A San Jose Sharks Blog

Number 1: Owen Nolan
When the San Jose Sharks traded Sandis Ozolinsh in 1995, the team's best defensemen at the time, I was worried. It was the beginning of a rebuilding phase for the San Jose Sharks and that is always a difficult time for fans. After enjoying the playoffs for two consecutive seasons, Team Teal seemed to be falling apart; Sergei Makarov had just retired, Igor Larionov was traded to Detroit, and the franchise's first home-grown draft pick, Pat Falloon, was traded to the Flyers after spending the first five years of his career in San Jose.

The return from the Ozolinsh trade seemed risky; Owen Nolan was a 23 year old power forward who had good scoring ability, but he also had the luxury of playing with centers such as Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, and Peter Forsberg. There were question marks as to whether the 1990 1st overall draft pick would be able to produce without an All-star supporting cast. Worst of all, at the time, the young winger did not want to be a Shark and who could blame him. The Nordiques had just moved to Colorado and were primed to win a Stanley Cup (which they did), while the Sharks seemed to be re-tooling.

Nolan's first two seasons with the Sharks did not lead to the playoffs, but the winger had solid seasons posting 29 goals in '95 - '96, and 31 goals in '96 - '97. However, Owen did not simply bring scoring to the table, he also brought leadership and toughness which provided Sharks management and fans two things: a captain to build a new team around and a reason to keep watching hockey.

Owen, a perennial All-star, helped rebuild the San Jose Sharks by providing leadership for younger players such as Jeff Friesen, Marco Sturm, and Patrick Marleau (who all later became stars of their own). In past years, the Sharks had experienced chemistry problems when it came to veterans and rookies in the locker room. Fortunately, Nolan did not let this happen while he was captain.

After a two year playoff drought, San Jose again reached the post-season in the '97 - '98 season which started a consecutive streak of five playoff appearances for the Sharks. Thanks to Nolan, Sharks hockey stayed afloat during those lean years and again started to grow its fan base.

Nolan was the prototypical power forward; at 6'1", 210 lbs, Owen was not afraid to crash the net. With his size and slightly above average speed, the former Sharks captain often opened up the ice for his linemates. This gave players, such as Vincent Damphousse, opportunities to stick handle and make plays. More often than not, these plays were passes over to Nolan who could blast pucks by any goaltender in the NHL.

His shot and ability to finish led to many fairytale moments. Nearly all Sharks fans can recall Nolan's "called-shot" on Dominik Hasek...for the hat-trick...in an All-star game...at the Shark Tank. There are few moments more perfect than this for a professional athlete, but Owen had another memorable moment in the 2000 playoffs. In Game 7, Nolan scored early in the game, against St. Louis, from center-ice. The slapper was a major turning point in the game and it helped San Jose beat the Blues in one of the tougher post-season matchups the Sharks have seen.

Let's not forget to mention Owen's toughness; his willingness to hit and fight made him more than just a scoring threat. In the '99 - '00 season, the Sharks' premier power forward posted 44 goals, 40 assists, and 110 penalty minutes. In his eight seasons with the Sharks, Nolan racked up more than 90 penalty minutes seven times. One of the hardest hits I've ever seen was one Owen put on Adam Foote; the defensemen did not go flying across the ice, but you could see the power of Nolan's check written all over Foote's face. The large defensemen suffered a separated shoulder and was put on the shelf for a number of games thanks to Owen.

Though Nolan was a star athlete and had graced the cover of EA Sports' NHL 2001, he never let it get to his head. Owen stayed humble and participated in charity events while really becoming a part of the San Jose community. As a local business owner, he contributed to San Jose's economy by providing customers and Sharks fans a place to eat and watch hockey. To this day, Owen and his wife (Diana, a San Jose native) still spend the off-season in the South Bay.

Whether you agree with me or not, Owen Nolan has done a number of great things for San Jose and its hockey team...for that, he is Number 1 on my list of Top Ten Greatest San Jose Sharks.