Sharks by Number

Here is the third segment of Sharks By Number. This time we cover #21-30. For Sharks fans, there are a few stars and a few "remember that guy?"s. For non-Sharks fans, it's going to be a couple people you might have heard of, and a bunch of nobodies. Sorry.

#21 - Tony Granato

The rest: Craig Coxe, Peter Ahola, Dave Brown, Jim Fahey, Alexei Semenov, Scott Nichol, TJ Galiardi

We start with the former Colorado Avalanche head coach, Tony Granato. Granato played for the Sharks during the late '90s. Mostly a third and fourth line guy while on the Sharks, Granato is the only player in San Jose history to win the Bill Masterton trophy.

#22 - Scott Hannan

The rest: Mike McHugh, Paul Fenton, Lyndon Byers, Ulf Dahlen, Murray Craven, Ron Stern, Dan Boyle

A staple on the blue line for the Sharks during the '00s, Hannan established himself as one of the best shutdown defensemen in the game, often matching up with the other team's top player. After 6 years away from the team, Hannan is back with the Sharks, but his familiar #22 has been taken over by Dan Boyle. Boyle may not have enough games left in his legs to overtake Hannan for number of games played in #22, but he has proven to be an elite offensive defenseman, and certainly has left his mark on the Sharks team. Another notable #22 for team teal was Ulf Dahlen, who came to the Sharks in 1994 and helped turn them into a playoff team.

#23 - Niko Dimitrakos

The rest: Link Gaetz, Andrei Nazarov, Todd Gill, Shawn Heins, Scott Gomez

That's right, Sharks fans. Niko Dimitrakos is your representative for #23, just edging out Todd Gill for most games played. Dimitrakos was a borderline NHL player who played parts of 3 seasons for the Sharks in the mid-00s. A notable #23 was the original #23 for the Sharks, Link Gaetz. "The Missing Link" was an old school goon who racked up an impressive 326 PIM in only 48 games during the Sharks inaugural season. Gaetz only played that one season with the Sharks and was out of the NHL at age 23, but remains a Sharks fan favorite.

#24 - Niklas Sundstrom

The rest: Doug Wilson, Sergei Makarov, Barry Potomski, Brad Boyes, Josh Langfeld, Sandis Ozolinsh, Travis Moen

Sundstrom played for the Sharks in the early 00's. The Swede was overshadowed by the bigger stars on the team, but was a solid contributer on the second line. A notable #24 was Sergei Makarov. Makarov was the M in the famed KLM line, and reunited with his Russian linemate, Igor Larionov, on the Sharks. Another notable #24 is the Sharks first captain and current GM, Doug Wilson.

#25 - Vincent Damphousse

The rest: Bob McGill, David Maley, Viktor Kozlov, Mike Craig, Matt Carle, Mike Grier

Vincent Damphousse owns #25 for the Sharks. The all-star French-Canadian center was one of the core players on the early 00's teams.

#26 - Steve Bernier

The rest: Peter Lappin, Petri Skriko, Robin Bawa, Vlastimil Kroupa, Ray Sheppard, Chris Lipuma, Dave Lowry, Jim Montgomery, Mike Craig, Lynn Loyns, Michal Handzus

A lot of different players have worn #26 for the Sharks, but none of them for very long. The leader in the clubhouse is Steve Bernier, who bounced back and forth from the minors during his 3 seasons with the Sharks. The most notable #26 is Ray Sheppard, who was acquired by the Sharks in 1995 in exchange for Igor Larionov, and scored at nearly a point-per-game pace.

#27 - Bryan Marchment

The rest: Perry Anderson, Hubie McDonough, Dave Capuano, Todd Elik, Scott Parker, Jeremy Roenick, Manny Malhotra, Scott Hannan

The Sharks #27 belongs to bruising defenseman Bryan Marchment. Marchment patrolled the blue line for San Jose's turn of the millennium teams, and was never afraid to throw a check or a punch. A notable #27 for team teal was Todd Elik, who scored 25 goals in the '93-'94 season in which the Sharks qualified for the playoffs for the first time.

#28 - Nils Ekman

The rest: Jean-Francois Quintin, Sergei Bautin, Iain Fraser, Shawn Burr, Mikael Samuelsson, Matt Bradley, Jay Leach, Andrew Murray

Another player from the "Remember him?" file, Nils Ekman's two seasons in teal are enough to give him the #28 title. Ekman, who was drafted in 1994 but failed to break into the NHL, surprised everyone in 2003 by scoring 20+ goals in teal. Ekman had another solid season playing with Cheechoo and J. Thornton post-lockout, and then was traded to Pittsburgh and quickly faded back into anonymity. 

#29 - Ryane Clowe

The rest: Dean Kolstad, Paul Kruse, Jimmy Waite, Geoff Sarjeant, Mike Vernon, Vesa Toskala

The power forward Ryane Clowe takes the #29 crown. Clowe was a fan favorite over the last several years, but had a brutally disappointing season after the lockout (of 2013) and was traded to the Rangers. At #29, we're entering goalie territory as the other notable Shark with that number is Mike Vernon. Vernon came to the Sharks in 1997 after winning the Stanley Cup with Detroit that spring.

#30 - Jeff Hackett

The rest: Chris Terreri, Jason Muzzatti, Sean Gauthier, Dimitri Patzold, Antero Niittymaki

We are now solidly into goaltender territory, with all #30's guarding the crease. Unfortunately, none of them were the Sharks clear #1 goalie, and so Jeff Hackett takes the spot for #30 by playing in half of the team's games for two seasons.

That's it! Tune in next time for more borderline players and a few surprise studs!