Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008 By Lucas Aykroyd When the San Jose Sharks offered Rob Blake a one-year, $5-million deal on July 1, the start of NHL free agency, it wasn’t because they wanted him to come in and serve as a glorified assistant coach. The Sharks believe the 38-year-old defenceman, who had […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd When the San Jose Sharks traded Vesa Toskala to Toronto at June’s NHL Draft, it meant a chance for a new goalie to back up starter Evgeni Nabokov. Dimitri Patzöld won the job at this year’s training camp, beating out Thomas Greiss, a fellow former […]

One of the NHL’s top young offensive forwards inadvertently jabs his stick into the eye of an emerging American star. Does that sound horribly familiar? It’s what happened when Marian Hossa’s follow-through clipped Bryan Berard in an Ottawa Senators-New York Islanders game on March 11, 2000. It’s also what happened when Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby had […]

The biggest German moment in NHL history was Uwe Krupp’s triple overtime, Stanley Cup-winning goal for Colorado in Game Four of the 1996 Stanley Cup finals versus Florida. But Krupp, currently coaching his country’s national team, could see his “title” challenged if the San Jose Sharks win their first Cup in 2008, as many pundits […]

Originally published in the 2003 NHL All-Star Game Program By Lucas Aykroyd Traditional Southern cooking abounds with homegrown delicacies. But for sports fans in hot, dry places, hockey is often seen as an exotic new addition to the menu. Fortunately, it hasn’t taken long for the southern United States to acquire a taste for the […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd If it’s true Mats Sundin and Peter Forsberg are robots manufactured by IKEA, as a recent Canadian TV commercial joked, perhaps Marcus Ragnarsson of the San Jose Sharks came from the same factory. He is a prototypical Swedish defenseman. “I’m getting used to living in California […]

Originally published on IHWC.NET in 2004 By Lucas Aykroyd He’s not exactly a grizzled veteran, but at 25, Marco Sturm has established himself as a front-line player for both the San Jose Sharks and Team Germany. Selected 21st overall by San Jose in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, the amiable Dingolfing native originally entered the […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd You might associate the “Changing of the Guard” with Buckingham Palace or Red Square, but a recent changing of the “Keepers of the Goal” with the San Jose Sharks has given a 25-year-old netminder from Kazakhstan his big shot in a different arena. Evgeni (John) Nabokov […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd The menacing theme music from Jaws has echoed through San Jose Arena thousands of times when the Sharks go on the power play. Marco Sturm’s presence isn’t quite that intimidating, but the swift winger from Dingolfing, Germany does his part to strike fear into the hearts […]

Originally published in Rinkside in 2005 By Lucas Aykroyd It may seem hard to believe now, but at one time, Finland produced fewer quality goalies than any other major hockey nation. Want proof? Check out the scoresheets from the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup. In their first best-on-best competition, the Finns lost 11-2 to Canada, 8-0 […]