The Best All-Time San Jose Sharks Late-Round Gems
Entering their 28th season the San Jose Sharks continue their long tradition of relying on late round picks entering to produce big minutes in the NHL.
With skaters like Justin Braun and Joe Pavelski not returning to the Bay Area next season the San Jose Sharks will likely be leaning heavily on talent that they’ve harvested in the later parts of the draft.
Throughout their history the San Jose have made the most of their draft picks regardless of what round they were selecting in. In recent years it’s been up to General Manager Doug Wilson and his scouting department have continued to perpetuate their late round success with a limited amount of draft capital.
These late round gems include current and former NHL All-Stars, team captains, NHL award winners, and franchise record holders. This list runs down some of Team Teal’s best selections that got plucked from the depths of NHL Entry Drafts and turned into roster ready talent that can clock important minutes for a franchise trying to stay consistently competitive.
7. Kevin Labanc
The most recent late round pick that’s turned into a steal for Team Teal is Kevin Labanc, who the Sharks drafted in the 2014 NHL Draft with the 171st overall pick in the 6th round.
Labanc has only played in 214 games with the Sharks but in those games has put up 36 goals to go along with 80 assists giving him 116 career points. Kevin has shown how much talent he has and his high potential in his three seasons with Team Teal both in the regular season and the playoffs.
The Staten Island native already holds an NHL record in his young career when he became the first player to score 4 points in a single period in a Game 7. This record-setting performance came in what was likely the most intense game in franchise history against the Vegas Golden Knights. This sequence likely sealed Labanc’s name in Sharks lore forever, but still has much more to prove in the Bay Area.
The 23-year-old winger will be a player to watch in the future for San Jose and has the potential to move up on this list as his career progresses.
6. Tommy Wingels
Coming in at 6th on the list is Tommy Wingels who got selected 177th overall in the 6th round by the San Jose Sharks in the 2008 NHL Draft. Wingels spent seven years with Team Teal playing in 337 games and scoring 51 goals while dishing out 71 assists, adding up to 122 points.
The hard-hitting winger gave San Jose both a strong physical presence and a big bodied goal scorer. Tommy’s best season with the Sharks was the 2013-14 season where he tallied a career season high 16 goals, 22 assists, and 38 points.
Tommy Wingels is still playing professional hockey but now in Switzerland for the Genève-Servette HC. At 31-years-old Wingels might not see another game in the NHL. However for a 7th round selection the Illinois native provided a ridiculous amount of value to the Sharks during his time in the Bay Area.
5. Marcus Ragnarsson
Drafted 99th overall in the 5th round of the 1992 NHL Draft by the Sharks, Marcus Ragnarsson quickly emerged as one of Team Teal’s steadiest defender during the early stages of the organization. The left-handed blueliner ate up some serious minutes for San Jose during his tenure and aided them through some tough times.
Ragnarsson spent 8 years with the Sharks (1995-2002) and ranks 7th all-time in franchise history in goals scored (28), assists (125), and points scored (153) by a defensemen. The Swedish defenseman represented San Jose at the 2001 NHL All-Star game in Denver.
The Swedish dynamo was one of the founders of what looks like a long line of established defenders in Teal. Ragnarsson had some trouble staying on the ice for the Sharks, but when he did get suited up he provided a stop gap like presence on the blueline during the beginning phases of the franchise.
4. Justin Braun
One of the Sharks best defensemen in franchise history, Justin Braun, was drafted 201st overall in the 7th round of the 2007 NHL Draft.
Braun spent nine years (2010-2019) with Team Teal and sits 8th on the all-time games played list in franchise history playing in 607 games. The 32-year-old defenseman has scored 24 goals and has dished out 130 assists, totaling 154 points.
Braun scored one of the most memorable goals in franchise history when he became the first Sharks player to ever score a Stanley Cup Finals goal at SAP Center in 2016 against the Penguins. Braun’s steady play and toughness have anchored the Sharks blueline for countless playoff runs alongside all world defender Marc-Edouard Vlasic.
The 2018 – 2019 was the last season for the Braun in Teal after getting shipped out for cap space and draft compensation earlier in the off-season. Nevertheless, the time Braun spent in the Bay Area is hard to get over considering the amount of success he helped bring the franchise. San Jose will likely have a tough time finding someone to round out the right of the defense without the Minnesota native ready to go on the bench.
3. Ryane Clowe
The hard-hitting, goal-scoring winger Ryane Clowe was a San Jose fan favorite who energized both the fans and his teammates. Clowe got drafted in the 2001 NHL Draft by the Sharks with the 175th overall pick in the 6th round.
Ryane played on Team Teal for eight years (2005-2013) scoring 101 goals to go with 170 assists adding up to 271 points in 423 games played. His best season with San Jose was the 2010-11 season where he tallied a career season high 24 goals, 38 assists, and 62 points.
Clowe brought his A game to the ice every night and often but his body on the line for the sake of the Sharks. In recent years Clowe earned some caliber coaching jobs and is highly regarded for his coaching skills However he’s been dealing with some medical issues that stopped him from playing hockey and have now started to interfere with his future as a coach.
Whatever his future holds for the dynamic winger we’re all hoping for a Clowe to get back normalcy in his life whether that’s behind the bench or any other venture the 36-year-old chooses to take on.
2. Evgeni Nabokov
The best goaltender in franchise history, Evgeni Nabokov, got drafted 219th overall by the Sharks in the 9th round of the 1994 NHL Draft. Nabokov spent 9 years (2000-2010) with Team Teal and holds numerous franchise goaltender records.
He owns the franchise record for games played (563), wins (293), and shutouts (50). He is also second in franchise history for goals against average with a 2.39 career GAA with the Sharks and fourth for save percentage having posted a .912 save percentage.
Nabby won the 2001 Calder Memorial Trophy being named the NHL’s rookie of the year and was a finalist for the 2008 Vezina Trophy, which is given to the league’s most outstanding goaltender. Nabokov also became the seventh goalie in NHL history to score a goal when he buried a full-ice empty net goal against Vancouver on March 10, 2002.
Nabokov is not only the best goaltender in San Jose’s history, he is generally one of the most popular players that has ever dawned teal. Sharks fans were thrilled when it got announced in 2015 that Nabokov will be joining the scouting department as a developmental coach. In only a few seasons Nabokov’s influence on the goaltenders within the organization and will likely earn him more opportunities to prove his coaching aptitude.
1. Joe Pavelski
One of the greatest players in Sharks history is also the greatest late-round draft pick in franchise history and possibly one of the biggest steals in NHL Draft history. Joe Pavelski was drafted by San Jose in the 2003 NHL Draft with the 205th overall pick in the 7th round.
The Big Pavelski spent 13 years with Team Teal (2006-2019) and four years as the team captain where he lead the Sharks to their first ever Stanley Cup Final. Pavs is fourth all-time in franchise history in games played (963), second in goals scored (355), third in assists (406), and third in points (761).
To go along with these amazing numbers, Pavelski has also tallied 48 goals, 52 assists, and 100 points in 134 playoff games played with Team Teal. Of his 48 playoff goals, twelve of them were game winning goals with three of them being memorable overtime winners.
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Captain America got named an NHL All-Star in 2016, 2017, and 2019 and is known around the NHL as one of the best tippers to ever play the game. Pavelski recorded a remarkable five hat-tricks during his time in San Jose and was a fan favorite and a franchise icon.