part II