Welcome to LWOS’ Summer Hockey Series, Best of the Rest. Plenty of sites do a version of a 30 greats in 30 days series, but this year we are doing something a little bit different. We want to look at the best player from each team who is not in the Hockey Hall Of Fame. In order to do this there are some rules. First the player must have been a significant part of this franchise (franchises include their time in a previous city… see Winnipeg/Atlanta) and must be retired for at least 3 years, making them Hall of Fame eligible. To see all the articles in the series, check out the homepage here.

The San Jose Sharks are a very young franchise, as the upcoming season will be just their 23rd in the NHL. Despite that, they’ve had some pretty good players. They’ve had three members of the Hockey Hall of Fame skate for them: Ed Belfour, Rob Blake, and Igor Larionov. As far as current NHL players, I’d say that Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau each have a pretty good chance of entering the Hockey Hall of Fame one day.

The most deserving Hockey Hall of Fame candidate of all HOF-eligible former Sharks players is probably former team captain and right wing Owen Nolan.

San Jose Sharks – Owen Nolan

Owen Nolan was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques with the first overall pick of the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. Nolan had a slow start to his career, as he posted just 13 points (3 goals, 10 assists) in 59 games with the Nordiques in his rookie year (1990-1991). However, he quickly began to show his potential, as he posted 150 points (78 goals, 72 assists) in 148 games over his next two seasons. Injuries limited him to just 52 games over his next two seasons, though he did score 53 points (32 goals, 21 assists). After the Nordiques ceased to exist, he was transferred to the Colorado Avalanche. He played just 9 games with them in the 1995-1996 season before being traded to the San Jose Sharks for Sandis Ozolinsh.

In 568 games with the San Jose Sharks, Owen Nolan scored 451 points (206 goals, 235 points) and spent 934 minutes in the penalty box. He was one of those players who could not only score on you, but intimidate you as well. He was their team captain from 1998 to 2003, when he left the San Jose Sharks for the Phoenix Coyotes.

Owen Nolan is among the San Jose Sharks career leaders in:

Games played with 568 (tied for 5th)

Goals with 206 (2nd)

Assists with 245 (3rd)

Points with 451 (3rd)

Penalty Minutes with 934 (2nd)

Over his career, Owen Nolan accumulated:

1,200 games played

422 goals

463 assists

885 points

1,793 penalty minutes

As expected, Owen Nolan hasn’t gotten much consideration for the Hockey Hall of Fame. However, considering Rob Blake just got inducted and the Sharks have Thornton and Marleau in the relatively near future, San Jose fans should be proud of what their franchise has accomplished in just 23 years. Some teams have gone 23 years without having someone inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Sharks have had three, and could have as many as six by 2025.

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