San Jose Sharks Celebrate 25th Anniversary –
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) The San Jose Sharks have come a long way from their days at the rundown Cow Palace when their signature teal jerseys seemed to be a bigger attraction than the product on the ice.
The Sharks have grown in their 25 years into one of the more successful non-traditional NHL market franchises by becoming a consistent winner on the ice and developing the game at the grassroots level.
As they celebrated their 25th anniversary Tuesday night with current players, alumni and fans, there was only one glaring thing missing.
“It’s a long time, great time, great memories,” owner Hasso Plattner said. “No Stanley Cup yet.”
The Sharks have come close to the ultimate prize, with three trips to the conference finals and 10 straight playoff berths before missing the postseason last year.
After a few shaky stretches, San Jose is currently tied for second place in the Pacific Division – with strong hopes of making it back to the playoffs this season.
“The team is playing relatively well,” Plattner said. “We’re hanging in in the position. They have to show it now in the remaining 40 games. I think we have all the abilities, and they have to do it.”
The on-ice product took a back seat temporarily Tuesday night to the extravaganza that featured players in tuxedos walking in on a teal carpet, highlights of the team’s first quarter-century and a celebration of hockey’s success in the Bay Area.
Patrick Marleau, who joined the team as an 18-year-old draft pick in 1997 out of Saskatchewan, Canada, said he expected to see beaches and sand when he came to California for the first time. Now his family is part of a growing hockey community that reaches down to the youth level.
“Having kids now, they’re a part of it,” Marleau said. “My oldest son, there are like 170-some kids his age who are actually playing. That’s pretty amazing for this area.”
The Sharks have been a driving force behind the growth of grassroots hockey in the Bay Area ever since original owner George Gund started the team. Sharks Ice in San Jose is the largest U.S. rink facility west of the Mississippi River and one of only seven in the country that currently operates at least four NHL-sized ice rinks.
The Sharks operate two other facilities in the area, and the adult hockey program with more than 4,500 participants is the largest in the Unities States. The Junior Sharks youth league also operates 26 teams.
Sharks defender Matt Tennyson was the first alum from the Junior Sharks to make the NHL, and his first career goal was a memorable moment for the team.
“I know Mr. Gund dreamed of that moment happening,” said general manager Doug Wilson, the captain on the first Sharks team. “He wasn’t here when it happened, unfortunately. But that’s a vision, and to see something like that come to fruition is pretty incredible.”
The Sharks have enjoyed strong fan support, with 70,000 cheering at Levi’s Stadium in a match vs. the LA Kings in Santa Clara, for most of their existence despite an increase in empty seats the past two seasons as frustrations mounted about the lack of postseason success.
But the Shark Tank still can be one of the league’s loudest arenas come playoff time.
“It’s come a long way, there’s no doubt about it,” said former captain Owen Nolan, who joined the team in 1995 and still lives in the area. “When I first got here, I remember laughing a little bit because the fans would be cheering, and I wouldn’t really know what they were cheering for – it wasn’t a good play or something. To see them progress over the years, and they know their hockey now. They’ve been spoiled with some great hockey and they know what to expect from now on. So it’s great to see the city and the fans grow like that.”
Updated January 20, 2016
By JOSH DUBOW