WASHINGTON — Sharks forward Joel Ward has made a career of taking advantage of every chance he has been given.

Ward went undrafted in junior hockey in Ontario, Canada, and after he played four years of university hockey in Prince Edward Island, he signed his first professional contract at 25 with the Minnesota Wild.

Now in his eighth full season in the NHL, which included the past four with the Washington Capitals, the 34-year-old Ward is getting the chance to play with Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture on the Sharks’ second line. The trio has been together since the start of training camp.

Ward assisted on both of Marleau’s goals Saturday against Anaheim, as San Jose carries a 2-0-0 record into Tuesday’s game in Washington.

“I’m kind of familiar with playing with top-end guys a little bit,” said Ward, who spent some time last season on a line with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. “Hopefully, they don’t yell at me too much, and I can kind of help them out.

“When you get an opportunity, you just try and make the most of it. That’s what I’ve been doing my whole life.”

With the Capitals, Ward was not only one of the more popular players on the team but also among the most versatile. Nicknamed “The Big Cheese,” Ward played special teams, was used in a checking role and also could be counted on for some offense, as evidenced by his 43 goals and 83 points combined the last two seasons.

“There’s a real steadiness to his game. You know what you’re going to get on a daily basis,” NBC Sports Network NHL analyst Keith Jones said of Ward. “Plays the game honestly, doesn’t cheat, does all of the little things right.”

All of those qualities made Ward one of the Sharks’ top targets in free agency.

When the free agency period began, Sharks coach Pete DeBoer asked general manager Doug Wilson and assistant general manager Joe Will if he could speak with Ward about coming to San Jose.

DeBoer and Ward crossed paths when both were in the OHL and later in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. Ward also played in the 2014 World Championships for Team Canada, for which DeBoer was an assistant coach.

DeBoer laid out a case for Ward as to why he would be a fit in San Jose: The Sharks’ nucleus was already in place, the team was committed to winning now, and Ward would not have to change who he is as a player if he signed with the Sharks.

“We had a real good conversation about one, what a big fan I am and have been for a long time, and how he plays, especially at the toughest times of years and where he would fit with our group,” DeBoer said.

“Money is the main motivating factor for most guys, but I think that it helped and eased his mind that one, he knew me and that we had laid that out for him.”

Ward signed a three-year contract worth $9,825,000 with the Sharks. Asked if his background as a lawyer helped make a case for Ward to sign, DeBoer said, “I’m not talking to him about taking a half-million dollars less. But there’s a comfort level there, of where he would fit.”

Ward is doing many of the same things with the Sharks that he did with the Capitals. He can kill penalties, and he’s on the second power-play unit, where you can usually find him parked in front of the crease screening the goalie and battling for loose pucks.

“Any coach would love to have this guy on their team,” NHL Network analyst Neil Smith said. “Just does his job. He’s had some big goals, and he’s not afraid to get in bad places on the ice in front of the net.”

Ward’s also fitting in well with his new teammates, and he might rival Couture as the biggest Toronto Blue Jays supporter in a room with a handful of baseball fans.

“He’s a nice guy. Easygoing,” Couture said. “He’s a Toronto guy, so he fits in well.”

For more on the Sharks, see the Working the Corners blog at blogs.mercurynews.com/sharks. Follow Curtis Pashelka on Twitter at twitter.com/CurtisPashelka.