Owen Nolan, one of the National Hockey League’s purest power forwards, enjoyed his best NHL seasons as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Nolan was the first overall selection in the 1990 NHL draft by the Quebec Nordiques, where he would play his first five NHL seasons before the franchise relocated to Denver as the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. In that same year, he was traded to San Jose where he instantly became a fan favorite for his scoring touch and bulldog mentality on the ice. Named the fifth team captain in franchise history in 1998, Nolan enjoyed a career season in 1999/2000 when he set a then franchise record with 44 goals and 84 points. That season, the #8 seeded Sharks defeated the #1 ranked, President’s Trophy winning team, the St. Louis Blues, in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. In 2002, Nolan was named to the Canadian Men’s Olympic team, which captured the gold medal. Nolan spent parts of eight seasons with the Sharks and at the time of his trade to the toronto Maple Leafs in 2003, was San Jose’s all-time franchise leader in goals (206), assists (245), points (451) and power play goals (75). The five time NHL all-star played five more NHL seasons with Maple Leafs, Phoenix Coyotes, Calgary Flames and Minnesota Wild. He finished his NHL career with 885 points (422 goals/463 assists) and 1793 penalty minutes in exactly 1200 games. He is one of only eight players in NHL history to record at least 400 goals and have more than 1700 penalty minutes.

Inducted into the BAY AREA SPORTS HALL OF FAME – 2014

Narrative by San Jose Sharks