As a Sharks fan, there’s not a ton to be thankful for when it comes to the on-ice product. After all, the Sharks are at the bottom of the league and have a goal differential that rivals the worst in NHL history. To put it mildly, the Sharks are not doing well.
However, Thanksgiving is a time to be thankful for what you have, not lament what you could have had or what you have lost. With that in mind, I threw together this list of things Sharks fans have to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.
1. The Sharks have the best odds of receiving the number one draft pick in 2024
The silver lining to the Sharks’ abysmal record almost a quarterway through the season is that San Jose has the best odds of winning the draft lottery. 25.5% are the current odds that the Sharks will receive the first overall pick and with the new rules, the Sharks can’t pick any lower than third overall.
That means San Jose has a pretty good shot at bringing Macklin Celebrini back to the Bay Area to play for the professional version of his former junior team. Celebrini is a beast, scoring 22 points in 11 games while playing his first year of college hockey at the age of 17. He’s got plenty of ties to the Bay Area, which makes this a perfect story for the Sharks and the NHL (hint, hint). Now we just need those bouncing ping pong balls to make it happen.
2. San Jose’s prospect pool
No matter where the Sharks draft this summer, it’s bound to add to a prospect pool that’s already much deeper under General Manager Mike Grier. Through trades and drafting, Grier and the rest of the Sharks’ front office have added talent on the blueline in the likes of Calen Addison, Ty Emberson, Shakir Mukhamadullin, Nikita Okhotiuk, Leon Gawanke and Luca Cagnoni, among others.
On the front end, Filip Bystedt has regressed but could still find his way to North America in the next year or two. Will Smith is proving that last season in the USHL was not an aberration, while Quentin Musty and Kasper Halttunen are lighting up the OHL. And those are just the players that Grier has added. Daniil Gushchin, Brandon Coe and Ozzy Wiesblatt are all playing with the Barracuda and waiting for their shot.
There’s a pipeline of grade-A talent in San Jose’s prospect pool, something we have not seen in a while.
3. The goaltending tandem of Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen
Yes, the Sharks are losing, but it could be a lot worse. This tweet from JFresh a few days ago shows just how bad it could have been.
Team Goaltending – November 19 pic.twitter.com/g08fpr0cR9
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 19, 2023
Despite the Sharks being last in the league in goals allowed per game, the team is a respectable 20th in goals saved above expected. That’s thanks to Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen, who have kept the Sharks in games the team had no business being in.
If it weren’t for them, there would be a lot more broken TVs.
4. One of the best radio and television teams in the business
If you didn’t know already, the Hockey Hall of Fame confirmed it earlier this month when Sharks radio play-by-play announcer Dan Rusanowsky received the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. It’s an award given to exceptional members of the NHL media and it includes a place in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Rusanowsky has called the play-by-play for the Sharks since the team joined the NHL in 1991.
You can watch some of Rusanowsky’s Hall of Fame induction luncheon here.
The rest of the Sharks’ broadcast team carries their own weight. Randy Hahn is exceptional in the television play-by-play and Drew Remenda and Brett Hedican offer great insights as the color commentators. The addition of Tara Sloan has only enhanced the viewing experience.
Sharks fans could do a lot worse.
5. A team that believes “Hockey is for everyone”
When the NHL decided to ban all theme nights in the summer, bending to the pressure of a few, the Sharks organization did not just throw up its hands and say, “Oh, well.” Instead, General Manager Mike Grier committed to do everything the team could to stay within the NHL’s guidelines while still celebrating the diversity of the Sharks’ community.
“I think kind of the main thing is that we’re still going to celebrate all the months – Pride Month and Black History Month and our Hispanic and Asian populations. We’re going to celebrate all those nights just as much as we would normally just without the jerseys,” said Grier on June 27. “It’s very important for us to be an inclusive organization and being in San Jose and the San Francisco area, I think it’s important for our fans as well.
“So we’re going to put just as much effort into celebrating and having these nights and celebrating these people and cultures as we normally would,” continued Grier. “You know as far as the jersey thing goes, I think, whether you disagree with people or not I think you have to kind of respect people’s views and opinion on certain things. I think the league is trying to do that the best they can. But like I said, for us, it’s very important that those communities all feel and know how much we support them and admire them and want to support them.”
That’s where it all started, but when the NHL decided to take things a step further and ban things like colored stick tape (most specifically Pride tape), it was not Grier but the players who stepped forward and spoke out about the latest ban. Sharks forward Anthony Duclair was one of the more vocal players about the issue, telling San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng that the move was “puzzling.” It was partly because of responses like Duclair’s that the league ultimately reversed course on its nonsensical ban.
But I would argue it goes back further than that. Last season, when James Reimer decided he would not wear a Pride jersey and would not participate in the pregame, the Sharks made him explain himself. Unlike other teams that shielded their players from the media or folded to the internal pressure and did away with the pregame jerseys altogether, the Sharks stayed the course. The team wore the jerseys. The leaders supported the decision to wear the jerseys. Most of all, they made Reimer own his decision and face the media.
6. Still home to one of the best logos in the league
Listen, I get that people like the classics. There’s something nostalgic about seeing that maple leaf or the winged wheel. There’s a piece of history there. But let’s face it, taken on their own and not as a representation of a hockey team, they can be pretty boring. If you had a non-hockey fan look at all the logos together, I’m not sure they’d choose the classics.
However, a shark chomping on a hockey stick? That’s badass.
7. Sharks Ice in San Jose
Nestled in an industrial area just south of Downtown San Jose, it’s easy to miss Sharks Ice. However, Sharks fans should take a minute to recognize just how lucky they are to have a complex like this in San Jose. There are six different ice rinks in one area which means there’s room for a robust youth hockey league, adult hockey, college hockey, skating lessons and public skates. There’s no battling it out for ice time the way a lot of other cities have to.
What’s more, how many fans can say they can take their kids to hockey practice and maybe run into Joe Thornton, Mike Ricci, Mike Grier, Evgeni Nabokov or one of the other Sharks alumni that still hang around the rink?
Sharks fans are blessed.
8. “Jumbo” Joe Thornton
Speaking of Jumbo, take a minute to remember that you got to watch the future first ballot hall of fame play in his prime. Thornton’s thread the needle passes and edgy play was something Sharks fans got to experience on a nightly basis. This bearded beauty was so chill that you almost didn’t realize that he was one of the best to ever play the game.
Thornton was just unreal. Mid-thirties and still the best passer in hockey, big possession guy too. although I guess the 2014 playoffs kinda tarnished the legacy a bit https://t.co/gByCEc7uM1 pic.twitter.com/LUjhkgn8PR
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) November 21, 2023
We were blessed to watch Joe Thornton do Joe Thornton things for so many years, and today, we should look back on that.
9. The San Jose Barracuda
Sometimes, NHL games are expensive, especially when the Sharks are winning. So, getting low-priced AHL tickets in the impressive Tech CU Arena is a perk that fans should appreciate. It’s an opportunity to take the whole family to a hockey game without breaking the bank.
Plus, you get to see the future Sharks in action.
10. Four in the net, tacos you get
I liked getting pizza about a decade ago, but I’m certainly not going to turn my back on tacos. While the instances where we get tacos are few and far between, the simple idea that I could get tacos brings me joy.
Every time the Sharks score three goals at home, a buzz builds within SAP Center. It doesn’t matter if the other team has seven goals or two. The chants of “We want tacos” echo throughout the building. Whether for or against the Sharks, the crowd is brought together in a unified goal…Free tacos.
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